Monday morning: I was planning on blogging daily about the setup and the activities at this newly reorganized art fair, but it has been much too interesting participating to sit here and write about it. So here is the Great Lakes Art Fair report:
"Group shopping at the Great Lakes Art Fair" The fair was held in a new expo hall in an affluent area of metro Detroit, replacing an older event promoted by Sugarloaf Festivals. The owner of the
Rock Financial Showplace, Blair Bowman, wanted to continue the tradition of having art fairs in the lineup of the events held there so he utilized his staff, PR connections, local sponsors and community good will to bring it into fruition as the Great Lakes Art Fair, with the mission of developing it into a destination regional event to take place spring and fall that would showcase the quality work for which Michigan shows are known. In that spirit there was a partnership with
Detroit Public TV and
NPR radio stations and the nonprofit
Michigan ArtServe. Landscape partners created a beautiful garden entry way and created garden areas in other areas of the show floor. Good affordable catered food was available. There were demonstrations and representatives from the art departments from area schools from elementary through the fine
Cranbrook Institution.
Advertising and PR covered a wide geographic area, at least as far away as Lansing. It was heavily promoted on radio and television.
Anita Spencer with long time customersCons: 1. Michigan economy 2. Fabulous weather - sunny and 70 degree temperatures Friday and Saturday. For those of you who don't live in the upper Midwest these were our first beautiful Spring days after a cold and very snowy winter. 3. Closing of the adjacent freeway from Telegraph Road to Novi Road from Friday through Monday morning for highway construction. No easy access from the affluent eastern side of the city. A call to the Governor's office did not get the desired result. 4. Not quite as important - but the World Champion Red Wings played Saturday evening - drawing shoppers away early from the show. Pros: 1. By April people really are looking for ways to get out of the house and have an activity to
look forward to. 2. Held in just the right affluent neighborhood with excellent demographics for an art fair, beautiful homes surround the Rock Financial Showplace for miles around. As I drove to the show I saw no for sale signs and even some new homes being built. 3. A good partnership with Detroit Public TV and the NPR stations and Michigan ArtServe, enabling us to get our message about the fair out to a specifically targeted audience. 3. This new event had piggybacked on the Sugarloaf Art Fair held on these dates in prior years, bringing an already built in audience of patrons. Some of the exhibitors were part of the Sugarloaf show and they used their extensive mailing lists to bring these people back. 4. The new positioning of the event as a Marketplace of fine art, fine food, and live entertainment, partnering with local schools to present student art from elementary to university levels.
The report: Thursday was a busy day. Two large landscaping companies built a beautiful gardens, worthy of any flower show, throughout the show floor. A large central plaza featured a spa for many relaxing activities and excellent catered food (not concession food) with umbrella tables set around in the gardens. A children's activity area, artist demonstrations and a bar all helped to keep the patrons in the building longer. The staff at the Rock Financial Showplace really know how to load exhibitors into the arena. Load in was smooth and convenient. Most artists were able to drive up to their spaces. No long lines or waiting for an assigned time that may be inconvenient to you. There was steady traffic on Friday and Saturday, but the best attendance seemed to be on Sunday. The numbers were higher than they had been in previous years. Sales, as usual at an art fair, ranged from dismal to wonderful with lots in between. Artists who had mailing lists profited
Friday night there was a reception for the artists with food and drinks and a gallery set up of artist's best pieces. Mary Strope, Vice President of
www.WholesaleCrafts.com and manager of the
American Craft Retailer Expo in Las Vegas, juried the work for awards. It was great to hang out with friends in this welcoming atmosphere. What is this, you say? A cocktail party for the artists?? Pretty cool.
Patrons were very pleased to see the facility and the improved quality of the show. I talked to several who had planned to come to just see a favorite artist but wound up spending hours there, shopping and enjoying the upscale ambiance. Blair told me Sunday afternoon that he will often get emails from people after attending an event complaining about some aspect (we all know the complainers are the noisiest), but instead he had six to eight of praise. Here are a few we received:
I just got home from the Rock Financial Showplace and the Great Lakes Art Fair. What a wonderful look and feel that new show has! I hope you are able to keep it going and growing, as it has all the earmarks of a stupendously successful show. The quality of the work is phenomenal, the atmosphere is classy and the artists are saying great things about the coordination, management and detail handling of the people putting it on. What a great way to start a new show! I want to exhibit in the show in the fall. Hope I'm good enough to get in!!! -- Mardi Chapman
Dear Connie, I really enjoyed the art fair and came away with some wonderful treasures, as well as meeting some great artists. The margaritas and jazz band were the icing on the cake. Again, thank you for the tickets! -- June Lang
Just wanted to comment that this show was soooooooo much better than the Sugarloaf Art Fair it replaced. THIS was an ART Show while Sugarloaf had decayed in recent years to a craft fair. We look forward to a repeat performance next year! Thanks--Paul and Jade Jozefiak No matter how much advertising you do, or PR placement, nothing works to build an event like word-of-mouth. Patrons were very pleased with the show and plan to tell their friends and return in the fall. Attendance will be even better. Also, artists will have postcards for their summer shows to pass out, generating traffic for the fall event. My thanks to everyone who helped pull this together, especially, the fabulous
Erin Woody, RFSP's event manager, who did all the work with a graciousness and maturity that belies her years, and all my artist friends new and old, especially
Tom Hale and
Bonnie Blandford, who were supportive at every step. P.S. Read more about the fair at:
www.bblandford.com, Bonnie's blog, and join us on October 17-19 at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, MI. Applications will be available online soon. To add your name to the email list visit:
www.greatlakesartfair.com
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