Our first show of the year was February 10-12 at Springtime in the South at the convention center in Savannah, GA hosted by Carolina Shows Inc. The crowds were there - as usual for a show put on by the Hunt family. Thankfully it was rather cold outside so folks might as well come to a fun indoor event. It seemed to be feast or famine from what I observed. The booths across from and next to me did not seem to fare so well. The metal bird hangers were seen passing my booth on a regular basis. There were lots of folks carrying purchased items. I was really happy with sales (photography). My matted prints (16x20 and 11x14 size) made up the majority of my sales but it did not hurt that a couple of my larger ticket items also found happy homes. I had several repeat customers from my participation in Christmas Made in the South. Friday sales were good. Saturday great. Sunday some of my be-backs came back. I went home well in the black with a smile on my face. And lots of inventory to print in preparation for my next show this coming weekend at Craftsmen's Classics (Gilmore Enterprises Inc) in Columbia, SC. Which reminds me...I better get back to work!
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Thanks Geoff. Comforting to hear I'm heading in the right direction and appreciate detailing the benefits. Free time ... I actually took a long weekend and went to the low country for new material and spent some time browsing artfairinsiders and finally got my review of Springtime done. I think I will go see if there is more material I can prune so I can have even more time to play. Yeah!
Maryllis: Your comments on "pruning the inventory" of non-sellers and 8x10 mat sizes is dead on. I did exactly the same thing this year, and in addition quit making 20x24 and smaller canvases. Now all my canvases are 27x18 and up. Sales per show are up about 40% year over year, and there are other benefits:
1) The net "buying environment", to coin a phrase, is: "I'm here to sell canvases." People spend much more time looking at them than they did previously.
2) More turnover in the booth, since people spend much less time browsing. That means more people visit, because a full booth can actually impel folks to walk by. (A FEW people in your booth actually lures people, but there's a point of diminishing returns. People don't like to be crowded.)
3) Less inventory to replace means more free time to spend doing other things essential to the biz...or to take time off!
Was almost 80 last weekend. Planted my spring garden of broccoli, cauliflower, buttercrunch and romaine lettuce, spinach and herbs. Daffodils are already past bloom. Apricot tree was so covered in blooms it was pure white. Gotta love the south. Don't miss shores of Lake Erie south of Buffalo one bit!
I think economy is part of it. I also think we are getting better at selecting which shows work well for us. And we have significantly increased the professional image of our set up. And maybe my photography skills are continuing to improve. We removed the plethora of "so-so" images and only show the very best. Less options for customers to browse through but unless it is value added it is detracting and therefore deleted from the inventory. We also are eliminating the smaller matted pieces and smaller canvases. I think the buyers if given the choice between the same item at a smaller size/price will take the smaller piece. There is not a huge difference between the price of the 8x10 and 11x14 matted so I don't think we are losing any buyers by removing the smaller/lower priced item. Live and learn and continue to evaluate what works or not. Stay warm my friend!
Yes, always nice to hear about artists making good sales. It gives me hope this economy is turning around although very slowly. And to be down south, I am jealous! I want to feel some heat.
Thanks for your review.
It is good to hear from people in the black! It seems that lately most reports have been negative... But I am one of those who believes that most tend to report on the negative and tend to forget the positive. This fall will me my first appearance at the Made in the South Shows and I am really looking forward to it. I will be in Virginia Beach (Events Management Group) for their Spring Craft Market the 16th, 17th, and 18th then on to the Craftsmen's Classics in Chantilly and Greensboro... I hoe to add Columbia for next spring.