Apparently, they reorganized the layout of the show this year. It is set up in rows, near the street. Most artists seem to like the new layout better. You can drive your car right up to your booth to unload. There was a nice mix of artists, music, kids activities and food. The parking is good, with golf carts running around to get you back to your car.
Sunday was the busier day. That may have had to do with the weather, as they talked about storms in the afternoon on Saturday. (Nothing major ever developed, just a little rain and wind around 3:00 for 15 min or so). Although sales were not huge for us, they were decent for the price of the show.
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I am considering applying for this show this year. I am in St. Louis, so it would only be a little over 2 hours. Did anyone participate last year (2012)? If yes, was it better than 2011?
Thank you so much for any information you can provide! :)
Thanks for the additional rundown Amy - it sounds like they're trying to get their act together and slowly getting there, but I agree, some areas can only sustain so many sales of something before they reach capacity. As you are local, a yearly attendance is easy if not that profitable. But for those that have to travel it sounds like it would be one of those that you only attend every 2nd or 3rd year - long enough so they haven't forgotten your work, but are now ready for more.
It is indeed an inexpensive show, which has to be in its favour.
I've held off on responding on this one to see if anyone else who is on this forum was at this show. Washington is near where I live and I've done this show for it's 4 years of existance now. It started out with 49 artists the first year, increased to 88 artists the second year, ballooned to almost 140 artists the year after that and has settled back to about 100 this year, although I noticed there were several empty spots as I was setting up. The show moved to it's current location in Washington Park last year, and to "fill up" the space, there were quite a lot of artists let in who, perhaps, weren't the best fit. The show was spread throughout the park and many attendees felt it was "too much"... So, they tightened up the layout and the artist count which is a better move. My only suggestion would be that I felt it was a bit "too tight" in that there was room in each row for one car only, and I think they can widen the width of the aisles.
Now, as to sales, this was never a "huge" show for me by any means, but it's close to home and the booth fees are low. I did what I consider a "good show" amount the first year (4 figures) but have seen my sales drop off each subsequent year. If it were another show where I'd have to pay for room and board and travel, etc. I would have dropped it from my schedule already. However, again, it's close and I do try and support the local arts organizations. This past show, however, saw my sales plummet. I was down 85% of what I had done the previous year, and most of the folks that I know who were "returners" also saw their sales dip quite a bit. The crowds were ok (not huge) but there just weren't a lot of packages walking back out to the parking lot.
The show has great volunteers and is in an easily accessible venue. I think they tried to have a good balance for the show (Jewelry was about 20% this year which seems about "normal" nowadays... and much less than it was last year when there were a TON of jewelers.) While it was "judged" last year, they have decided to not make it a "judged" event but a "display" event for people to "display their wares and sell". So, no option of potentially winning a ribbon or prize check. I would recommend this show if you are in the downstate Illinois area and/or if you don't have to incur a lot of costs to attend the show. I think most people do well for a year or two and then it's time to move on. Right now, I'm not planning on going back next year but will give it a few years rest and then look at go back again. I just get the feeling it's not a show that can sustain ongoing, repeat visits. In it's current state I would not make it a destination venue if you live far away, but if you're going to be in the area anyway and want to give it a try, then by all means do so!
Does this help a bit more?
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