This is no hoax, exaggeration, fit of hysterics, or roll of doldrums.
"Dan and I are thinking of quitting the Art Fair Biz."
No, some might exclaim!
But is this the same woman who was so creatively and emotionaly transcendent after Amdur's Promenade of Arts?
"Yup", I answer.
(I can ask and answer my own questions. Pretty advanced for my age, hey?)
Well, what happened this past month, you wonder?
"It all hit."
What? Tornadoes, tsunamis, bankruptcy, the plague, creative block, depression, menopause.......well, tell us?
"Every single thing that this blog has warned me about.............and MORE."
Come on. You're just feeling sorry for yourserlf. What actually happened?
"I foresaw the death of Art."
Linda, you are so melodramatic....who can take you seriously anymore.
"Seriously. I started a blog once before about Art Fairs being Dinosaurs and no one listened. Now I have more proof. And I don't want proof.....I WANT Art Fairs to be the Big Daddies that they used to be. "
Is this the start of a whine?
"Nope. Just what I saw and heard. Honest!"
Okay. Dish.
"Here are some sad but true things that happened this month:
1) I paid out $1,200 in fees, travel and food and made (drum roll) $979. We were rained out of two of the four days of Shows. At one Fair the directors ran around hysterically shouting "There are 75 mph winds headed this way folks. You're on your own. I advise everyone to leave." We scrabbled to load the custom uphostered jewelry cases, the jewelry, curtains, rug, etc. home. (Oh, BTW, the carts that they said would be available to help us load/unload MAGICALLY disappeared right before the storm. A fellow artist who drove down with two tents and a lot of creativity lost everything. And ONE hour later the sun came out!!!
2) Both Art Fairs were jury entry only and had had excellent reputations. Last year we met wonderful artists who became our friends and we sold well there. This year both fairs were BUY/ SELL. Two booths down from me a man opened boxes from India with whatever DOG you wanted to wear on your T-shirt and rawhide bones to match.
Across fom him, was an Hispanic couple selling a store of cheap earrings, bracelets and clothes along with purses, purses, purses. The couple to our right were busy all day selling combs that we watched him take out of shipping boxes when she ran low after fixing girls hair in tricky ways all day.
The couple on the left were already selling Haloween decorations which he admitted they buy at a local store and go all over the state to sell...every day of the week.
As I walked up and down the path of both these country Art Fairs I knew I would never be back.
Art was gone from Watertown's Riverfest and Lake Geneva's Venetian Festival. I do not see it returning in this economy. RIP
3) I was talking to a wealthy friend of mine about getting out of this business. He said he remembers that five years ago everyone went to buy some art at The Lakefront Festival of the Arts in Milwaukee. Now he can't remember the last time he heard any of his friends talking about their latest aquistion. "Funny." he said.
4) I'm exhausted trying to sell to people who want value for the least they can pay. I am not a flea market. I am not the local ATM machine.
There were so many empty booth spaces at both events.
I don't think I'm alone in contemplating quitting. I think many artists already have quit.
RIP
Comments
Lexi, I'll let you know how it goes!
Thank you so much!
Good Luck, Linda. I'm glad I was able to help a little bit.
I never came back to this post after saying "Ciao" and did not see Munks comments.Whew, what a player
Lexi, Jackie, Sheree, Donna, et al, I have reread your comments again and again. Lexi, The fact that you make the jewelry that pleases YOU to sell inspires me. Donna and Jackie thank you for taking so much timne and effort to respond with experienced words of help.
I am grateful to everyone.
I had my photos professionally taken and next week I was juried in to "The Inside Show." Only 40 artists were accepted....10 jewelers....and they all have great reputations. I am so scared I wear 2 pair of socks! LOL I am hunmbly grateful for the push this blog gave me to try harder. YOU ALL got me there.
THANKS!
Susan, I've thought about your word:"engage" all day and your word "benefit."
Art is like air to me. How can I tell anyone else about the benefit of breath?
Whether you are speaking about art fair sales decline or the art education of the young, there is a through line and that is one must ENGAGE the intended individual that is to benefit from the art. Somehow the art fair promoters and artists must find a way to engage the audience in the buying of art.
Dear lorie et al,
I thanked everyone for their positive and inspiring messages. What makes you think I excluded anyone's advice?
I apologize to all who thought I ignored CERTAIN blog posts over others. But can't we just differ in opinion as to where we get our inspiration to create from? It seems some artists look to nature, some the Masters, some use color, others texture.
For myself, I looked once at what AFIers recommended. The urge to incorporate some small essence of that artist was there for me. So, you see, that is why I CAN NOT look,,,,my imagination absorbs and then is, I feel, corrupted. I speak here sincerely to you Geri and Carla. These are my ethics. No better than others, just mine. And they may be limiting me. But, I have my Muse. And people DO LOVE my work.
If you look back, this blog had a positive tone until the fabricated Carrie Stengle posted his words.
My website isn't current for two reasons: 1) I've been told(AFI) NOT to post my best work on the site because people roam and copy. 2) I have a problem keeping it current: stuff sells as fast as I get it on the site. I just found a web master, I hope!
It's amazing how an injection of negativity ruins a blog.
Saying I don't cut it is just non-productive. If you wanted to help someone: 1) Do it privately. 2) Be logical and constructive. (ie Your silver work needs more fine polishing before it's finished.) 3) Why hide behind a false name if what you have to say is true?
Again, I truly thank each and every person who gave up their time and words to help me. I am a serious person and I have printed your words to ponder. Annette and Larry were right. Thanks to all my good friends and future good friends.
Linda, I am sorry that you have closed your eyes to some of the suggestions. I went to the artists that were suggested and loved their work. No.. they didn't influence me in terms of my designs... but inspired me that there are so many talented jewelers out there. And that is the point. Jewelry is the most competitive medium, not only at shows but in wholesale and other selling channels. You have to stand out in a crowd and have something different, something that is your own, and something that people want to buy and wear. Also, when looking for new shows I look at the website and try to find previous exhibitors. Some I look at the jewelry and think... nope they are in a league way above me and don't even try to apply (however, sometimes I have taken a risk and have gotten in to my surprise.)
Some have noted that trends aren't important. For me tracking trends is a huge part of my business and success. I need to know what fashions and colors are hitting the runway. I know that the trends will hit the east coast before midwest and adjust for it with my stores. I'm not "copying", I'm a business person. I need to know that the trends are long necklaces this season, the key color palettes, etc. And then I use that information to further develop my line and make it my own. Some artists have pieces that are so unique that the trends don't really matter, however, my line is dependent on it. I have tons of books on vintage jewelry (since it influenced my initial line), I have subscriptions to fashion magazines, etc. Research is an integral part of my "job". I always say "I am on trend but not trendy". I want my pieces to reflect the fashion trends but also something the person will wear for years.
When I started making jewelry (I was still in corporate at the time) I was fortunate that I had a friend who had a gallery where I first learned to blow glass and then make beads. I would bring in pieces to her. Not to get into the gallery, but to get her opinion. One day she said "now you have a line!". When I had a cohesive body of work, she added me to the gallery. I also was fortunate that my former mother-in-law is an artist and used to be a juror. She keeps me grounded when I get discouraged and not getting into as many shows as I would like. She would say "remember you are in the most competitive medium and keep pushing on". But, I reached out to these people (and others) to learn, get input, listen, and apply to my work.
I am also fortunate that I work in a store that carries my line. I had sold to them when they had 3 other stores (and carried my line) and when they opened one in town I brought in their order and walked out with a job. I asked for a job because I felt it would help me with my work. I sell to stores so what better way to learn what they go through than working at one! I say "I get paid for research". I see what fashions are coming in, colors, etc. I listen when people are buying jewelry (mine and other lines) and it helped me tremendously with my selling skills (I found I really like sales!). I go with her to the wholesale shows to see what is coming in, listen to the reps as they "sell" look at the displays that work and don't work, marketing materials they use, etc. Through my experience at the store my line has grown by leaps and bounds.
After HS I started down my path in the arts and got "cold feet" because I didn't think I was good enough (now I now there were many more paths for me in the arts which I wish I would have known then). I have worked in various mediums (never really liked jewelry at the time!) and I think that experience has had a great impact on me and my work. I ended up in marketing in the gift industry which I didn't know was also giving me a good base for my own biz. It wasn't until I started working with glass that jewelry "found me" and I started my biz. I was selling quite well and people told me to do it full time to
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