...if a show will always be good!
I had a single day show this weekend. It was the fourth year I've attended and I was expecting much of the same sort (and size) of crowd and consequently the same sort of sales as previous years. Boy, how wrong could I be!
There has been new management the last two years, aimed at increasing the exhibitors with the result of some buy/sell allowed in. These 'vendors' had increased a little but I wasn't overly concerned, believing my work would shine through :) .
BUT, then the wall of people that normally arrive at opening time didn't. The general 'type' of person was different - more kids looking for presents for their mums for mother's day, and less of the well groomed ladies with their hubbies in tow.
Hours into the show, numbers were still drastically down, interest from people walking around was low and sales were dismal. I saw a couple of familiar faces from previous years but they were only looking, not buying.
I started to second-guess my work. I wondered if I wasn't engaging the potential customer enough (what customer - they weren't even stopping!?). Was there something wrong with my set up? I knew the effects of the GFC was still hurting people, but in the four shows I'd done over the last few weeks, there was a reasonable level of purchases. Did this town suddenly just not want my work any more?
I took a few minutes out to visit some nearby booths. Anyone with a handcrafted product over $20 wasn't doing very well at all. However having a look around:
*the lady with the fabric bags (handmade ... poorly done but still handmade) had also gone into a line of buy/sell t-shirts and accessories and seemed constantly busy.
*the woman with the buy/sell $10 candles in pretty jars had girls and teens 6 deep most of the day.
*the woman with the $15 glass pendants had lots of blank spaces on her boards.
*the bloke with the leather belts was doing quite well.
This was "market" territory, not a proper 'show'! WHAT was going on?
I ended up chatting to one lady who asked how it was going and I mentioned that there seemed a lot less people this year... she then told me that a lot of people were probably at the food & wine festival on in a nearby town. Usually a week apart these had clashed this year. *ahhhh* All those nice prospective buyers and previous clients must have been living it up with gourmet food and boutique wines a couple of towns away!
Fortunately, towards the end of the day some ladies came by stating that they had promised themselves that if I was there they wouldn't buy 'much'. Thankfully either their 'much' was substantial or they just couldn't help themselves and they turned my rather dismal day into at least a worthwhile event.
But lesson learned. I'll now be looking at what else is on around the district and won't be counting those chickens quite so quickly next time!
Comments
We intentionally do a twice a year three day show in Madison, Indiana---Old Court Days. It was the first show that we ever did when we were first starting out, and we gradually got a great client base. It grew as we became better, and our jewelry (wire and PMC) became more professional. We continue to return there twice a year, because of the wonderful people who keep coming back to us. If we were to try the show at this point in our development, we probably wouldn't come back. I send out reminder post cards, and around 35% of the people on the mailing show up. (We also give repeat customers a small discount if they don't use credit cards, and a small gift when they bring the cards to the booth).
Kathy C.
If I didn't know you were in Australia I would suspect you were writing about the one day show I just did this past weekend! Same type of customer, same comments from other vendors about their poor sales, same buy-sell going on. I was very disappointed, and barely covered my booth fee. Lots of folks asked if we would be there for the two-day show in October, implying they would buy then (why not now?!), but I am not sure if I want to take the chance as I would have to get a hotel room then!
Hi Nancy, Australia doesn't have many of what you would all recognise as 'art fairs'.
Established, juried, "handmade" shows tend to be a mix of arts/crafts and their fee is between $150 to $250 for a 3metrex3metre space, for a one day show - indoor and outdoor.
Expos of juried, quality items in an indoor environment, 3x3 space, are around $800-$1500 plus taxes for a 3 day show.
Shows that are similar to trade shows (but also open to the public) are around $600-1200 plus taxes for 2-4 days and have indoor and outdoor space available - they are only vaguely juried and allow buy/sell.
Smaller, regional shows vary considerably.
My local arts group that covers a large regional area have a couple of one day events a year and they only charge $25 plus a donation of a small item of your work for fundraising purposes, but you also have to be a member (juried) and have paid your yearly subscription to the group to be able to participate.
One day shows organised for fundraising purposes charge around $70-100 but can occasionally go as low as $25, for the 3x3 size, extra for electricity (if required), and either a donation of item or 10% of proceeds (on an honour basis - they take your word for your total $ sales). Once again, these aren't limited to artists/artisans and often include at least some buy/sell.
However we DON'T have application fees or jury fees - at least, not yet!
Insurance and advertising costs have spiralled over recent years and the organisers quote these as a reason for continually increasing their show prices (even though each booth is required to have its own insurance as well). The end result of these high prices is that the average artist isn't willing to invest that sort of $ and more and more 'businesses' with buy/sell make apply and make it in.
Part of the problem is that art fairs have never really established themselves down here, so a lot of 2D artists just stick to selling through galleries.
Thanks Nels, will do! I took the camera this time but only got one shot as people were setting up and it went flat. A typical example of a day when little went right!
Yes Nancy, you're right. It is sad to see how this fantastic show dwindled this year. I may have to make representations to the management about the amount of buy/sell, but I always worry that I may annoy them and they won't accept me next year!
The current organiser of this yearly event also owns a restaurant nearby which has a monthly market on their grounds. It appeared she had asked those people to come along as well - at a highly inflated booth fee as this show usually attracts such a big crowd.
Alot of artists won't travel more than a couple of hours down here as art shows aren't that big a thing - they mostly sell through galleries. The shows that do exist either are there to promote an artist group/regional area or for fundraising purposes.
As I'm not in a big city we also tend to have less artists and artisans to draw from. It seems more organisers just take anyone or work to first application/first in basis to increase overall $ raised by booth fees.
Annette, what a lovely post from Down Under. We are all a twitter about how shows are outside the USA. You have become our Global Art Ambassador. Alas, similar lessons are to be learned as has been stated in above comments.
One small request please. Enclose some photographs (do them as JPEGS, 72 dpi) so we can see how your shows look like. We all know what the USA circuit looks like. but yours, is a whole new universe. Please enclose two or three, or more if you can. Curious minds need to know. Good luck on your next venture, Nels.
Larry
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