I reviewed the Haddonfield Crafts and Fine Arts show, put on by Marcy & Barbara Boroff of Renaissance Craftables,last year. Rarely have I done a show two years running with such carbon-copy result. The show is held along two streets (Kings Highway and Tanner Ave.) that comprise the bulk of Haddonfield's business district. Haddonfield is a lovely, well-kept, history-rich Jersey-side suburb of Philadelphia.
Early Saturday setup featured a moderately steady rain that we would have been grateful for at the time, had we realized it was going to rain even harder and more steadily once the show opened. You aren't allowed to just come in and set up, though: You first stack your stuff along the sidewalk anytime between 5:30 am and 7 and head for the parking lots. The cops and the barricades keep other traffic off the two main streets of the festival while you unload and stack. Then, once all vehicles are off the streets, you set up your tent in the middle of the street, facing the sidewalks. In a sense, this unusual procedure helped us stay a bit drier in the rain, since some of us could stack stuff under the doorways and eaves of the little shops and restaurants that line the streets, instead of having everything exposed to the elements.
The Boroffs remind you frequently in the pre-show literature that if you arrive after 7 am you are out of luck and will have to dolly from the artist parking lots, but every year I've done this show someone thinks they are exempt. Marcy did a really good job being firm about this with one artist near me who stomped his foot repeatedly while the rest of us, well into our setup, shrugged our collective shoulders.
The rain caused a bit of a delay because it washed the chalk marks from the street, so it took a bit of work for staff to remark them, then abandon that plan entirely when the rains hit again. I am not sure why the Boroffs don't just use tape or (like Cape Coral FA in Florida) get some wire numbered signs made. In any event there was plenty of time, since the show doesn't open until 11 on Saturday morning. (It doesn't wrap up until 7 pm on Saturday.) No generators are allowed and no electricity is available, so good battery-operated fans are a must.
Despite the rain, a fair number of folks browsed the show on Saturday, but sales were light. Things for me picked up somewhat when the rain stopped in mid-afternoon. But the extra sales hours didn't help much; I didn't make a single sale after about 5:15.
Sunday was rain-free but still humid and quite a bit warmer. And the show didn't officially open until noon (perhaps because of the abundance of churches along the show site) but many artists opened up between 10 and 11 and reported lots of traffic and brisk sales. That continued past the opening bell, so to speak, and throughout most of the day. In contrast to Saturday's browse mode, folks on Sunday, as they did last year, came ready to buy. I had an OK, but not super, sales day, which sure beat the Saturday doldrums. Overall it was a profitable show and a paycheck, but not quite up to the $2K-plus mark I'd been hoping for.
I didn't have much time to leave the booth, but several AFI'ers and a few friends from Sunshine Artist came by to chat and report in. No one reported gangbuster results, but only two of about a dozen artists said their sales were poor (both were on Tanner St., where traffic was light compared with Kings Highway).
All in all, this show gets solid community support, and many of the artists and crafters have cultivated regular followings. The "mix" is a bit heavy on jewelry and photography, and definitely skews to crafts over 2-D art, with a surprising number of wood carvers and hand-made furniture. Although I probably wouldn't do Haddonfield as a stand-alone show unless I lived within an hour's drive, it's a nice show to have in the middle of my annual July swing through the Jersey shore resorts.
Comments
Great idea, Connie...I'll tell them tomorrow at Loveladies. And yep, love all the participation!
Sounds like there were a bunch of AFI-ers at this show. Great to have all this feedback.
A top for the Boroffs from my years of marking streets in the rain: head to the hardware store and get some contractors crayons -- these crayons (usually in red and yellow) have a wax base and won't wash away in the rain, but will not permanently damage the asphalt, street friendly.
My booth was on Kings Highway directly on front of Mechanics Street and we were busy both days from start to finish, I am happy to report. I hadn't been an exhibitor there for five years or so, so this may have accounted for some of the sales. I definitely agree that the single item sale was the rule, though on Sunday, there were several exceptions with multi-item purchases.
As far as the potrable toilets, I don't know what we would have done had it not been for the Starbuck's at the corner of Haddon Ave. The waits were long but with the oppressive heat on Sunday, provided some respite.
I counted 63 jewelers...way too many in my opinion, yet I never heard that dreaded phrase, "oh, not another jeweler" like I have heard at so many other shows, so who knows? I was a happy camper all around and would return again. (Feeling badly about the Tanner Street artists, though ;-(
@Robin: Thanks, very insightful. I can really "get" that high humidity and temps would keep women from trying on jewelry. Judging from the comments, it is sounding like there was more buy/sell there than what I noticed. I appreciate all the comments filling out the picture on this show. I will share some of this feedback with the show organizers and see if that turns out to be useful (or not).
I've been to other shows (Naples comes to mind) where there were no port-a-potties because the town honchos didn't want them in the streets and / or the merchants along the streets didn't want them within sight/smell of their customers.
I was there on Kings Highway and Saturday was far better than Sunday for me: Steady sales all day. It seemed like the people who showed up in the rain were there for one reason: to buy. Sunday it was so hot that people were hesitant to try on jewelry. Some suggestions and concerns: I agree with you, Geoff, that more port a potties would have been welcome. I didn't really want to sneak into restaurants to use their restrooms, but didn't have much choice. Second, I noted some obvious buy and sell vendors - and this pulls the whole image of the show down, so that was disappointing. The bottom line, though, was that I had a good show.
@Shoshana: I'd be honored. I've read your SA reviews since I started in the biz. Friend me and I'll send you my cell phone #.
Definitely need to meet you in Portsmouth. My booth us usually on the street under the apartment overhang. Been doing that one for 14 years. See you there. (Handwovens by Shoshana)
@Megan: I'm in Loveladies this weekend, then flying home to Fort Myers for a few weeks to restock and work on my calendar and book. Then back up to Rehoboth DE for the Rehoboth Art League members show second and 3rd weeks of August. Portsmouth, VA for Seawall last week in August; Kipona in Harrisburg PA on Labor Day weekend.
Bethany Beach on the following Saturday, Margate the end of September, then Wheaton Arts first week in October.
Thanks, Ann, for the feedback about the buy/sell. I would love to be able to scope out shows in great depth about buy/sell issues but working by myself, I just don't have the resources.
My average sale price was $91.09--slightly above my 2012 average of $85. All but one customer purchased only one piece (my 2012 average is 1.49 items/customer, so that was a little low.) So I can't draw a conclusion that this was a low-end crowd from personal experience.
As for the porta-potties, come to think of it I didn't see any. Didn't think to mention it since I was on friendly terms with the restaurant right behind my booth. I am doing their show in Loveladies this weekend and will ask them if they were available, then update the review.
Things must have changed since I did the show about five years ago. There a lot of obvious buy/sell but the worst was the booth next to mine that had such crowds all day that no one could even get near my booth. The guy made a fortune. What drew the crowds? Some swirly things that are hung outside and sold at every garden and other types of stores and are still being sold....there was a display of about 30 of them at one garden store in my town when I returned. Also the porta potties didn't seem to be cleaned...I bribed --gave the cleaning person a piece of art -- cleaning the bank across the street to let me use the bathroom.
I make every piece of my work myself so it runs from $100 - $800. I can't remember but I believe I sold two pieces and I noticed one was slightly damaged so I sold for half price.
This is close for me -- about an hour -- but if it was two blocks away I wouldn't do the show. I was appalled and am not a show snob.
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