This is the blog I posted this morning. It is directly related to a specific art fair but it's not the first time I've come home empty handed. In this day and age and economy, perhaps more of us are dealing with this than not....
I recently returned from an art festival in Louisville where I have previously shown with success. Not so this year. Not one sale. Zip. Zero. Nada. I left the show thinking “I could have had so much more fun with the $600 I just spent to be here!” The experience left me pondering. If I look to financial success to define the weekend it will always and forever be an abysmal failure. However (you knew that was coming)…
If I look to the results of the show I will be left with a different view point. The results: a decision to pursue different types of shows and festivals, a confidence to know it wasn’t about the quality of the art I create, a confirmation to be intentional with my pursuit of honing my craft and developing my personal style, a sensitivity to the art festival market, a beginning of a 5-10 year plan that might take my art out of the outdoor festival model.
Armed with a different perspective, Louisville will never be a failure. It will be a turning point. The ah-ha weekend. The starting line of the next leg of this adventure I call life. ” Failure” is only the end of the line if I allow it to be. I vote for allowing it to be a catalyst to a creative problem solving process that will move me forward in my journey. Not the end, but the beginning of the next step. Who knows where that step will lead. The possibilities are endless. I’m all in.
Comments
wow. This is eyeopening. I am doing that same show next month. Oops. Ohwell..I wont have any hotel expenses (staying with a family member) so thats good. Ive never had a zero show but this post made me second guess myself a bit. The other great news is that we can set up the Friday night before the show not THAT morning which would have been a big pain. Also I called Howard Alan Events and asked d if they are doing more advertising. They said they have a brand new PR person who is marketing in lots of new places etc. (Fingers and TOES crossed here!)
This last spring, I did 2 local shows that were disappointing. One was disastrous - the frame to my tent was bent beyond repair and I had only one $5 sale. I've had to decide whether to replace the $300 tent with a $895 tent with sales being so low. After reviewing that show, I see that it has become more of a street festival with an emphasis on live bands and food and drink. Quality was all over the place as were prices. Still, sales were low for everyone, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The other festival, held in a Japanese Garden, still has great possibilities even though it is lost in the huge number of competing festivals in the area each weekend. It is run by volunteers, even the chairman is a volunteer and they've just had at least the third chairman in the 9 years I've been doing this show. They are always re-inventing the wheel, but they are open to input from previous long-term participants. However, I did cover my booth fee plus enough to go buy some more art supplies. I've decided that for next time, I need to up my quality of paintings and provide more small originals and forget the prints. I need to up the advertising on my part as well as help the organizers with their publicity. Meanwhile, a new artists and crafts co-op has just opened near me and I am going to try that for a while. I don't have to wrestle with a tent or deal with the weather.
As you see, I have been inspired by others on this sight who are willing to look at themselves and change what they can in order to succeed. Thank you.
I think the official name is Art Festival in Louisville at The Summit. It is a Howard Alan event.
Hi, Would you please put a name to this show as I was thinking about some shows in that area SOOO not sure if I should bother. Thanks
Thanks everyone for your comments! Great thoughts and advice! To answer a couple of questions: I am a contemporary fine art painter. I use bright color and use it boldly. I have gone to a "less is more" approach in my booth and inventory because historically I sell a few large pieces at shows rather than several smaller.
Here is my booth at a show in May. The Louisville show was a Howard Alan event held at The Summit. It is an upscale shopping area that matches my demographic perfectly. Even the stores were slow on the weekend we were there and none of the artists I spoke with had what they would call a good show. I was not the only one to have a goose egg that weekend.
The past two HA events I've done (Kansas City and Louisville) have had less than 80 artists (and several of those more what I would call craft oriented than I am used to at a HA event). That is half of the number that was in Louisville 3 years ago. Times are changing in the art fair industry I believe and I am trying to be proactive about that. After having been rejected from some of the more successful and high end shows I was prompted to fine tune my style and work for a cohesive, distinctive style. That is a quest that I always pursue: the pursuit of the remarkable as Seth Godin says in his book "Purple Cow". I have lived in the greater Nashville area for 15 years. We have witnessed music labels closing their doors because they failed to see the handwriting on the wall in terms of the digital age. So not only do I try to evaluate every individual show as many of you mentioned, I am also trying to see the elusive hand writing on the wall for the future hoping to position myself for continued success rather than being caught unaware by changes that are happening and will affect the arts industry in the future.
Larry - you are right - once I get over the initial disappointment and regroup to figure out how I am going to make up for the loss of revenue and major outpouring of expenses...I try to sit back and say - okay - what was in my control and what wasn't. I had done my homework, I had marketing the show the way I try to market all the shows I am part of. I planned my booth and stock in proportion to the "flavor" of that particular market. I was clean, in a great mood, greeted everyone, demonstrated, etc. So, I reviewed me first...and then I reviewed the organizers and the event itself. I am not afraid to ask - what type of marketing do you have in place (actually I do this ahead of time) along with a multitude of other pre-event things. And I review a multitude of other behaviors they are in control of during the show. I review the current history of the area to see if something major has occurred (like Elkhart, IN several years ago crashing and burning) etc. I view the food and other conveniences for the attendees - were there easily accessible restrooms, controlled parking, etc. Specific vendor parking so they weren't taking all the attendees parking spots, etc. I look at the other vendors to see what they offer, and when someone stops in the booth with bags, I always ask them to show me what they bought and I tell them I don't get to shop so I am being a voyeur through them...and I am...as their purchases tell me tons about what type of customer is truly at the show - little tiny items or substantial items. Once I review these and a lot more factors I have a decision to make. Was it my turn or maybe it wasn't this time. Some shows I have returned and was pleasantly surprised when I made some simple subtle changes, and sometimes I don't. But I try to have my own evaluation list in place from day one so I can make wise decisions in the future. And what may be a bust for one person may be gang-busters for the next and vice versa the next time around....
Just a thought from a newbie. :)
The first thing I thought of when I read your post is my own experience. There have been shows I've not done well at, and even zeroing at one. Each time I either walk away with a sigh of relief that I don't have any prep work before the next show or it inspires me to do new and different marketing.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
I would be interested in knowing what show in Louisville and what kind of art that you do? Having only been doing shows for a couple of years I am still trying to figure out which ones in KY are for me.
I'm so sorry about your weekend but love your attitude. I've just been doing shows about a year now and every single show I;ve done I've heard rampant complaints about sales, blaming the economy and everything else people can think of. I agree that fine tuning your booth, your art, your prices, your market are all good ideas. But I would not change everything on the basis of one show. It seems to me that success (or lack of it) at shows is mostly RANDOM. Or at least mostly due to so many tiny and unseen factors that can't be planned for. Your tent placement, other artists, weather, crowd flow, some other event somewhere else that drew the crowd that would have been your customers, or just dumb luck that resulted in your potential customers staying home or buying something else or having no money to spend. A friend of mine just starting out had no sales at her first show, and was thinking her prices were too high, she had to go to "better" shows, rethink her style, etc. Then she did a show at the local Ribfest, where the crowd was decidedly not upscale, and not there for art. She was prepared for no sales once again, but sold some of her priciest pieces and made well over the booth fee! At a Ribfest of all places. RANDOM is the only explanation for that. She is keeping her style, adding some lower priced items to her inventory, and seeing how it goes.
Unfortunately, the economy is dampening sales of everything, especially things that people don't "need." Show promoters are slow to respond to that it seems to me, and if booth fees stay the same, artists bear the entire brunt of "the economy." Some decide shows arn't worth it and promoters will find fewer artists signing up, or will need to take artists that in the past would not have been accepted. Several juried shows here have extended deadlines because they havent filled slots. The better shows are still thriving, but I wonder about the number of applicants I bet it's gone down for most shows. Anyway, good luck to you!
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next