Fall (5)
OR, WHAT I DID NOT KNOW BEFORE THE SHOW
Not too long ago I requested information about this show and received one response. I was surprised as this is a large show.
That prompted me to share my experience in hopes of helping other artists make informed decisions.
My Medium: Ceramic Sculptures (Cats)
My Price Points: $250 - $700
Weather: Hot and humid Saturday, rain on and off Sunday
Patrons: Saturday: steady flow but not a crowd, Sunday: Thin traffic due to the weather. In general, the public seemed apathetic
In spite of the weather and lack luster traffic I had a terrific show, although there were many artists that had marginal to zero sales. The mood of the artists was mostly grim, at least on my street. So my success was an exception rather than the rule. Sadly, the buying mood of the public and the weather cannot be predicted with any accuracy.
ACCEPTANCE - SELECTING A LOCATION
Once accepted you are requested to select the location you want. This really stumped me as I had never done the show or even been in the area. Also, not all locations have electricity. What I thought to be the prime location (around a pond) had an early load in with 75 spaces available. By the time I got to this point of the process, all of those spaces were full. So I just tossed a dart and selected Walker St. This turned out to be a good choice as the parks (cement pond and heritage) did not get as much traffic as the streets, or so it seemed to me.
LOAD IN
Oh my!
The cement pond and heritage park artists were able to load in around 4 pm, they are required to dolly in.
My load in time was at 8 pm and they recommended we bring some sort of light in the event the street lights were obscured by trees as was the case in some locations. We were OK, but I would bring "head lights" next time. At 7 pm Friday they had us stage at some parking lot far away from the actual show (or so it seemed due to the horrible one way streets which were always going the wrong way). Artists that donated to "Art Heist" lined up first for a 7:30 load in - then the 8 pm load in - and finally the 8:30 load in.
There was no staff present at 7 pm so most of us were milling around wondering what to do. We were originally informed that we would have a police escort to our locations. The staff showed around 7:30, got everyone sorted out and off we went - oops, where were we going . . .no escort, and we got stopped at a light a lost sight of the van in front of us. But we were able to catch up, and were directed to the proper lane for our street. With big color coded cards and color coded light sticks, this went smoothly.
We thought that there were not very many artists at the staging area and learned that "those in the know" skipped the staging and went directly to their street. Fortunately it did not present a problem for us and we had no problem locating our space and began setting up.
The booth spaces are located on both sides of the street, one side backs up on the cement pond, and the other side backs up on a steep berm, I think that is the east side. But you cannot select which side of the street you are on. Also the street slopes down to the curbs, so plan on leveling as needed.
Booth spaces are about 10.5' wide, no wiggle room at all. Fortunately, not everyone tried to set up at 8 pm so there was a bit of room to maneuver, however you can imagine the congestion with a 10 ' space available for each artist to park their vehicle when many vehicles are twice that long. There is parking on both sides of the street, but it does get tight depending on your vehicle. No one parks and unloads their display in the "allotted" hour or two. We all jockeyed around to accommodate the "big rigs" and it was not too bad. We were there until 11 pm with many artists still setting up. We were back at 7 am to complete our display. So, it is an exhausting set up.
THE SHOW
I encountered no problems during the show. Staff came by frequently to provide water, snacks, and relief as needed. If you make prior arrangements, lunch is delivered for a fee. Portable pottys are located conveniently. Judges made their usual "fly by" and did not deign to talk to me. But that was OK, I had a great show.
LOAD OUT
We were provided with the usual load out instructions - start tearing down at 6 pm, wait for the patrons to clear, and plan to start driving in around 7-7:30 (once we got our Street Captain's OK).
However, due to the weather (even though the rain had stopped) we got the OK to start breaking down around 5:30 and drove to our space once everything was dismantled and ready to load. This went surprisingly smooth even though we had to pause to jockey our position to allow other vehicles room to pass or park. Our tear down is usually slow because of packing up the product, but we were on the road by 8:30.
Oh yes, the early load in folks did not have such an easy load out due to limited parking.
OTHER STUFF
Bring bug repellent. Lots of mosquitoes and flys.
Great underground parking at the Theater District for $7 per day. Exits to Walker and a short walk to our booth. Artist parking is really removed from the show, and no shuttle was provided.
Crown Plaza was an acceptable hotel, although a bit pricey. Even with "free valet parking" be prepared to tip the valet, frequently. There is no other parking at the hotel.
Bring a fan. It can be hot in October.
Of course, the staff may change any of the procedures that I have shared with you, but maybe there will be some information here that will be helpful.
It was a positive experience and I thought the staff did a pretty darn good job.
First off I am a lover of Trimline and will always be. You will see why I say so further in this post.
So it all started 1 week ago when on a sunny yet windy day I got out my trimline to wash it. Go through the steps of setting it up - never had an issue with this as I can pretty much do it in about 15 - 20 mins. on my own. I did not rush doing this - in my backyard - as I wasn't setting up for a show. With the roof on and fairly firmly attached I raised the legs and started to attach the sides to then spray with suds then hose them down. Just as I got the sides up and about to attach them to the legs a big gust of wind came through. That time I was able to get it to not fly off. But just as I was going to try and anchor it, it fell backwards shearing off the joint where the leg and the corner of the roof beams attach. The one bar did bend as well as the other joint - you should be able to see in the picture - faintly circled in red. So all in all through this crazy experience the only damage were the two joints and one pole - no legs, no sides, nothing else was damaged. Lucky.
This led me to really thank my lucky stars that this didn't happen at a show. I have insurance - that wouldn't be an issue, but the horror of seeing this happen effecting possibly every neighbor beside me and behind me is something I cannot shake. I have never had this happen - a flying canopy. I have seen it at nearly every show I have done. I am fully aware of the importance of anchoring a canopy and do so, but all it takes is a split second.
Having said this - it is my fault that I did this - not Trimline. So many times people quickly blame the canopy or some other thing/place. And am thankful this was with a trimline as with any other canopies I have used you would most likely have to replace it - parts can be expensive and they might not be in (as such was the case with an EZ-UP I had two years ago). The two joints are only $20 each and the one bar that got bent was about $30. Also, if the same thing were to happen to any other canopy it wouldn't have been a lot more damage - legs broken, fabric torn, etc.
So, today I am thanking my lucky stars that I did not set up my booth with in the toppled over canopy, this didn't happen at a fair, and the show I was going to do was a rain or shine event when the tornadoes hit and chose to not go forfeiting my booth fee. Still have no idea if the show actually happened. The show, funny enough was infront of a courthouse. The best thing ever was this happened in my own back yard and with a Trimline. Now if you want to do the same thing as me:
1. Set up your canopy when it is windy without any help - any other weather conditions it is easily doable.
2. As soon as the legs are on, do not anchor it - it can be done later. (yes there is sarcasm hidden in here)
3. Do not properly secure the top - I did the corners and the "seat buckle" straps as instructed, but didn't do the ones on the sides where you would normally attach the sides.
4. Put the sides on only having used the zippers on the top to create a wind-tunnel to help give the canopy lift.
5. Sit back and watch the kite fly.
In all seriousness - if you are to take anything from this lesson, anchor your canopies and if for some reason you find you can't do it in time, always alway always make sure you have insurance. The good news, the customer service with trimline is impeccable and got my parts Monday - I am good to go for this Saturday show - on pavement - with anchors already packed.
- Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals
Hyde Park has a hip urban sensibility and a little younger vibe than what you'll typically see in many Florida shows. Lots of younger couples, runners, dogs, baby strollers on hand to complement the older age brackets that we're used to seeing. And until this weekend (my fourth time at this venue) I'd seen steadily increasing sales for my wildlife/bird photography. But at this show, it just wasn't happening. Show quality was quite good, though perhaps a little heavy on the jewelry. But it was almost spooky how every artist I talked with (save one, about which more in a minute) gave the same summary: Modest, but acceptable, crowds and sales on Saturday; sparser, more disinterested crowds and lower sales on Sunday. Personally, I did about 40 percent of the business I'd done last spring (two weeks before Easter, when most snowbirds typically clear out from Florida). More tellingly, my sales compared with last fall's show were down 25%. No large canvas sales; nearly all my sales were 11x14s. Although I remarked ruefully to my neighbor (who zeroed on his fun, colorful "eco-art" made from scrap metal and rocks) that "at least my $4 notecard sales were up 800% year-over-year." Not exactly the fast start to the winter season I'd hoped for.
I'm thinking that Halloween might have impacted the show attendance, even though Howard Alan Events did their usual fine job advertising and promoting, and even brought around Halloween candy for trick or treaters and patrons (and, what the heck, a few artists, too! Howard's shows don't feature artist amenities so we have to take what we can get.) There were several other wildlife photographers on the artist roster, and although several had the same kind of weekend I had, local shooters Irwin and Carol Glazer recouped a slow Saturday with seven canvas print sales on Sunday. So, you never know! Gotta tip my cap to 'em, they're great photographers and really nice folks, too.
Besides the free candy,there were a few other positives to be had. Setup here is early, but easy: Narrow streets, but \ wide sidewalks behind your booth. What's more, several new close-in parking areas replaced the grubby, tight-quartered lot we'd used the last couple of years. Departure was, I must say, handled brilliantly by Helayne and her staff. Artists on either end were allowed in first, at 6 PM sharp...and folks in the center were asked to wait This enabled artists in the first group to enter from side streets at either end, eliminating the traffic jams so often seen on narrow streets when everyone tries to access the area at once.
The wait for us folks in the center wasn't long at all; in fact, my breakdown was complete just as Helayne gave the green light to get our vehicles. I was on the road a half hour later. It was almost like a parade!
Unfortunately, great logistics won't pay the bills. But there's nothing to do but dust myself off and get ready for Patty Narozny's fall show at Miromar (in Estero) this weekend. It's a local show for me, and it'll be good to sleep in my own bed on a weekend for the first time in months. Local shows in my hometown: a sure sign that winter--and snowbirds with vacation bucks to spend--are on the way.
