Posted by Nels Johnson on October 19, 2015 at 7:44pm
Ah, South Carolina lowcountry. Where the land is very close to the sea, surrounded by marshes,creeks and rivers.When you depart I-95 and head east you smell the mix of the salt air,the decomposing marsh grasses,and the smoke-filled odors of lowcountry cooking.It's shrimp and grits. It's crunchy crab cakes dusted in corn meal. Nobody goes away hungry round here.This is the lower part of Carolina only ten miles from Hilton Head, less than an hour to Savannah.Golf course communities abound here. Lots of them and they all are on breath-taking points of land.The demographics are strong here. This is where those who don't choose Florida want to live. Lots of northeast people retire here along with sprinkig from the Midwest. It is also the playground for wealthy southerners, many have their second homes here.Lots of high end auto dealerships abound here.I have done this show four years now. The amount of new buildings inBluffton astounds me. In one year's time, I saw at least a dozen new buildings going up downtown.Most of the buildings hug the tree lines, this is a post-civil war town.So you can see why this is a great venue for a festival.Right now,I know many of you are clenching your teeth very tightly. "It's a fricking seafood festival with art, Nels. No way."All I can say is that there are food events and then there are classy events which combine food and art. Many fail, but some succeed. Bluffton is one of those.Here are my caveats about his show. They are not to be confused with crevates, which if improperly tied could choke you.They buy very traditional work. They love the chliched scene such as azealeas blooming under moss-filled oaks.They love local coastal work. They love art on the stick. They love cute, cheap aluminum sculptures. They loveblackandwhite swamp images. They love images of water creatures drinking alcohol. Lowend prices do best here. They will try to get you down on the price.Warning shots.Arty out of the box work does not fly here. They do not decorate with it. At least, there are very few who do. Earth tones prevailed over real high color.Maybe it was the year, but I did not see many large 2-D pieces go down the aisle.As you know, I am a photographer and have done the biz for 41 years. I do 36 shows a year, year in and year out--still find plenty of time for golf and gardening.I get in some of the biggies, like Fort Worth, and also do my share of smaller shows.I bring a unique perspective to the biz because Isee the whole spectrum and can survive in it, profitably. Unlike many others.This is a very well run show, sharp director, Dave Dixon, with a sharp crew. They do things right.They get strong crowds for a small show with only about 100 exhibitors--no jewelers, that is the rules.I see two troubling trends coming.Four years ago, the booth fee was $125, next year it will be $250.Now they are blocking off the top of the show to let a local Chevy dealer show new models We know where that is going, the same way as Bayou and others.They rent us temporary land to bring in the crowds so they can sell them mucho food, liquor and consumer products. Whatever the artists make is not a big consideration.My sales are never big here, but I make a small profit and love the Amyability of the region.So, I hope I am wrong about the future trend. but, as you know, I tell it like it is.So, if you think you got the right stuff, try this show.Aloha, Nels.
Bluffton was on my radar for this year but I held back. I think it was the travel distance, and me not ready to take the plunge of a four-day event, with a hubby who helps me not taking vacation and no RV...I think I would enjoy visiting Bluffton one year, but not next year. I have a GREAT promoter friend in the Atlanta area who has four fantastic shows, and I even balk at those...gotta get that RV! Thank you for your great reviews, Nels.
I love Bluffton. I love Dave and group - they really are a great group to work with. I loved the people who came to the show. LOVE the food. I've participated there I think the last 3 years. I did Ok there. I did not go this year. I've cut back and cut out outdoor shows. Tired of fighting the weather and setting up tents and taking down tents and getting home and setting up and taking down again to dry out. I guess I'm getting old and lazy. As soon as I settled in my mind that I was cutting back, all of a sudden out of the woodwork I am getting more calls for private portrait sessions, publications, and commercial/advertising jobs. (I am a photographer by the way.) I'm sorry to hear about the changes coming down the pike for the Bluffton show. I guess I will just have to go there on mini vacation. It's only about 3 hours from home. Maybe I will go next year during the festival and spend some money on the wonderful hard working talented artists. My hat is off to all of you. It is not an easy life - but a good one.
My friends who did the show were disappointed this year. I was manning my small gallery space in Savannah, and I can say the travel traffic is way down this Oct to the area. My summer sales were through the roof though, up til this month. October's been dampened by threats of a hurricane, then rain and flooding (I-95 was closed for almost 2 weeks just north of here), and cold weather. I don't do many art fairs anymore, and while I miss them, I really am glad I have a "permanent shelter" reading most of these reports anymore. I love to read them, I wish I could post more about them, but don't get to get out to many. Cheers
WTH? I hate typing these things on an iPhone with auto-botch turned on :-( that attendance estimate was supposed to be about 8,000 and not something like the entire population of Chicago.
It was a tough show with some seriously good work in it, and some seriously good work that didn't move. There were some down at your end that did well and a few down at my end that were wrapping up work at a good steady pace. There were also some artists who were disappointed and won't apply next year. An oil painter a few booths down from me sold one $100 piece and a few note cards. She has done the show for several years and won't be back. A watercolorist across from me with traditional marine scenes did poorly. My work for s for the most part brightly colored urban landscapes and architectural images. I did poorly and the work that did sell was of Southern scenes, Charleston and one from Mississippi of a 1920's gas station in disrepair. One abstract looking piece sold that was purchased by a guy that said he probably had the only contemporary styled house in Bluffton. Another piece that sold is an anomaly for me, one that has poetry and a photo image side by side, is something I thought might go in that area as it deals with spiritual journeys. Bluffton is a strongly conservative and religious community so that might be a good indicator of what will sell there. Three of the dozen pieces I framed on Thursday night before the show were what moved plus the single canvas print that sold. Surprisingly nothing in the flip bin moved.
I didn't do well but I did better than some. I took a loss on the show. We planned to treat this one as a short vacation followed by the show. We arrived on Tuesday, got in some sight seeing in town, sampled some of the great restaurants in town, ran out to Hilton Head for a walk on the beach, and went to Tybee Island one morning. We spent the night in town after the show, left late Monday morning and will get home tomorrow. That takes some of the sting out of the low grossing show, but it still stings nonetheless.
You're spot on about having the right work to appeal to the local sensibilities. I had to stifle a chuckle when one woman came into the booth and commented "Thank heavens you've got something different. If I see another damn palm tree or sea gull, I think I'll puke!" She still didn't buy anything. Nope, what's going to sell there is local flavor or something close to it. I have several hundred images of Charleston and surrounding Low Country that need to be gone over if I make it back into the show next year.
It was a well organized show with high production values, and it showed. The food booths were local restaurants, no food trucks, and in a way the restaurants were there hyping their services by selling small serving size entrees at reasonable costs. I went "low end" one day with the crab n' Mac' n cheese. It's not something we find back in Indiana ;-)
The attendance was way done from what others told me it had been in the past. I was told attendance was around 25-30K in the last few years but I would estimate it to be around 8K million his year. Whether the unusually cool weather this year or the increasing commercialization of the show remains to be seen. As far as photographers go, we were fairly high represented with 14 of us out of 100, which seems a bit high but I didn't see any that were similar looking.
Comments
Bluffton was on my radar for this year but I held back. I think it was the travel distance, and me not ready to take the plunge of a four-day event, with a hubby who helps me not taking vacation and no RV...I think I would enjoy visiting Bluffton one year, but not next year. I have a GREAT promoter friend in the Atlanta area who has four fantastic shows, and I even balk at those...gotta get that RV! Thank you for your great reviews, Nels.
I love Bluffton. I love Dave and group - they really are a great group to work with. I loved the people who came to the show. LOVE the food. I've participated there I think the last 3 years. I did Ok there. I did not go this year. I've cut back and cut out outdoor shows. Tired of fighting the weather and setting up tents and taking down tents and getting home and setting up and taking down again to dry out. I guess I'm getting old and lazy. As soon as I settled in my mind that I was cutting back, all of a sudden out of the woodwork I am getting more calls for private portrait sessions, publications, and commercial/advertising jobs. (I am a photographer by the way.) I'm sorry to hear about the changes coming down the pike for the Bluffton show. I guess I will just have to go there on mini vacation. It's only about 3 hours from home. Maybe I will go next year during the festival and spend some money on the wonderful hard working talented artists. My hat is off to all of you. It is not an easy life - but a good one.
well done nels..Amyable
My friends who did the show were disappointed this year. I was manning my small gallery space in Savannah, and I can say the travel traffic is way down this Oct to the area. My summer sales were through the roof though, up til this month. October's been dampened by threats of a hurricane, then rain and flooding (I-95 was closed for almost 2 weeks just north of here), and cold weather. I don't do many art fairs anymore, and while I miss them, I really am glad I have a "permanent shelter" reading most of these reports anymore. I love to read them, I wish I could post more about them, but don't get to get out to many. Cheers
I didn't do well but I did better than some. I took a loss on the show. We planned to treat this one as a short vacation followed by the show. We arrived on Tuesday, got in some sight seeing in town, sampled some of the great restaurants in town, ran out to Hilton Head for a walk on the beach, and went to Tybee Island one morning. We spent the night in town after the show, left late Monday morning and will get home tomorrow. That takes some of the sting out of the low grossing show, but it still stings nonetheless.
You're spot on about having the right work to appeal to the local sensibilities. I had to stifle a chuckle when one woman came into the booth and commented "Thank heavens you've got something different. If I see another damn palm tree or sea gull, I think I'll puke!" She still didn't buy anything. Nope, what's going to sell there is local flavor or something close to it. I have several hundred images of Charleston and surrounding Low Country that need to be gone over if I make it back into the show next year.
It was a well organized show with high production values, and it showed. The food booths were local restaurants, no food trucks, and in a way the restaurants were there hyping their services by selling small serving size entrees at reasonable costs. I went "low end" one day with the crab n' Mac' n cheese. It's not something we find back in Indiana ;-)
The attendance was way done from what others told me it had been in the past. I was told attendance was around 25-30K in the last few years but I would estimate it to be around 8K million his year. Whether the unusually cool weather this year or the increasing commercialization of the show remains to be seen. As far as photographers go, we were fairly high represented with 14 of us out of 100, which seems a bit high but I didn't see any that were similar looking.