This season-by which I mean Spring until the end of November, possibly into December-will be the first time I do anything aside from Hallowe'en. I'm a potter and a sculptor living and working in California, and I'm branching out into more "mainstream" ceramics to expand my business as I'm still working at mastering my craft. I have functional pottery available, such as cups, pitchers, plates and the like, plus I'll be making some "fine art," higher-end sculptures for the shows where I'm most likely to have that kind of buyer. I'm taking my first steps in discovering where to show my work, and man, do I need help!
I've found a few places to show and have started a list, but I have no idea which fairs will be the best fit for me. There's one in San Francisco that I hope to get into next year-the deadline to sign up for this year was last June, and I obviously missed the deadline!-I figure 100,000 people walking through will be good for sales. It's difficult to come up with the money to rent out booth space for these places, which I'm sure everyone here knows already, and covering all business expenses, travel, materials, booth fees, etc., will be challenging. I can already see I need to upgrade my kiln within the next year or two if I'm going to be more efficient with my fuel costs vs. product made, and I am literally having dreams of how to best set up my booth space and what "furniture" I must have vs. what I can put off until later. Of course, around the corner is the necessity of buying a new SUV or van, and/or a trailer for my stuff. Any ideas?
It's all dizzying!
So here's the question I have for everyone out there: where in the Northern California/Lake Tahoe/Nevada areas are there good prospects for shows and (dare I ask?) actual profit?
If there are any ceramics folks out there, how do you pack your product so you can pack and unpack quickly? Not all of my product is of a standard size, so I find myself individually wrapping everything in paper and putting them in big plastic bins. This take for-flipping-ever to pack and unpack, and I know there must be a better way.
Oh, and any thoughts on how to take credit cards? I have a Droid Bionic, and would love to get a reader or something for it. Any recommendations? And any thoughts as to what to look out for when I'm starting an account?
Well, thanks for any info you can give me! Good luck to all of you this coming Season, too!
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Good luck, Shelley. There is a lot to learn about this business, isn't there? I hope you find everything you need. We need to advertise those western groups here so that others know they exist. We certainly don't want to be an east coast group.
Thanks. That may be where we will need to go. We have three large dogs to take places, too, so that's a part of the planning process.
Hi Shelley - I'm not from CA, but can offer advice on a vehicle. I make jewelry, so my product is smaller and display may not be in line with what you need for your stuff. I purchased a Dodge Grand Caravan a few years ago and love it! It has stow and go seating, so all seats fold flat into the floor and you don't have to worry about taking seats out and storing them somewhere. Good luck!
I decided to go with Intuit, since I can use it with QuickBooks. Fingers crossed!
Now to figure out the SUV and/or trailer thing.
Thanks for the credit card info. I'm doing some research now! So far, it looks like the Square is a good bet, but I'll research a little more before I commit.
I'll look into the California groups, for sure. It has been frustrating to see only mid-west and east coast posts on the newsletters!
I use the Intuit card reader and have been very satisfied with their service. Free reader, fees are inline with the other processing companies.
Shelley - just realized you asked about credit cards, search the discussions on this site for Square, Roam Data, Intuit Go Payments, you'll find input / details on all 3 of those options.
Jenni - love to hear about some of the So Cal shows, the West Coast and Southwest Artist group just got started recently but it's nice to have a group focused on our side of the country. Steve Appel and Joe Clifton are both members of the group and seem to know something about many, many of the shows in this region.
Shelly, I too am new to the art fest scene with only one "big" show under my belt. I am in SoCal and just did the Southwest Arts Festival in Indio, Ca. It was a nice show although I didn't sell a lot (I make hand woven, one of a kind baskets). I definitely think I will do that show again next year.
You asked the question about taking credit cards...I use the Square. You can get info at www.squareup.com. It plugs into your smart phone. There is no monthly fee and a small (2.75%) transaction fee for each card swipe. The card reader is free.
Ruth, thanks for talking about the other geographical groups. I had no idea and was getting frustrated with AFI when I was only seeing things from the east coast.
Good luck, Jenni Summers www.wovensummers.com
Thanks, Ruth! Much appreciated.
I hate being a newbie! :o)
Shelley - welcome to AFI. Last fall I was asking questions regarding shows in Northern CA (we're based out of Seattle), a few of the responses I received can be found on this blog.
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/musings-from-an-artis...
Also, there is a group on this site for West Coast and Southwest Artists, you might ask your question there as well to obtain responses from artists in this region. We will be travelling outside of the Pacific Northwest for the first time this year after participating in shows in our region for the past several years.
I think there's also a pottery group who might be able to help you with the packing question.