Set up was, as I have been told, always a bit of a challenge. Half our info said the check-in time was 7:00, half said 6:00. So we got there at 6:00am, and we were lucky we did--the line to get onto the site was already incredibly long, and we would have ended up being quite late on our setup if we hadn't arrived an hour early. We discovered our booth was to be on a sidewalk over a sewage outlet from the building behind us... Which was a bit depressing, but what are you going to do? We unloaded, parked in designated parking nearby, and returned to set up.
3 hours, and 4 people later, we were completely assembled. It was a challenge setting up the booth with people who had never set it up before... It took me a bit of time to figure out how to communicate everything to my partner and my co-exhibitor... My zip ties didn't work as well as they had in my controlled, driveway environment, but they got the job done. Lesson learned: Never ever ever do anything for the first time at an actual show!! I had neighbors that were setting up their tents for the first time, and it was horrible to not be able to help. I had my hands full, and my partner was helping where he could, but I was surprised at how unprepared some of the exhibitors were. Here I was completely new to this, but I learned there were people even greener than I was. And it hurt a bit inside to hear their despair... sigh...
Because I was doing a demo most of the day in front of my booth on a card table. My partner Jonathan (Thank Goodness for understanding, empathetic, and supportive loved ones) and my fellow booth partner, Christy Jones, were the salespeople--they seemed to have a way with interacting with the customers that I just couldn't manage that day. I concentrated on painting a blank vest I'd made earlier, and it worked out quite well. I had TONS of people watching. I was out front in a prominent spot, and drew a LOT of people into my booth. And it was fun!!! I got to stay busy with my hands and do something I love doing!! Lesson learned: Always do a demonstration when you can.
And speaking of sales... I knew I wouldn't be selling a lot. First off, most of my garments are winter coats--not good for a southern California summer festival. Second, they're very expensive--again, not good for a southern California street fair in a town known for surfing and laid back partying. Third, I gave my boothmate the prime spot on the outside of the front table. Her stuff REALLY attracted attention (you can see it here on her Etsy shop) and was priced right for the crowd. I think she puts a lot more effort into them than she's charging for, but I don't think they would have sold if they weren't priced as low as they were. She priced them right.
I sold some mobiles and some neck laces--which was what I expected--but not nearly as many as I had hoped. Still, this was my first time and I think I would have been overwhelmed had I been too busy... It was an overwhelming experience as it was... Lesson learned: It's okay to have high expectations, but temper them with realistic goals. It isn't always about monetary "return on investment". It's about having conversations, talking about commissions, and sharing your work. I scored big time on all those counts.
At the end of the day, we packed up our stuff (completely and utterly exhausted and wiped out) and have yet to unload our car. We are going to visit an entirely different venue today--the La Jolla Festival of the Arts, which is considered an Art Festival and not a Street Fair. I am excited to experience the difference.
Many many comments floated my way: we had the best booth at the fair (over and over again!!), we needed to be at a more upscale venue, people couldn't believe it was our first time ever, and we needed to price our display items for sale as well. They were really curious about buying them for their own home display needs.
People didn't say my stuff was too expensive. They understood why it was priced the way it was. But the majority of attendees couldn't afford it at that particular venue. So I'll be exploring more summer attire and lower price points, making more mobiles and a wider variety of neck laces in different sizes if I can find the right laces. And now I'm confident about applying to various juried art shows. It was a good learning experience.
I will be buying a small pull trailer or renting a van for the next time. Enough said about that.
Additional Comments: This part is specifically for readers of the Artfair Insiders site (I double posted this entry from my own blog). Having come back this afternoon from visiting the La Jolla Art Festival, I can see the difference between an Art Festival and a Street Fair. I think I can safely say I had never actually attended a real Art Festival, only events that aspired to emulate them. Wow. The festival had an acoustic guitar concert around a beautiful bar setting with sidewalk chalk painters all around it--an actual bar, not a beer garden with very loud Johnny Cash cover bands. The food was all set up around a concert stage at one end of the festival--away from the artists and non-distracting, resulting in a much less frenetic atmosphere and no screaming to talk (wow--shocking!!). There were ONLY artists there of national and international reknown, and not just small-scale stuff! The pieces were big--I can only guess at how much it cost to transport it all to the site. The art was mature, refined, and obviously done by artists first who had vending skills second, not the other way around... It was inspiring and intimidating, breathtaking and overwhelming. Definitely the kind of venue I aspire to be in, but obviously one defined by true gallery artists not by part-time hobbyists. Makes me want to up my game.
Also, I think I am beginning to understand a lot of the comments on my previous blog posting about my booth style being a bit "over the top" for venues such as a true Art Festival... However, it was painfully obvious that the majority of the artists were constrained by their medium to displays that curtailed their options. The nature of their fine art leaves little room for any personality to their tents. The sparity required to draw attention to their work was logical and necessary. It was the tents that weren't selling sculpture or paintings, photography or wall-art that had more options in their display methodology (that actually required something more than the spartan nature of blank walls and tasteful pedestals) and had a more festive atmosphere with flowing draperies and colorful interiors.
The limited number of wearable art artists was discouraging (1 clothing, 2 milliners, and 2 handbags), but there were more than a dozen jewelry makers. Nothing against jewelry, but in my opinion the term wearable art has a broader context... But I guess that's a debate for another time! Haha!
All in all, a VERY good learning experience on both days!
All in all, a VERY good learning experience on both days!
Comments
Geez, Corey, I should've known you wouldn't use just any ordinary display pieces...layering, decoupaging and inks, oh my! :) I can definitely see why folks would want to buy them and the thought of turning them into another product line is really intriguing. You're obviously one of those creative types who is blessed/cursed with tons of ideas and the skills to implement them. The only thing missing is time -- unless you get an idea on how to squeeze out 36 hours in a day. Good luck with that!
P.S. I like the variety in your line, i.e. garments plus neckwear. Something for everybody, and it demonstrates your range.
Corey, I'm 70 and can sympathise completely with your first experience with your set-up. Last year, after surviving a day at a show that produced 8 inches of rain on my poor EZ-Up tent and losing a number of matted photographs (frames survived), I went out and bought a waterproof canopy with awnings and hanging walls. I, like you set it up once in my yard before venturing out to my next show. Needless to say, it took an amazing amo;unt of time to get the thing set up correctly. The learning curve was like I was in the Hymalayas. The next show went a little better and after about 6 shows I have learned to mark all of the various pipes and corner posts as to exactly where they should be positioned. Thank goodness for the kindness of a number of artists with similar tents who gave me tips along the way. Insofar as the muscle aches, I'm sorry to say that they don't get any better. I'm really glad that I have a week between most shows to recover. Good luck with your endeavors and stick to "Art Shows" and avoid Street Fairs.
It's a learning process. I get new ideas and modify my booth set up on a regular basis. Your art evolves, so why not it's environment?
Regarding the display items, Karen--I was heavily manipulating all the hanging torsos and head forms with distressed decoupaging using layers of tissue and patterning paper and alcohol ink... That was what everyone was responding to--they were all laquered and stylish and quite unlike their original plain white styrofoam state. Because they were so unique, they were interested in buying them for their own homes to display hats and necklaces and such. I've actually sold a couple on my Etsy site, and they're kinda labor intensive to complete, but it was flattering regardless. But yes--I agree it would absolutely be "buy/sell" if I hadn't actually modified them so completely. I am actually considering going further with the idea and manipulating the features even more with paper clay, then decoupaging them and further decorating them with polymer tiles and wire structures and found objects and ruffs and hat forms and bases... But that a sculptural exploration that I'm going to explore in my "copious spare time"... Haha!!! They'd definately be sculpture pieces, and yet Another category that I just can't even begin to fully delve into and do "right" right now... LOL!
I've got a lot of different directions I can go right now, and I've got a LOT of pondering to do and decisions to make. But I'm glad I'm not going backwards. It's all good. : )
Well done, Corey! Both the show and the reviews! I think you have a bright future in this biz!
Your set up looks great! But you need to make yourself a cool hat to match before you end up with a bad sunburn if you are going to demo outside the tent. Good luck with future art shows!
Hi Corey -- I'm happy to hear that opening night finally arrived and you exhibited in your first show. As always, you were well-prepared and kept an open mind about lessons learned and future possibilities. Some miscellaneous comments...
Do NOT sell your display materials. First, this would be the very definition of "buy/sell" unless you're actually making the display items yourself. Second, you want the focus to be on your garments, not the props. Instead, if you want to be helpful, quickly hand over a prepared sheet that lists online and/or brick-and-mortar retailers where customers can purchase their own display pieces, then immediately get back to talking about your work.
One of the reasons I cut down on my props was because too many people became intrigued with them to the point of ignoring the actual work. I was tired of discussing the prop/display when I should have been discussing the work and how great it would look in their homes. I, too, used to get lots of complements on my booth design, from both customers and other artists. That felt good but after awhile I realized we were having the wrong discussion.
Yes, as you say, it's standard for 2D artists to have spare booths with just work hanging on the walls, but they could also go the thematic route if they wanted to. Nature photographers could have a real tree in the corner with fake birds hanging from the tent crossbars. Painters of beach scenes could use sand to cover their booth's floor and have margaritas with little umbrellas sitting next to the beach chair. Etc., etc. for every artist at the show. So the comments you read in the Stumble-Through thread were, IMO, still valid no matter what kind of artist was offering them.
Your booth was over a sewage outlet? Really? Good grief. Bless you for being so accommodating, however you would have been well within your rights to ask the organizer to move you to another location if you wanted to. Sometimes a maintenance person just blindly goes through the site measuring off 10' increments and doesn't pay attention to trees in the middle of the space, overlapping spaces from the previous row, (god forbid) sewers, and other natural/man-made obstacles. Chances are good the organizer wouldn't have wanted you to have to put up with that and would be happy to move you. But if you loved the space and could make it work for you in spite of the sewer, have at it.
I'm glad you visited a true art festival to experience the difference in look, sound and ambiance. This is the place for you and your work.
Congratulations on getting your feet wet! :)
Nice post, Corey. Great learning, and experiences. Thanks for putting them out there for everybody to read and learn from.
Great post and I am sure that many art fair neophytes will find helpful. I think your attention to detail will take you far and you will find where your best markets are here in California. Sending you a private email Corey. Congratulations on making it through your first fair and breaking in those muscles!
What a wonderful posting! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. This is my fourth year doing fairs and festivals, and I learn from every one - and end up aching and exhausted after every one, too. Thanks for your fresh and inspirational posting.
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