Same question, which should I do? I have always done well at the Fall paradise City show, so why am I looking to switch?
I have always heard that the St James Court show is the IT show , so I applied,
now I have a dilema. I am a clothing and accessories maker, any thoughts please? Thank you so much, and I am doing the Wyandotte street fest, in reply to the last post, but I have never done it before.... 6 weeks in a row on the road, ( Wyandotte will be #4 just before Ann Arbor Street Fest...).it is starting to make me a bit nervous.. Oh well, that's always a fun place to be.. (nervous that is), thank you so much, Liza
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OK, Months later a report back. I went to Louisville and had a rocking kick ass fabulous show.. I will be doing the paradise city marlboro show instead of the North Hampton so I have the best of both worlds here. The drive to Louisville from The Hudson valley in NY was breathtaking. The best fall foliage of the season fro me, and the hosts of the show and the shoppers were all so hospitable, and they shopped! hooray for them!. i was invited back and I will certainly return.. I was in the Belgravia section, Thank you guys..
Thanks everyone, I think I am going to stick with Paradise.
I mean really, with a name like that..
Liza, I don't think you need to worry about the people at Paradice City being tired of your product. Wearable fiber art is so much different than other art. Women are always ready to buy clothing and accessories. Women love to show. The fiber booths are usually packed at shows. I'd go with saving the gas and staying where I knew I had the customer following. Good luck.
I've done the 3rd st section of St James for the last three years and my neighbor makes high end outerwear, jackets, hats & scarves and she does very well. But something to consider is if you have been accepted to the court you will probably be placed in the inner section which is very dusty & dirty because you're on the grass.
Again, thank you both for your responses.
Connie,
would you please pass along my contact information to your fiber friend in Louisville? I would love to get a feel of the show through her eyes if she's willing, Thanks..
This summer will be the farthest adventure I've journeyed on for fairs...so I thought Kentucky would go along with that, but I am feeling timid of going now, I know my customer is at the Paradise show.
I sell a lot of fleece in October in the NorthEast..
I do know someone who does very well in Louisville with clothing and definitely the women are there to buy. They even close the schools on Friday so anyone interested can attend and the teachers are there in full force. I only did Paradise City once and it was not an art buying crowd although fine craft seemed to be doing just fine, so my experience there is very limited.
I guess I'd say it depends on your price point. I just don't think that the higher end wearables do well at St. James. Has it gone down? Hard to say. I definitely think as the shows have started jurying better and the neighborhood associations put on their "little St. James" contiguously that the choices for buying for the attendees are huge and I think that watered down our sales. It is a good show, but I think it is overrated... but lots of fun and worth the adventure if you are up for it.
Thanks Connie and Larry, Is that because the Louisville show has gone down over the years? or just too big? Paradise City is much closer, and I do already have a following there, but I thought I wanted to find a new audience, and maybe since the folks at paradise already own my clothing maybe they wont want any more... silly way to think, I know...
Ditto what Larry said about Paradise City.
That Wyandotte weekend there is another show in the Detroit area, in Royal Oak, put on by the parks department -- very low profile, but an acceptable alternative to Wyandotte, two days in a park, affluent area.
If driving distance weren't an issue, I'd stay with Paradise City.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100