East Coast show reviews: I did the PA Guild show in Wilmington DE at the Chase Center - indoors and air conditioned last weekend in July. They had a very good marketing plan this year and it was well attended. The people were there, were engaged in looking at the art and craft, asking questions, and often walking away empty handed. As a painter, mixed media, in a primarily craft show, I am bucking the odds for the right customer. It is still a good venue and well run and I had my share of interest. High end prices were a definite drawback for my total sales. It was my third year and you can develop a following which keeps me coming back.
Next: Mystic Outdoor Art Fair second weekend in August. Beautiful weather, crowds seemed lighter than normal. Sales in my area were strong for me and some neighbors considering the economy. As usual it is always hit & miss but I keep going back to Mystic.
Larry, You recently directed a member to relocate to the disscussion area (info on Westchester) // I then added some imput to a few others (St Aug, etc) There has been NO imput to those disscussions. They get lost and buried. I go first to the Reviews And BLOG, and that is what I did ;AND THE REQUEST GOT RESPONSES OF INFO; SUCCESS
The blog was on topic , the info is very important to East coasters, especially when so many relie on compiled, printed rankings; and I thank all that have responded. I expect more info.
As Nels stated/ those items in disscusion areas are a pain to navigate; they get lost without much comment. I think most go to reviews & blog; Alot of us (especially me) are not as digitally skilled as others/ computer dumbies-as I have labled myself-Be happy for the shared info that receives attention on the front page/ cause my experience has been that the other info I put up gets lost/w little response// and I don't think I am sharing garbage which should be ignored. I will continue to request East Coast info, especially when 4 of the top 100 (after only 2 years??) have gotten so few reviews; This career is hard enough to be successful; Artfairinsiders helps us all share, and vent; and EASILY find and respond info. Let's keep it simple; Thanks & Fair Winds to all
I find both areas difficult to navigate. I frequent two fishing forums and another artist forum and it is easy to see what is new since I last looked. One fishing forum has a 'Show unread post since last visit' and when you click on it, it shows 1 link per topic that has new posts. When you click on the link, it takes you to the earliest response that I haven't seen yet. If I choose to not read them, next time I come back, they won't show up as 'new'. Is a similar feature available here, or do I have to hunt and peck and remember how long it's been since I last checked? Sorry for hijacking this thread, but it is one of the things that cause me to not frequent this site as much as others.
Hey Nels, it's still up. Though I don't agree with you about the logic of the two sections, I'm going to listen to your words of wisdom.
Here's my point. The difference between the two sections is that when someone starts a blog entry, no one knows about it unless they spend all their time on the blogs. Then you have to subscribe to be notified of additional entries to that particular blog. But if someone asks a question on the forum, everyone knows immediately because you can subscribe to be notified of new forum posts. That's why there's a much greater chance of getting answers in the forum area.
But we're not here to argue, just share information in a way that we hope it can get found and used by our peers.
Attention Connie and Larry. I agree with the Slades that their blog posted here is better then being put in the Discussions area. You have to jump thru too many hoops to find things in that area. Why not leave well enough alone. Be thankful you have people willing to post info. Personally, I find the whole Discussions area a Royal Pain in the Ass to navigate. This area is where it is at. That is my two cents worth, Nels.
we have cut back on shows this year. We live in Central Pa. and have done a few shows including Manayunk, the Jersey shore show (paragon), reston and most recently Mount Gretna which is a local show for us. We also do a scuba divers trade show in Seacaucus NJ in March.
For us Reston was the best show of the year, followed by the scuba show and then Mount Gretna.
When I say the best show I am saying we did ok but nothing to write home about....we have only been at this for about 2 1/2 years, so we don't have the experience of the big numbers that so many talk about before the recent downfall in the economy.
The Jersey shore show was well run but sales were not very good for us and for most of the artisits we talked to. Another glass artist near us from Canada did pretty well....many artisits just covered costs or zeroed out. The weather was super hot and the show ended early due to an impending storm. A jeweler across from us packed up super early due to lack of sales. There was some buy/sell stuff there.....one was asked to leave. Most likley not a show we would do again. We opted out of the Va. beach show in June (which we did last year) to do this show instead.....didn't work out so well.
We sell one of a kind original glass pieces and have very few lower priced items.....most of the art show crowd give rave reviews, just no sales. We do not really have anything in our booth under $250 unless we put out glass pendants, which we do not do often because we are not juried in for jewelery.
Manayunk was not good for us either.....too much buy/sell including carved soap. One artisit we met who has been in the business for 30 years left on Saturday night. A painter beside us selling all originals did quite well......he was from NY.
Mount gretna is a good show for us because we see so many people we know.....it is a well run show in a beautiful area and we don't have to pay for a hotel.
As I said we are relatively new to this business (about 16 shows in two years). We are still learning and have checked out this site a lot for information, ideas and help.
We think the site is a great forum and look forward to any advice we can get. We look forward to commenting more frequently as well.
My thanks to all that have added an addition. It may be hot and the weather stinks everywhere there is an Art Festival these days;; BUT as stated; Some One is doing these art festivals, and we are here to share real life facts on our careers. Fair Winds
P.S. if this idea had been put in the other section it would have been lost//AGAIN // my other comments, posted at same time, have gone dead /
My East Coast shows have all been off this Spring/Summer. I have written about a couple on this site, but here are a couple notes;
I did the Paragon Long Island show, and posted a review on the NAIA site. It is a brand new show, and the director did a really good job getting people to the show, but I think they were unprepared for higher end art. Artists with lower priced items (I mean $20!) seemed to be moving stuff, but none of the painters made any money. Jewelry booths had some crowds around them, but I can't even tell you if they made money.
Rittenhouse Square in Philly was too darn hot, and then the show directors gave us the option to break down early due to storm warnings, something they have never done the years I have been there. I am hoping the September show will be better (it always has been for me anyhow)
Reston in Northern Virginia, and the Atlanta Dogwood shows were also slow.
It is my impression that the economies in these areas are tired. Patrons are not looking for large pieces. All the large works I have sold this year have been far from the East Coast, where I live, and would love to do more shows nearby, but if I stayed in this venue, I would be depressed.
I would love to do some shows in Connecticut, New York or New Jersey, but I think I would be wasting my time.
I hear it's hot up in the Northeast...but SOMEBODY is doing these shows! I'm disappointed too...I want to spend next summer in the coastal Northeast and was hoping to learn a lot from the show reviews posted here.
Folks, it's not too late! And for my part, when I head up there for the month of September I'll be sure to post reviews of the 3 (maybe 4) shows I'll be in.
I am an east coast gal, and my reason is simple. I haven't been doing too much this summer regarding shows because it is too darn hot!!! I can't take being in a booth in 95+ degree heat with 100% humidity for long hours - it is cruel and unusual punishment. In my area, Maryland - it seems like everything is outdoors so I can't comment. However I do agree with moving some conversations to the forums - I see a lot of questions and feel they are better for discussion in the forums. Side note though - a lot of folks who are members of artfairinsiders.com are midwest peeps that seem to do shows there or in Florida and TX. This might be why there aren't too many postings from East coast folks. - Michelle
Comments
Next: Mystic Outdoor Art Fair second weekend in August. Beautiful weather, crowds seemed lighter than normal. Sales in my area were strong for me and some neighbors considering the economy. As usual it is always hit & miss but I keep going back to Mystic.
The blog was on topic , the info is very important to East coasters, especially when so many relie on compiled, printed rankings; and I thank all that have responded. I expect more info.
As Nels stated/ those items in disscusion areas are a pain to navigate; they get lost without much comment. I think most go to reviews & blog; Alot of us (especially me) are not as digitally skilled as others/ computer dumbies-as I have labled myself-Be happy for the shared info that receives attention on the front page/ cause my experience has been that the other info I put up gets lost/w little response// and I don't think I am sharing garbage which should be ignored. I will continue to request East Coast info, especially when 4 of the top 100 (after only 2 years??) have gotten so few reviews; This career is hard enough to be successful; Artfairinsiders helps us all share, and vent; and EASILY find and respond info. Let's keep it simple; Thanks & Fair Winds to all
Here's my point. The difference between the two sections is that when someone starts a blog entry, no one knows about it unless they spend all their time on the blogs. Then you have to subscribe to be notified of additional entries to that particular blog. But if someone asks a question on the forum, everyone knows immediately because you can subscribe to be notified of new forum posts. That's why there's a much greater chance of getting answers in the forum area.
But we're not here to argue, just share information in a way that we hope it can get found and used by our peers.
Larry Berman
Digital J u r y Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
For us Reston was the best show of the year, followed by the scuba show and then Mount Gretna.
When I say the best show I am saying we did ok but nothing to write home about....we have only been at this for about 2 1/2 years, so we don't have the experience of the big numbers that so many talk about before the recent downfall in the economy.
The Jersey shore show was well run but sales were not very good for us and for most of the artisits we talked to. Another glass artist near us from Canada did pretty well....many artisits just covered costs or zeroed out. The weather was super hot and the show ended early due to an impending storm. A jeweler across from us packed up super early due to lack of sales. There was some buy/sell stuff there.....one was asked to leave. Most likley not a show we would do again. We opted out of the Va. beach show in June (which we did last year) to do this show instead.....didn't work out so well.
We sell one of a kind original glass pieces and have very few lower priced items.....most of the art show crowd give rave reviews, just no sales. We do not really have anything in our booth under $250 unless we put out glass pendants, which we do not do often because we are not juried in for jewelery.
Manayunk was not good for us either.....too much buy/sell including carved soap. One artisit we met who has been in the business for 30 years left on Saturday night. A painter beside us selling all originals did quite well......he was from NY.
Mount gretna is a good show for us because we see so many people we know.....it is a well run show in a beautiful area and we don't have to pay for a hotel.
As I said we are relatively new to this business (about 16 shows in two years). We are still learning and have checked out this site a lot for information, ideas and help.
We think the site is a great forum and look forward to any advice we can get. We look forward to commenting more frequently as well.
P.S. if this idea had been put in the other section it would have been lost//AGAIN // my other comments, posted at same time, have gone dead /
I did the Paragon Long Island show, and posted a review on the NAIA site. It is a brand new show, and the director did a really good job getting people to the show, but I think they were unprepared for higher end art. Artists with lower priced items (I mean $20!) seemed to be moving stuff, but none of the painters made any money. Jewelry booths had some crowds around them, but I can't even tell you if they made money.
Rittenhouse Square in Philly was too darn hot, and then the show directors gave us the option to break down early due to storm warnings, something they have never done the years I have been there. I am hoping the September show will be better (it always has been for me anyhow)
Reston in Northern Virginia, and the Atlanta Dogwood shows were also slow.
It is my impression that the economies in these areas are tired. Patrons are not looking for large pieces. All the large works I have sold this year have been far from the East Coast, where I live, and would love to do more shows nearby, but if I stayed in this venue, I would be depressed.
I would love to do some shows in Connecticut, New York or New Jersey, but I think I would be wasting my time.
Folks, it's not too late! And for my part, when I head up there for the month of September I'll be sure to post reviews of the 3 (maybe 4) shows I'll be in.
I am an east coast gal, and my reason is simple. I haven't been doing too much this summer regarding shows because it is too darn hot!!! I can't take being in a booth in 95+ degree heat with 100% humidity for long hours - it is cruel and unusual punishment. In my area, Maryland - it seems like everything is outdoors so I can't comment. However I do agree with moving some conversations to the forums - I see a lot of questions and feel they are better for discussion in the forums. Side note though - a lot of folks who are members of artfairinsiders.com are midwest peeps that seem to do shows there or in Florida and TX. This might be why there aren't too many postings from East coast folks. - Michelle
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