I thought I would share our experience, in case anyone is considering making the investment to participate in this show. And yes, it is an investment. A $2000 investment! With that in mind, my business partner and I tried to go there with a full load (we make recycled wool accessories, primarily in the $50-$90 range). This is our second year, so we had some expectations and goals. We had what I would consider to be a good show, and if we had brought more $10-$30 items we would have made another $1000. We added them to the line in the 2 weeks prior to the show so we didn't know if they would sell or not...we sold out of everything in that price range.We talked to a lot of artists, and it seemed to be 50% happy and 50% reaalllly unhappy. I was thrilled to beat last year's numbers, as the rest of our year was down.Was the show worth it? If you look at cash brought in, it was fine. But the exposure that we got, both at the show and from the website, is great. We were offered a spot in the OOAK fashion show, a spot on the WGN coverage of the show, and another TV show contacted us for a future taping. That's the kind of opportunity that you might not necessarily get from an ordinary (ie. a not-$2000) show.My best tip is to set up on Tuesday (2 days before the show starts). We drove right up to the dock, as opposed to last year's Wednesday set up, which took 2 hours in the dock. Much less chaotic. And go ready to shop and/or trade, because there is soooo much great stuff there.
Claudia - thanks for sharing your experience. We did One of a Kind Chicago for the first time last year and found it very worthwhile. We sell jewelry crafted from shards of broken dishes. Most of our items are in the $40-55 range with some pieces running $100-125.
I agree that taking advantage of their Promotional Tool Kit can score some great exposure (many artists don't even fill out their artist's profile). Also, a lot of shoppers peruse the OOAK website before the show, so we had several inquiries before we reached Chicago. We also had two customers from NYC who wrote us expecting us to be at One of a Kind NY (this year we will) - fortunately, they bought online.
We included a Thank You card with every purchase for $10 off an online order. We had 22 people use their coupon after the show (some of them used it that very weekend). Definitely a web-savvy audience... especially Thurs & Fri... so if you have a website (even if you don't sell online) make sure you promote it.
I'd suggest attending the orientation they offer in October. They have a nice casual lunch and introduce you to all the key players (it's a Union house, so it's good to understand how things work). They were generous with their time and let you inspect your booth space.
We were pleased to have sold enough to cover all our expenses on Thursday, the first day of the show. Friday was even better. Saturday was by far the busiest day, but we sold significantly less (it's kind of a family outing day for many people). Sunday was less busy but had better sales than Saturday.
We were warned that there were long waits at takedown, but it wasn't too bad. When we were halfway done packing, we picked up our number for the "carriers" to bring down our work (I think we were #155). Within an hour of that, they were at our booth ready to haul our stuff to the loading dock.
Talking to artists, it really is a mixed bag of experiences. Some artists have done it every year and consider it their best show. Others didn't make booth fee... or just eked by. For many, I think it's about presentation... both booth and personality.
My observation was that wearable art did pretty well... especially in the under $75 range. Not sure how the other mediums fared.
They have an "emerging artist" area which offers a discounted booth fee, but I'm glad we didn't try for one of those spots, the booths are smaller and many of the artists in that area didn't know how to price their work or had weak displays... even if their work was good.
The "Fashion District" is considered a "hot" area, but I didn't mind NOT being there... I just wouldn't fit in with the "high fashion" attitude of a few of the vendors (lots of very uncomfortable-looking shoes, and then there was the artist who had no prices on her jewelry and wouldn't speak until someone asked about a piece. Then she'd say "That ring is $3,000." The man across from her revealed to me that most people shrunk away in embarrassment on hearing that and that he only saw her selling her $100 charms... although a sale of a $3,000 ring would really bump up sales numbers).
All in all, a very good experience for us. The show is expertly run and marketed. The big question is whether or not the audience is right for your work... we weren't sure and we were glad we took the risk.
Hope to see some of you there... or its sister show in NYC.
Thanks much for this review. I too have heard very mixed opinions on this show and at the price tag it's very important to know what your market will be.
Comments
I agree that taking advantage of their Promotional Tool Kit can score some great exposure (many artists don't even fill out their artist's profile). Also, a lot of shoppers peruse the OOAK website before the show, so we had several inquiries before we reached Chicago. We also had two customers from NYC who wrote us expecting us to be at One of a Kind NY (this year we will) - fortunately, they bought online.
We included a Thank You card with every purchase for $10 off an online order. We had 22 people use their coupon after the show (some of them used it that very weekend). Definitely a web-savvy audience... especially Thurs & Fri... so if you have a website (even if you don't sell online) make sure you promote it.
I'd suggest attending the orientation they offer in October. They have a nice casual lunch and introduce you to all the key players (it's a Union house, so it's good to understand how things work). They were generous with their time and let you inspect your booth space.
We were pleased to have sold enough to cover all our expenses on Thursday, the first day of the show. Friday was even better. Saturday was by far the busiest day, but we sold significantly less (it's kind of a family outing day for many people). Sunday was less busy but had better sales than Saturday.
We were warned that there were long waits at takedown, but it wasn't too bad. When we were halfway done packing, we picked up our number for the "carriers" to bring down our work (I think we were #155). Within an hour of that, they were at our booth ready to haul our stuff to the loading dock.
Talking to artists, it really is a mixed bag of experiences. Some artists have done it every year and consider it their best show. Others didn't make booth fee... or just eked by. For many, I think it's about presentation... both booth and personality.
My observation was that wearable art did pretty well... especially in the under $75 range. Not sure how the other mediums fared.
They have an "emerging artist" area which offers a discounted booth fee, but I'm glad we didn't try for one of those spots, the booths are smaller and many of the artists in that area didn't know how to price their work or had weak displays... even if their work was good.
The "Fashion District" is considered a "hot" area, but I didn't mind NOT being there... I just wouldn't fit in with the "high fashion" attitude of a few of the vendors (lots of very uncomfortable-looking shoes, and then there was the artist who had no prices on her jewelry and wouldn't speak until someone asked about a piece. Then she'd say "That ring is $3,000." The man across from her revealed to me that most people shrunk away in embarrassment on hearing that and that he only saw her selling her $100 charms... although a sale of a $3,000 ring would really bump up sales numbers).
All in all, a very good experience for us. The show is expertly run and marketed. The big question is whether or not the audience is right for your work... we weren't sure and we were glad we took the risk.
Hope to see some of you there... or its sister show in NYC.