This was my 7th art fair in my winter Florida tour by this Midwest artist. After coming off a good showing at Winter Park, grossing $4700, I was encouraged. But sales did not materialize for me. I grossed $800 for this supposedly nationally ranked event. So, for my seven Florida art fairs, I had only one winner, Winter Park.I had high hopes when I started this Florida tour, hoping to establish a market for my work so I could count on an annual tour of shows in Florida in the future. As it stands now, I won't be back next year, unless I can figure out some way to make a single Winter Park show profitable with all the travel and lodging expenses it would involve.As for this Naples show, I liked the layout. All booths are right down the middle of Fifth Avenue, back to back, grouped in fours so that every booth has a side wall. We were able to spread out and show lots of stuff. I didn't like the Saturday morning set up. Makes for a very long Saturday. But it went smoothly with only a short distance to truck my stuff. We were set up in front of a vacant building, so took advantage of extra storage space under the building's overhang. At break down on Sunday, we also took advantage of this vacant building's mostly vacant parking lot to pack up our trailer.In a conversation with one of the show's organizers, I voiced my concern about the growing number of art fairs in Southern Florida, and especially in Naples. But, it's all about money. If the organizers and promoters can attract enough artists to pay the application a nd booth fees and make a healthy profit, they will. And if us artists are naive enough to pay these fees, the excesses will continue. We're just too optimistic. We always think we will make a killing, even though the odds are stacked against us. It was a tired crowd at Naples... A crowd that has seen too many art fairs this winter. There is just not enough money to go around to support so many artists. And, with the economy sending so many people out of work, there seems to be more hopeful artists filling out the forms and paying the exorbiant booth fees.Oh well... The free enterprise system at work. Seems the only way to stop the excess of Florida shows is for artists to stop being taken in by the promise of big profits. But, to be fair, I talked to some artists who did very well at this show, but, it's always a crap shoot, isn't it.Looking forward to some Midwest shows this spring and summer, where it seems that my market resides.
I did Winter Park,my first juried show ever. I wish I could have gotten into a couple more Florida shows but I only got into one show and it's really expensive to drive 1200 miles to do a show. We don't have enough holiday time to do a whole Florida circuit.
I made expenses plus a bit extra at Winter Park, I was happy with that considering it was the first time I ever did Winter Park.
I brought a lot of silver and shibuichi since it's less expensive and hoped to cover expenses with small sales,but luckily I took some gold since that is what I did sell. Who knows what to bring,we think bring less expensive due to the economy.
The economy was on everyone's lips at the show, wealthy and poor a like...
The quality of the work in Winter Park,I thought was higher than Naples this year... There were some fabulous pieces at Naples,don't get me wrong ,but not the caliber I've seen in years past,when we'd visit the show. It also seemed smaller too. I don't remember there being so many shows in Naples as there is now... plus Bonita Springs and other shows were close to this same time and area.
We used to live in Naples and for a while it slowed down, lots of empty buildings, now some are filled up and they're building houses again and even more condos and apartments,so gotta wonder where all the money is coming from. Friends that still live there say this season was the best in a long time though...
I was called off the wait list to do that show, and unfortunately, had to decline as we had already made the decision to not do any shows in FL. We did go to Winter Park, and thought that it was an amazing show. If I get in next year, I will make a point to do it. It was high caliber. Fantastic artwork!
Yes, Julia: Too many Florida shows and an economy that stinks makes for a bad year for selling in the South. But, what confuses things for me is how well I did at Winter Park compared with all the other shows. I did 5 times the sales at Winter Park than any of the other shows. Probably because Winter Park has only ONE show. Naples has a gazillion of them. And none of them are very special any more. Now, Bonita Springs, which had only one show many years ago, added a second, then a third show. None of them are very special either. Too many shows... I'd do Winter Park again if I could figure out how to finance a trip down there to do a single show... Not very practical.
So sorry to hear of the poor sales. That was my biggest fear, I did the circuit in Florida last season, loved it, but didn't make enough sales. It was my first time doing it. This year, we didn't go to Florida. I had heard from a friend who did 12 shows (one every weekend) that the sales were down. It seems as though the bad economy, high fuel costs and an abundance of shows in Florida, that it could be the reason.
So sad, I really enjoyed last year, and missed being out there in the public this past year. I have some Michigan shows lined up and am on a few waitlists for shows outside of the state. I am also looking forward to doing the St. James Court show again in October. Let's hope Michigan - Midwest shows are better for us than Florida.
I started this way too late - but doing it - just want to earn an income!
I noticed many painters too, more than any other medium. There were about the same amount of jewellers but I did notice a large portion of painters. I loved the clay )Larry Clegg) and the wood (Werner)and the large metal wall sculptures ( cant remember name)exhibited. I bought the cutest froggie wall sculpture,it made me smile. Another one I loved was the arcitectural wall pieces.
Hi: I also attended the Naples show to see what it was like. I was there on Saturday from 11:00 to about 2:30. I walked the whole show. There were a lot of great things there. This is the first time I've attended a show with this type of reputation. I noticed there were a lot of painters. I thought almost as many as jewelry. Many of the painters did sea themes, which is what I would expect. I saw a few who had other themes. I am attracted to modern art, and there were only a few with that. There were a lot of other types of art besides the paintings and jewelry. Unfortunatley I did not get their cards, but the glass and ceramics were just gorgeous. Maybe there were too many painters there this year? Anyway, it was a wonderful show to attend and when I was there the crowds were pretty thick. I don't know how it was on Sunday, though. Thanks. Betty Torma
We set up at Winter Park and a lot of people went through and I did sell some. It's a tough economy,plus my first time at Winter Park so I was happy with my sales. Went went to Naples for holiday for a week and checked out the art show. It was really dead when we went,but it was 10 am. We went back later that day and still dead,not sure why.... I went a couple years ago and it was so crowded you could barely get through... Was the show smaller too? It seemed much smaller than a couple years ago...
Good luck at west palm. This was our slowest show in fl last year, and we were so excited because we stayed in the condos above city place for the season. Hope you fare better!
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Sorry to hear another bad show John. Sounds like Florida may not be your market.
I did Winter Park,my first juried show ever. I wish I could have gotten into a couple more Florida shows but I only got into one show and it's really expensive to drive 1200 miles to do a show. We don't have enough holiday time to do a whole Florida circuit.
I made expenses plus a bit extra at Winter Park, I was happy with that considering it was the first time I ever did Winter Park.
I brought a lot of silver and shibuichi since it's less expensive and hoped to cover expenses with small sales,but luckily I took some gold since that is what I did sell. Who knows what to bring,we think bring less expensive due to the economy.
The economy was on everyone's lips at the show, wealthy and poor a like...
The quality of the work in Winter Park,I thought was higher than Naples this year... There were some fabulous pieces at Naples,don't get me wrong ,but not the caliber I've seen in years past,when we'd visit the show. It also seemed smaller too. I don't remember there being so many shows in Naples as there is now... plus Bonita Springs and other shows were close to this same time and area.
We used to live in Naples and for a while it slowed down, lots of empty buildings, now some are filled up and they're building houses again and even more condos and apartments,so gotta wonder where all the money is coming from. Friends that still live there say this season was the best in a long time though...
It's hard to say what is happening and why....
I was called off the wait list to do that show, and unfortunately, had to decline as we had already made the decision to not do any shows in FL. We did go to Winter Park, and thought that it was an amazing show. If I get in next year, I will make a point to do it. It was high caliber. Fantastic artwork!
Happy that you did well there!
Yes, Julia: Too many Florida shows and an economy that stinks makes for a bad year for selling in the South. But, what confuses things for me is how well I did at Winter Park compared with all the other shows. I did 5 times the sales at Winter Park than any of the other shows. Probably because Winter Park has only ONE show. Naples has a gazillion of them. And none of them are very special any more. Now, Bonita Springs, which had only one show many years ago, added a second, then a third show. None of them are very special either. Too many shows... I'd do Winter Park again if I could figure out how to finance a trip down there to do a single show... Not very practical.
John,
So sorry to hear of the poor sales. That was my biggest fear, I did the circuit in Florida last season, loved it, but didn't make enough sales. It was my first time doing it. This year, we didn't go to Florida. I had heard from a friend who did 12 shows (one every weekend) that the sales were down. It seems as though the bad economy, high fuel costs and an abundance of shows in Florida, that it could be the reason.
So sad, I really enjoyed last year, and missed being out there in the public this past year. I have some Michigan shows lined up and am on a few waitlists for shows outside of the state. I am also looking forward to doing the St. James Court show again in October. Let's hope Michigan - Midwest shows are better for us than Florida.
I started this way too late - but doing it - just want to earn an income!
Good luck!
I noticed many painters too, more than any other medium. There were about the same amount of jewellers but I did notice a large portion of painters. I loved the clay )Larry Clegg) and the wood (Werner)and the large metal wall sculptures ( cant remember name)exhibited. I bought the cutest froggie wall sculpture,it made me smile. Another one I loved was the arcitectural wall pieces.
Hi: I also attended the Naples show to see what it was like. I was there on Saturday from 11:00 to about 2:30. I walked the whole show. There were a lot of great things there. This is the first time I've attended a show with this type of reputation. I noticed there were a lot of painters. I thought almost as many as jewelry. Many of the painters did sea themes, which is what I would expect. I saw a few who had other themes. I am attracted to modern art, and there were only a few with that. There were a lot of other types of art besides the paintings and jewelry. Unfortunatley I did not get their cards, but the glass and ceramics were just gorgeous. Maybe there were too many painters there this year? Anyway, it was a wonderful show to attend and when I was there the crowds were pretty thick. I don't know how it was on Sunday, though. Thanks. Betty Torma
We set up at Winter Park and a lot of people went through and I did sell some. It's a tough economy,plus my first time at Winter Park so I was happy with my sales. Went went to Naples for holiday for a week and checked out the art show. It was really dead when we went,but it was 10 am. We went back later that day and still dead,not sure why.... I went a couple years ago and it was so crowded you could barely get through... Was the show smaller too? It seemed much smaller than a couple years ago...
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