This was my first year at Talbot, an art fair named after the street where it takes place in Indianapolis. I didn't know what to expect and when I got there was a bit disappointed by the tight configuration of the booths. Most of the show takes place onTalbot Street, a fairly narrow street with booths placed on both sides of the street, straddling the curb to the sidewalk. So, all the booths had a "step" in the middle of their booths, and an added challenge to keep exhibit panels level and consistent.My booth was on 17th Street, of the beaten track, which was one factor that adversely affected my sales totals. The food booths were further down17th Street, so that helped bring some traffic past the artists stuck on this dead end.Set up was on Friday afternoon and I was able to bring my car and trailer close to my booth and leave it there during a leisurely set up. Luckily, the artists on either side of me had already set up and left by the time got there, otherwise, it would have been tight. My booth, and my neighbors, was squeezed between white marks on the street (designating the furthest out my booth could sit) and the grassy yard of one of the residents. I use the term "grassy" rather loosely. It was mostly weeds and crabgrass, which, the residents were apparently quite proud. They would not allow the artists to store any extra stock on this dismal lawn, which gave us a real storage problem. The space allowed for my booth was exactly ten feet deep. The best thing about my booth location was that it was under trees which provided shade on this hot weekend all day, both days. One negative of my location under the trees was that many of the people who frequented the food booths wound up sitting on the curb opposite my booth eating their corn dogs and ice cream. Amazingly, the art fair did not provide any tables or seating in the food court area.Saturday morning dawned sunny and warm, and it got warmer and sunnier as the day wore on. Traffic was good most of the day, but not as good as the main drag on Talbot. Sales were brisk until about 1 pm, when it dried up for the day. Reports from other artists, even those on Talbot, confirmed that the crowd stopped buying in the afternoon. A promising start left me with sales of only $790 for the day. I was bummed out because my Saturday sales are always better than my Sunday sales, so I didn't have much hope for a good show.Sunday was hot again, but sales proved to be a little better than Saturday after all. I wound up with $1880 in sales for both days. I had 20 sales, averaging $94 per sale. Disappointing, but not a disaster. Interestingly, the $94 average was better than the $74.50 average sale I made at Columbus last weekend. My neighbor told me that he did $1000 better last year when his booth was on Talbot. Makes me wonder why art fairs insist on squeezing in extra booths on dead end side streets. It's not fair to the artists who get stuck in these dead zones.Not sure if I will try for this show in the future. If I do, I'll try to get a location on Talbot.Load out went pretty smoothly, in spite of the narrow streets. My trailer was parked in a dedicated trailer and van lot less than a block away (a nice touch). I left it there and dollied my stuff back to the trailer.
Good review John, thanks and at least you had decent sales. The curb in the middle of the booth would have made me think twice about setting up - sounds like you have it all under control though :)
We did it a few times as a filler when we couldn't find anything else to do on that weekend. Our neighbor on Talbot was a henna artist so with not much else to do I got a henna tattoo. I'd say if you live near and want some income it is worth a try. It is very neighborhood-y and fun for the attendees. A fine art event it is not. Like many shows of this type there are some who do very well and lots who are just filling their weekends and hoping for a modest return.
I'm not sure I ever did a show where the playing field was truly "level", Jim. It seems like I use shims and blocks at every show to keep the panels somewhat level. When I looked at the sidewalk halfway back in my booth at Talbot, I thought I'd have a huge leveling problem. As it turned out the street at the front of the booth was about the same level as the sidewalk at the back of the booth. Leveling was less of a problem than I expected. Of course the "level playing field" that you are referring to is the placement of booths in a side street with less traffic than the main street of the show. This is not fair to the artists who are paying just as much money for a poor location as the artists who get a good location.
Another good review, John. I don't do shows where the playing field isn't level, so to speak. One of my bins sits at the back, so putting it on the curb four or five inches higher makes it a real problem for customers. No thanks.
I am an artist who lives here in the Indianapolis area and I would not do this show. I remember walking through it when I moved here and saying to myself 'no way'. The curb thing in the booths worried me (I fell off a short curb once and broke my arm & fell backwards off another in a booth in Chicago and was horribly bruised). The tightness of the street makes for those of us who are a little claustrophobic to hesitate on this one....... the area, while close to downtown is a little 'edgy'. The weather always seems to be hot. Then there was interesting mix of exhibitors. BUT: I have to say that I have heard of great sales at this show. And, I know art fair patrons who love to go to this show every year. If you can handle the above issues and think this could be your market then it would be worth trying.
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Good review John, thanks and at least you had decent sales. The curb in the middle of the booth would have made me think twice about setting up - sounds like you have it all under control though :)
I would hate that little curb in the booth, too. I am so klutzy I am sure I would fall and bring down some art work with me.
Thanks John for the review and glad you made some money.
Every show can't be a Winter Park or a Krasl... two of my favorites. A little less modest returns would be nice, though...
We did it a few times as a filler when we couldn't find anything else to do on that weekend. Our neighbor on Talbot was a henna artist so with not much else to do I got a henna tattoo. I'd say if you live near and want some income it is worth a try. It is very neighborhood-y and fun for the attendees. A fine art event it is not. Like many shows of this type there are some who do very well and lots who are just filling their weekends and hoping for a modest return.
I have done this show a couple of times - always with poor results. I think the curb situation is just a giant lawsuit waiting to happen.
I'm not sure I ever did a show where the playing field was truly "level", Jim. It seems like I use shims and blocks at every show to keep the panels somewhat level. When I looked at the sidewalk halfway back in my booth at Talbot, I thought I'd have a huge leveling problem. As it turned out the street at the front of the booth was about the same level as the sidewalk at the back of the booth. Leveling was less of a problem than I expected. Of course the "level playing field" that you are referring to is the placement of booths in a side street with less traffic than the main street of the show. This is not fair to the artists who are paying just as much money for a poor location as the artists who get a good location.
Another good review, John. I don't do shows where the playing field isn't level, so to speak. One of my bins sits at the back, so putting it on the curb four or five inches higher makes it a real problem for customers. No thanks.
Glad you were able to pull out some decent moola.
Interesting review....
I am an artist who lives here in the Indianapolis area and I would not do this show. I remember walking through it when I moved here and saying to myself 'no way'. The curb thing in the booths worried me (I fell off a short curb once and broke my arm & fell backwards off another in a booth in Chicago and was horribly bruised). The tightness of the street makes for those of us who are a little claustrophobic to hesitate on this one....... the area, while close to downtown is a little 'edgy'. The weather always seems to be hot. Then there was interesting mix of exhibitors. BUT: I have to say that I have heard of great sales at this show. And, I know art fair patrons who love to go to this show every year. If you can handle the above issues and think this could be your market then it would be worth trying.