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Estes Park is the gateway to the east side of Rocky Mountain Park and this year was its 100^th anniversary.  There are many summer homes in the area and it is a destination for a broad spectrum of nationalities, income levels, and interests.  I started doing this show in 2010, and I have done it every year since then.  I also do the Memorial Day show in Estes Park.  Gross sales at the September Labor Day show since 2010 have been in the $3-$5K range, and I have considered it a good solid show.  The show is produced by the Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary, Inc. and they do an all-around EXCELLENT job!!!!  The town is packed for the weekend, and leading up to the show there was a lot of promotion on Facebook.  The show is setup with 103 booths set up around the perimeter of Bond Park and in the parking lot for the town hall.  Clean, indoor, accessible restrooms are in the town hall.

SETUP AND TAKE DOWN.  Set up officially begins at 9:00am on Friday but Rotarians are present to check you in as early as 7:30am.  If you are early you can park at your site to unload.  Street parking is available within a block of the show, but oversize vehicle and trailers have to park at the fairgrounds.  Free shuttle service is available from there, and in town.  Volunteers are available to assist with unloading and set up.

     Takedown begins at 3:00pm on Monday and volunteers were there to help.  Like set up, traffic was controlled and vehicles were not allowed in until you were ready to load.  After paying your sales tax, you get a yellow ticket.  When your booth is knocked down and you are ready to load you get a blue pass to bring your vehicle in.  We loaded around 7:30pm.

WEATHER.  Temperatures were in the 70’s.  There were brief showers Sunday.  An unweighted booth went over in a gust of wind Friday night and another had breakage knocked off a wall. 

 THE SHOW.  The town was packed with people and thousands went through the art show.  There was seldom a time when people were not in my booth, and I had several repeat clients.  Belts were my top seller, with holsters, suspenders, spur straps, and several custom orders thrown in.  My sales were in the $4-5K range, and my largest sale was $475 for a silver mounted headstall and two breast collars (horse gear).  There was a good balance of all art/craft mediums including edibles like jellies and salsas.  There is no buy/sell at this show.  Nuts and bolts for the show are in www.artshowreviews.com.  The Rotarians have coffee and goodies in the morning, and booth sitters. All taxes are paid to the Rotary at the end of the show.

ANALYSIS.  I have come close to hitting the “home run” of $5K gross sales at this show a couple times.  My inventory of flasks and checkbooks was pretty lean by this, the last shown of the season.  Most of the belts sold were plain, and only a few were the more expensive carved with or without silver buckles.  I sold out of some sizes and some styles of buckles but didn’t loose and sales because of that.  The Estes crowd is definitely middle class and families visiting the park.  It is also a destination for Denver motorcycle clubs making the run up Big Thompson Canyon and over Trail Ridge Road.

THE OTHER FUN STUFF.  There were lots of different dog breeds and babies at the show.  Interacting with both was fun.  We were able to rent our favorite cabin that is just up the hill from Bond Park.  It was built in 1898 but it is modern and cozy. The hot tub is great after a day on the street.  Our son and his family came up for a cook out Saturday and we got to visit with our college and high school age grandsons.  Tuesday after the show we headed to the park and drove up Fall River Road (one lane dirt one way) up to Trail Ridge Road.  We saw elk and mountain sheep.

I cannot emphasize enough the need to be in top physical condition for doing shows.  I will be 72 in a couple weeks and Jean is 68.  Set up takes us 7 1/2 hours of steady work and take down is 4 1/2 hours.  We don’t diddle around, but we have lots of inventory.  At the end of the days we are still energized and not exhausted.  We do yoga 1-2 times a week and work out with a personal trainer once a week.

Photos:  1. Setup Friday morning, Longs Peak. 14,259’

             2. Saturday crowd

             3. A pampered dog with green paws, pink and purple tail and ears.

             4. Fall River Road

             5. Longs Peak from Trail Ridge Road

             6. Bull elk 

             7. Bear Bottom Cabin  

I can't seem to find any information on this show, and was wondering if it would be worth while.

If anyone has input, it would be much appreciated!

thanks

Arts, Beats & Eats - Royal Oak, MI - Labor Day Weekend

Some of you may know that I used to be part of the "Art" at Arts, Beats & Eats. I came from a background of being the schlepper at the art fairs as my husband showed his work. One day when I was helping run the show I watched a fine man sweating his a__ off pushing a dolly up the street laden with his wife's art. 

How many times had I done that? That winter someone left a dolly behind at an art fair so I confiscated it, painted it gold and added "jewels." We presented the 1st "Golden Dolly Award" (plus a check) to that man. The next year it went to Mike Strailey, then Carol Weber, etc. You never heard of those folks? That's because they are the "woman behind the man."

Each winner added his/her touch and this year Nate Burch (assistant to photographer Jan Kaulins), last year's winner, did it up very well and presented it at the Artists' Breakfast to Jeff Kutno who hauls his brother's (Phil Kutno) "stuff" at the shows. 

Many thanks to all those wonderful people who help us look good. Congrats to this year's winner.

The rest of the prizewinners at Arts, Beats & Eats:

Best in Show:  Carl Crawford, Columbia, SC - Mixed Media  

1st. Place:  David Barkby, Dover, PA - Wood

2nd. Place:  Michael George, Scottsdale, AZ - Sculpture

3rd. Place:  Sidney Carter, Powder Springs, GA - Painting

5 Awards of Excellence:

1.  James Parker, Rochester Hills, MI - Photography 

2.  Don and Serena David, Cleveland, OH - Jewelry

3.  Jack Valentine, Akron, OH - Ceramics

4.  Meredith Kuntsch, Lago Vista TX - Painting 

5.  John Wayne Jackson, Black Mt. - Sculpture 

Spirit of the City:  Debbie LaPratt, Commerce Twp., MI - Ceramics

Golden Dolly (Best Helper):  James Kutno, Phil's brother, Tucson, AZ

Street Judges:  Sara Shambarger, former Director of Krasl Fine Art Show, St. Joseph, MI

George Barfield - Former Consultant from Krasl also

Jurying for a total cash amount of $7,500 spread over all categories.

May 2 & 3

Sanford, Florida
Historic Downtown Sanford
Sat. 10am-6pm; Sun. 10am-5pm
125 Artists
Deadline: March 21
Applications on ZAPP
 

$15,000 in Awards $3,000 Best of Show

A NEW art festival experience...

We are very excited to announce our 4th annual event, rapidly becoming one of the South's premier outdoor fine arts festivals. A different festival experience awaits you!
 

Throughout the festival there are 12 demonstrating areas for artists selected through our jury process. These artists will have adjacent spaces to demonstrate their artistic process along with their finished artwork to sell.
 

Our plans to make this an exciting successful event for you:

Anticipated attendance: Approximately 20,000 visitors over the two days
 

Entertainment: Soft acoustical music artists perform throughout the festival footprint.

Jury Fee: $35.00 - Booth Fee: $225.00

I mentioned when I checked in to the Bonita Springs Art Festival on Friday that "doing this show is like going to grandma's house.  It's warm, comfortable, and you know just what to expect." 

Nothing I experienced in the next two days shook me from that state of mind.  I found the second installment of Barry Witt's 3-show event to be just about everything I could hope for:  Beautiful weather, knowledgeable crowds (tainted only by the see-'em-at-every-show Sunday morning sleepwalkers--what is it with that, anyway?) and what Nels Johnson calls the "good shoes" people.  The crowds were far from elbow-to-elbow at any time, but in general they were motivated to buy/ And that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a good thing!

So, where to start?  First of all, the pre-show communication is brief, but to the point: You have all the essential information via email and the website two weeks before the show--all but your booth location, which is given to you upon arrival.  It would be nice to have it in advance, but Witt compensates by giving you a booth near your previous location, even if your previous location was at last year's show. So my customers from 2013 and 2014 had no difficulty locating me.  Nice!

Then, there's the matter of the layout in general:  Centered along "Old 41 Road", which spurs off the heavily trafficked US 41 several miles to the west, the show takes place in Riverside Park, in "Old (read: Historical) Bonita Springs."  Some artists, myself included, are along the Old 41business district; others are set up a block in either direction along two or three perpendicular streets.  Still others are set up in Riverside Park itself, a very pleasant, verdant couple of acres on the NW side of the show.  Although the booth numbering is a bit confusing, IMHO, volunteers hand out a nicely designed map to all show-goers (who pay a $5 optional donation to the Bonita Springs Art League when they arrive.)

Artist parking is in several lots directly adjacent to the show.  Accordingly, load-in and load-out were easy-peasy.  I was set up in two hours on Friday; torn down, packed up, and on my way in two hours on Super Bowl Sunday.  It was a relaxed vibe throughout the show.  No boothsitters, but no hassles setting up or tearing down, either.  Breakfast was provided both days until about 9:30 at the artist check-in building at the north end of the show grounds. 

As for sales: I was busy enough that I didn't have a ton of time to canvas many other artists, but from what I observed, sales were OK for most, lousy for a few, great for some others.  I know that's not all that helpful, but hopefully others will chime in with their results.  I did a bit over 2.2K on the weekend, and had an appointment on Tuesday morning that netted me another $1500, so it was a fine event for me.  Gallery Wraps (large ones) sold well. 

I loved the Sunday-afternoon buying energy, and overall, I liked the crowd.  And the judging, in my view, was superb: A photographer up the street from me won best 2D, and his work was other-worldly.  I've never seen anything like it!

Have all the show-goers from the old venue at The Promenade made the jump to the two-year-old location at  Riverside Park?  I don't know, but the borough, Witt, and the ominpresent-but-understated police force certainly made this an appealing venue.  I am looking forward to the third installment in March!

Located on the streets surrounding the historic Burton Carillon Tower and the treelined central campus of the University of Michigan, the Street Art Fair, the Original offers a serene atmosphere that does not include sidewalk sales or merchandise vendors.  The Street Art Fair is known for attracting collectors, corporate buyers, and gallery representatives.

Highlights:

• The combined Ann Arbor Art Fair draws more than 500,000 fairgoers from across the nation
• Marketed extensively throughout Southeast Michigan and northern Ohio
• In-depth Artist Directory on the Fair's website, which received 11 million hits leading up to last year's Fair.  An enlargeable color thumbnail of your work, contact information and links are included
  (Ronna Katz making the sale at AA)
• Inclusion in the searchable mobile application, which incorporates a color thumbnail of your work and geolocation of your booth on the Art Fair map
• $7,500 in award money and automatic re-invitation for award winners.
• Set-up the day before
• Behind booth storage
• Artist amenities include:  on-site security, indoor restrooms, booth sitting, daily continental breakfast, continuous beverages and snacks available at Artist Hospitality, water delivered to booths, welcome cocktail reception on Tuesday, and an awards breakfast on Thursday
• Paid demonstration opportunities.

Application fee:  $40 

Booth fee; $650 single

Electricity and corners are available for $100 additional

Apply here: www.Zapplication.org 

Yes, February has begun. Maybe I will hear on some of my applications for the 2015 schedule. While I am still hibernating but my Etsy shop may get a few sales this month. Yes we just got hit with a big snowstorm today. All this snow get me thinking about the 2015 season. Which for me, that won't start until late April. That is 82 days away. I like the art fair season. I like traveling to shows. I like meeting the people that come through my booth. Why are these winter months so long? 

Well, I am still creating art during these winter months. I created a nice Lego Hoth scene in the snowstorm today. That is the art that I create. I come up with winter scenes in my head during the summer time and wait for winter to begin to create images with snow in them. All of my winter shots have real snow. That's what I do. I don't stage fake winter scenes in the summer time with fake snow...

May 2 & 3 
Elmhurst, Illinois
19th Annual Art in the Park 
Grounds of Wilder Park and Elmhurst Art Museum
10am-5pm both days

For more information and to download the application please visit: www.rglmarketingforthearts.com

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