Well, seems that I was wrong in thinking I was doing everything correctly! I was going to participate in the East Lansing Art Festival this weekend, but upon arriving at the border yesterday morning those plans quickly changed! It was brought to my attention that as a Canadian Citizen I am legally not able to sell goods (art work in my case) inside the United States. This could be a much, much longer post, but for information purposes I am keeping it shorter. 

I was detained yesterday (Friday morning) at about 4:15am, and was held until about 8:30am. I was photographed, finger printed and questioned as to my intentions. I have never attempted to hide what I was doing, or lie about my intentions, it just seems that this is not something I am allowed to do. I can sell to the US from Canada, but not physically while in the United States. I can say that the Border Agents were very friendly and when this ordeal was over they were appologetic about the situation. I know they were just doing their job, and I was very appreciative to them for how I was treated. 

I am going to attempt to secure a temporary VISA for shows next year, but I have had to go and cancel all my shows for this season that were in the US. 

I also wanted to give credit where credit is due. East Lansing Art Festival (never been one to give personal names) was very sorry to hear what had happened, and even though I notified them about 6 hourse before I was to set up  my booth they agreed to refund my booth fee! That was one great thing to a long, and crazy day!

All I want to do is create, display and hopefully sell some art. Having the feeling that you are on the verge of being arrested and charged was not something I thought I would ever have to deal with. Hoepfully the VISA thing will happen, but if not then I'll focus on Canada and partnering with Galleries and not on my own. 

Safely back home, 

Jeremy 

Are you a fan of this site? An active member of the Art Fair Insiders community?

Do you find valuable info and friendships here that help your business?

Or, maybe you're even addicted to the forum??

If that sounds like you, we'd like your help.

Can you leave below a short "testimonial" quote about why you like AFI and how it's been helpful (and fun) to you?

We're in the midst of the annual AFI Pledge Drive soon and would appreciate your comments to use publicly in the marketing.

You know, short quotes like "I love visiting ArtFairInsiders.com daily because…"

Thanks for your help!

Scott
(Connie's son)

If you come upon a mysterious object, such as what I  found at this puzzlePhotos blog (above photo, from site, not my work) , you will surely wonder about its function.

But if it is a work of art, such as a painting,photograph,a sculpture, the question isn't normally asked, at least not in the same way. Ceramics has always floated in and out of the concern for whether it is functional or if it is art, (or some variation on that theme.) I would imagine that is why I get so many questions about what many of my ceramic pieces are for.

Don Bendel was my Ceramics professor at Northern Arizona University. He told this story that I get a lot of traction out of when dealing with the question " what is it for?".

(caption:Don used to put these on the top shelf of the salt kiln, toss empty beer bottles on top, creating a glaze pool)

"I got this commission for a dozen or so of my pots.
 She wanted to use them in her garden. I made and delivered  the pieces, and she thought they were great. Later, she invited me over to show me how great they fit in her garden. I was led into her garden and there were of my pieces, turned upside-down, buried up to the foot into the earth, being used as stepping stones.
After getting over my surprise, I realized that once I sold the pieces to her, they were hers to do with whatever she wanted. I then had to agree, they really did look good in her garden.” Don Bendel
  That's how I remember it.

It is not uncommon for me to relate this story when I get asked what one of my pieces is for, a  fairly common occurance, actually. Sometimes they make a suggestion, indicating how they might use it:

"Well, I could put a candle in it", or I might even suggest something "some people put a frog in the bottom and use it for an Ikebana. Of course either is fine with me. Normally I do explain that what I am really doing is looking at form and construction techniques and playing with them. Function following form. But then I usually define the vessel to them as what it in terms of function, that it is a bowl, or a vase.

It might even look good turned upside-down and used as a stepping stone in a garden!

This one does baffle a decent number  of people:

 I just bet that others (depending on the type of work you do, and maybe how easily it is categorized) get similar or more entertaining responses.

This one does baffle a decent number  of people:

Mmmm, gravy boat? In term of function, I leave it up to the buyer. As form, its what I call a two-sided bowl.

One my  favorites is when I had an 8" maquette of this piece on sale at an art fair:

Patron: "What is this for?"
Artist : "Its a band-aid dispensor" (the mouth was just about the size to hold 5 band-aids, and, well, after putting your finger in to get a band-aid, you would immediately need another one, as you cut your finger pulling out a band-aid).
The patron was very amused, (but apparently not enough to buy it ).
So, when I have a patron who wants to know, what a piece is for, I like to relate Don's stepping-stone story. It lets the patron know they are free to do whatever they want with the piece, and allows the artist to accept it too.

Caption: (Don, my sister Sheila, and me at my BFA show, circa 1981

A few days ago I spoke with Wendy Rosen, best known to this community as the founder of the Buyer's Market of American Craft. Wendy has been a fixture in this business for over 30 years most specifically focusing on the marketing aspect. The Buyer's Market, her magazines (Niche and American Style), her educational arm, the Arts Business Alliance, all are part of her big soapbox for the creative community.

It was a wide ranging conversation including

• solid tips for better sales at the shows
• ideas on how to launch a business that grows
• the economic importance of creativity
• her campaign for American made goods and strengthening our trade laws
• interacting with salespeople in the Bright Angel giftshop and asking for American made souvenirs and where they were found
• picketing for 1st Amendment rights at the gift shops at the national parks and protesting
• launching her Congressional campaign and how she plans to find herself in Congress
• how you can learn more and support these initiatives for a career that she calls "scary, fun and wonderful."

Listen here: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/artfairpodcasts

And download it at iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/art-fair-artists-success-show/id440759328

If you like it -- then at iTunes there is a place where you can "rate" it. Clear at the bottom of the page. Hope you do!

Hi, Does anyone have history with Howard Alan's Redstone Art Fair outside of Park City? This is ony it's 3rd year.

I've been on the hunt for a few good indoor or panels-only shows to do.  I came across the Queeny Park show in St Louis - apparently they have one in the Spring and one in the Fall.  I'd never heard of it, but have always done well at shows in the St Louis area and wondered if anyone has done this show or has information from anyone they know who's done it.  Thanks!

No one predicted that Connie Mettler  would end up an
 Internet guru.

Sure, Connie's decades in the art fair business make her an expert in art events, and helped her develop
 friendships with artists nationwide.  But when I told her about this "Internet" thing, she first saw it as  just a
 distraction from the real world art fairs she loves.


Luckily, I kept up the pressure to put my mom's love for the art fair business to use on the World Wide Web.  In 2004 I started ArtFairCalendar.com to collect the nation's art fair event listings all in one place because of her concern about falling attendance at the events.


Then as social media arrived I develooped 
ArtFairInsiders.com to bring the artist community together online. In both cases it is Connie's decades of expertise that provide the inspiration and on-going expertise that have made these sites successful.

This week is Connie's birthday. Surprisingly to both of us, she now has four websites and has been working  full-time as a "web producer" for many years (in addition to her  roles consulting for other art events nationwide).

So, Welcome to the official Connie and ArtFairCalendar.com Birthday Party!


 
Will you please help me recognize Connie's years of efforts to support and promote artists and the art fair community?


I invite you to show your support these art fair websites and the art fair  community with a small PLEDGE
(starting at $12 which also makes you eligible to win some great prizes):



Thanks for being here!
Scott (Connie's son)

*prizes like free booth spaces at 3 shows, a GPS, Amazon gift card, very cool art, consulting from experts, etc.

Starting this post off by admitting to a little laziness, but well, my “day job” has been busier than usual lately and since we headed out on our almost 3 week road trip right in the middle of a  huge amount of work I haven’t had much time for writing or even thinking about writing lately.

I did review the first of our 3 Oregon shows, Astoria Crab, Seafood and Wine fest, you can read about it here:  http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/astoria-oregon-seafood-and-wine-festival-april-2012

From Astoria we headed east to Portland OR where we camped for the next several days just outside of Portland, OR.  Met Joe Clifton and his wonderful wife Mackie for dinner one evening in Portland at The Sextant, good food, good drinks, reasonably priced and a great view of the sailboats on the Columbia River.  Our next show was in Corvallis OR on May 5^th, a one day show that is held in conjunction with their Mom’s weekend events on the OSU campus.  I have to admit to a little “set up” envy as Joe and Mackie started unloading shortly after we did and were done way before us.  In fact, I think they were totally packed and gone at the end of the day before we had hauled our first load of stuff to the truck.  But, I digress, still it was amazing to see!  I usually thoroughly research a show before we do it,  but somehow on this one the details didn’t stand out and I hadn’t realized it was a same day load in and load out for a one day show until shortly before the show.  I also hadn’t realized that you had to haul everything to your spot, no cars were allowed in.  Uggg, talk about a test of endurance and stamina.   That being said, some artists did drive in and then by the time the rest of us had our booths set up, had a horrible time getting their cars out.  There were also some who decided to drive in during load out making it very difficult for those of us with hand trucks trying to get our stuff out to get past their vehicles. 

We lucked out with a good weather day, some artists (like Joe) didn’t even bother putting up a canopy.  We decided to put up the Caravan canopy, but without walls.  First time we’ve used our old canopy in 4 years since we bought a Lite Dome, but it was so much easier for a one day show.  The sun flirted with us all day but didn’t quite live up the weather forecaster’s predictions.  We all live in the Pacific NW where we understand the term “sun breaks” and enjoyed them for the short time they lasted and we were grateful that is didn’t rain, after the previous week’s rainy spring showers. 

The crowd was a little slow to start, but, this is a college town and the students were there with their Moms and several different Moms brunches were advertised on campus.  Sales for the first 3 hours were very steady and then died to a trickle with about ½ as many sales in the last 4 hours of the show compared to the first 3 hours.  It’s an inexpensive show to do with just $100 booth fee.  Overall we made money, but it seemed like a really long day and a lot of effort for the money we did make.   As we were packing up we were remembering why we didn’t like one day outdoor shows, so much work to set up and take down on the same day.

So why did we do this show? Our thought was that it would fit nicely into our Oregon Road trip schedule.  The show in Astoria the weekend before, the weekend after in southern Oregon for Medford’s Art in Bloom and a one day show on the Saturday in between to make a little money, leaving Sunday free to drive to Medford.  Sunday was a wonderful day for a drive with lots of sunshine and warmer temperatures as we headed south.  We spent the next week camped on the banks of the Rogue River enjoying warm weather and sunshine with a couple of family evenings getting together with a few members of our extended family that we hadn’t seen in well over a decade.  That alone, made us glad to be in the area.

Friday night load in for Medford Art in Bloom began at 7 PM.  This was a show we had heard good things about before we signed up for it, then after signing up heard a few mixed reviews.  Their pre-show organization left a lot to be desired so we were kind of wondering what we were getting ourselves into.  Their notification was 2 weeks late and for a show that notifies April 1 for a May 12 show, they aren’t leaving room for delays.  Once we were accepted we did receive the contract 3 different times, contract says no commission, email said there was commission, so we’re just a little  confused.  But, since the contract said no commission, we were going on the assumption that a signed contract was more binding than an email.

Friday night we wandered into downtown Medford and found lots of people setting up before 7 PM so we were able to obtain our booth assignment and actually get set up before 7 PM, ending up with an earlier night than expected.  Our biggest challenge was getting the truck out after we had unloaded and set up as the streets and adjoining parking lots were pretty jammed by that time.  All the booths on Main Street were set up in quads, giving everyone the advantage of a corner booth.  During load in we were told by another artist that the show was smaller than previous years.  Good, we thought, less competition, nice to go into a show with a positive attitude.

Unfortunately Medford’s Art in Bloom was not the show we were hoping for, sales were very slow for almost everyone, except those selling yard art.  The show was at least 25% jewelry, we got really tired of the comments, “Oh another jewelry booth”, “more jewelry”, etc.  Sales on Saturday were very disappointing, we didn’t even make our booth fee until Sunday which for us is a pathetic show given the booth fee was only $200.  We also unfortunately, had a pair of earrings stolen which made me grumble a bit.   A photographer we know who was also at the show was not having a good show, he was way down from previous years, other artists said it was okay, but honestly, no one other than the yard art folks indicated they had a good show, that was about the only style of art I regularly saw passing our booth that had been purchased.  The weekend was hot, temperatures in the low 90’s, the first really warm weekend of the year, so that might have impacted the crowds a bit, but overall, there were a lot of lookers, not many buyers.  Load out was relatively easy, but totally uncontrolled as artists started driving vehicles in even before the show was officially over.  The most difficult part of load out was the 90+ temperatures making everyone a little cranky.  This is a show we won’t even try again, realistically we didn’t even come close to breaking even by the time we include gas, camping fees and the booth fee.   For us it’s the first time in several years where we’ve actually lost money at a show, we had a couple of break even shows last year, but losing money?  That hadn’t happened since we were newbies and choosing the wrong shows to participate in.  So unfortunately, we were left with a long drive home on Monday, tired and a little discouraged as we realized this was truly the worst show we’ve had in several years and the longest (8 hours) drive we’ve done thus far.

Glad to be home and getting ready for our 4 day show over Memorial Day weekend, hoping for better results.   

Has any one done the Hotworks show in Oct in Estero Fl or have any opinions on it. I know that alot of snow birds come in Nov but leave again for the holidays. End of Oct?  Any experience with this show would be appreciated!

Has anyone done this show in Dallas? It has been held at the Fair Park in Dallas. It is supposed to be pretty big.

At first glance Crozet Art Festival looks like a county fair where someone stole the Ferris wheel.  It has a train and bouncy house for the kiddies and last year there was a roving guy doing card tricks. There’s also some sort of wine tasting going on. There’s a little something for everyone and the art can be described that way too.  Bonsai trees, hand made marbles, and some kind of herbs to large abstract paintings.  I did not see any Nerf bow and arrows though.  This is a local show for me and I did reasonably well.  I lost some sales to the fact that I am local but then again I’ve already added an additional sale of two framed pieces to someone who saw me at the show and called this morning.

Artists are set up in three locations, two pole barns and a big tent.  Free electricity is provided and lights are needed if you are in a pole barn or the interior of the big tent.  The pole barns do not have sides, roof only and they do not order the sides for the big tent unless bad weather is called for.  You are not allowed to put up your entire tent, only the frame so you will need clamps and tarps to close up for the night if you have one of the exterior locations.  The exactly 10’ by 10’ booth space must be a Virginia thing because that is what you get here although you can pay extra for a space and a half.

I was happy with my sales but I also had very low expenses and wasn’t expecting much.  I would think twice about traveling a distance to come to this show especially if I had large expensive work.  It’s a nice filler show to do.

Load in and out are fairly easy.  Depending on your location you might have some dollying.  A friend helped me with backing up so I was able to get right up by my booth for both load in and breakdown.  Depending on your location and how early you arrive you can usually park fairly close to your booth during the show.

Food – Do not miss the river biscuits on Sunday morning served before the show opens.  There is also free coffee and pastries provided each morning.   The barbeque is good.  I can’t speak for anything else.  For dinner, Clif and I headed into town for Crozet Pizza which is a fixture in Crozet.  Clif had hung out there as a teenager.  It is a pretty interesting place and good pizza.

Hi! I'm fairly new here on ArtFairInsiders, but not new to the art festival scene.  I posted some questions on an old blog from last year, to a few artists who mentioned that they were doing Buffalo Grove, when Connie Mettler asked "what are you doing this weekend"?  ...but, I haven't received any responses.  Soooooooo, I was wondering if anyone out there has any information regarding their experience at this art festival?? Thanks so much for your time!  Alice

And God said, I will smite your tent down with wind and rain and hail.
And Lo, the security guard will raise you from your slumber and lead you to your crushed and sagging tent. He will provide you with light and encouragement in your hour of need.

But beware the False-prophet who will stop and with forked tongue declare your type of tent is banned from many-a-fair, or at least Columbus. He will try to distract you from your work but he will offer no assistance.

And you will lose all hope as you attempt to rid the canopy of the gallons of water that have crushed it. You will void your tent of its water with a pocket knife by puncturing it 9 times. And you will have to break many supports to get underneath it.

 The bent and twisted tent will rest on top of your pedestals on your center table. As you raise it up you will discover  your ceramics knocked to the ground and jostled to the side, and you will be Sore Afraid. But you will discover that nary a piece is broken, cracked or chipped. And you will be amazed.  Other artists will not be so lucky and you will know you have been chosen.

  And you will take this as a sign. Your first born son, hearing your wailing and gnashing of teeth,  will declare: Father, should we give up, pack and go home? But you will not despair, only wail and gnash some more, then go out in very very early Sabbath morn , and I will provide for you. You will scavenge bricks  block, wood and Bar, and you will resurrect  your tent from the soggy ashes (and you will remember to  seek out the vendors who 'contributed' to your resurrection in the morning's light to explain your thefts).

You will then take inspiration offered from your offspring, remove all the artwork, rearrange your pedestals and tables so as to hide the destruction and the center pole. And you will be grateful that I sent your first born on this expedition to assist you as you cannot do this on your own.

And lo on Sunday morn, the sun will shine, the ravenous crowds will come forth in great hoardes, and they will wonder at your artwork. Any your son will rise at noon.

Man and woman alike will place money and credit cards on your table and you will make many sales, though not as many as the bearded Prophet with the Double wide Skylight  kitty-corner to you.

 You will be wise, take the money I have provided you in the face of disaster, and you will seek out a new, worthier canopy. You will turn a deaf ear to the vendor across the way who admonishes you for having an unworthy tent from Cosco  instead of the superior Walmart pop-up, and you will know it could have been any of the other 20 or more Ez-Ups that escaped my wrath THIS TIME. You will remember the other 4 destroyed Ez-Ups at the fair, and you will know that no foam-swimming-noodle could have altered my wrath. And  you will see the light.

You will have a vision of your Sta-Bar you used to support your demolished tent, and you will seek a tent made of that very same mettle and know that it is special, although a bit heavy.  And you will purchase a Flourish Trimline with Sta-Bar and you will not look back, lest you be turned to stone. You will know the added weight and  time for setup will lead to comfort in trying times and you will be glad you paid through the nose for this tent. You will give me thanks as you carry the Old One to the dumpster as even the zippers will work on your new canopy which always bothered you with the Pop-up. You will be joyful because the Trimline walls will even fit in their carry bag, which the Pop-up never did. You will consider it more than a long overdue investment for the future, it is a gift .

You will be thankful for the three years the Pop-up lasted and know you are meant  to upgrade. And Lo, from this day forward  light will shine brightly through your  own Double Wide Skylight on your artwork. Your Ceramics  will be much admired by the descending hoards and will find safe harbor from the fury of the summer storms to come.  

And you will  go forth and preach the good news to all Art Fair creation and make disciples of your new canopy and break the cycle of the Eternal Occurrence of the Same.

Amen

As part of our Birthday Party Pledge Drive we are hosting a special podcast on Tuesday, May 15 at 4:30 pm ET.

Listen Here.

Connie will talk with Wendy Rosen, whose Rosen Group developed the first nationwide wholesale marketplace for craftsmen, The Buyer's Market of American Craft. Wendy has a wide ranging background in the fine art and craft business and has been a passionate spokesman for Made in America crafts. And now she is running for Congress in Maryland!

Please join us for this "sure to be" interesting conversation. We'll have lots to talk about including how you can get involved and help get Arts issues in front of Congress.  Learn more.

If you have questions you'd like me to ask Wendy please add them in the comments below or email me.

I just completed another 2 shows which wraps up my autumn (fall) season.   I usually go into winter hiatus now working and start shows again in spring.   My first was a private school annual fair.  The area is semi rural to rural, lots of horsey people (as in, into horses), horse studs and coal mines nearby where the workers gets paid extremely well so generally a well to do area.  The women are traditional with a little fashion thrown in.

Looking down the "market" lane during set up ... before the crowds arrived.

The market area of the fair has grown substantially over the years - I've been going there for six years now and every year is different.  Four years ago I was in the street all by my lonesome... while there wasn't any other draw to pull them out, I did quite okay - the lack of competition probably helped!   The last three years they've built the booth numbers up and this year there were 57.   About half of these were buy/sell and half handmade.   There were two other people with jewellery in my price range and both also sold other women's goods - eg. scarves and clothes also buy/sell.   There were three other lower end jewellery booths as well- two handmade and one buy/sell.       A lot of handmade children's accessories, some gourmet food products,  womens accessories (not jewellery) and house products.  No art per-se.  Definitely set up with booths aimed at mother's day which was the next day.    Set up was from 6.30am for a 9.30am start, although most people didn't arrive till closer to noon.    You couldn't leave before 3pm although I didn't start to pack up till 4pm when most people had left.    You could drive in and unload /pack adjacent to your booth but had to move your vehicle asap out of the street.

I was in a prime position near the front gate of the school (the market is on the street adjacent to the school entrance) on a corner, and masses of people went by entering the school and looking around.     However I had a the two buy/sell jewellery and women's accessories products close by - one as a neighbour and one a walkway and extra booth away.   My neighbour had a brilliant day going by watching her count out her $50 notes half way through the day!  She probably did twice my sales, but most of that was in brightly coloured Chinese made scarves and wraps.

As it was for a school there were lots of children around, and the day before mothers day I had little girls coming into the booth with $25 asking if I had anything they could buy for mum.   (As an aside,  I haven't had time to check my stock, but I hope there were no light fingers around - I know I stopped one little group of girls (about 9 years old) who I overheard say "there's no one here, I guess we can just take one"!   Then they saw me hovering between my booth and the next (I was minding the neighbour's for a few minutes) and they laughed nervously, got embarrassed and ran off!  My neighbour suspected one of her bracelets was taken by a young girl later in the day. )

There were some mums buying gifts for themselves, and others doing last minute shopping for mum.   And a few bought for themselves.    Lots of lookers, but most carrying bags of some description.   All in all I was pleased with the day's sales -it wasn't mind blowing but it was definitely a good show.  Booth fee was $100 and I comfortably made 10x after expenses.

The second show was a one-off art festival in a remote but known to be "arty" country town about 2 hours drive away.    I was asked by the organiser to attend as she had seen my work somewhere else a few years ago and had kept my card.    I had the option of indoor or outdoor and chose indoor with electricity.  Everyone else had chosen outdoor though and it was with many misgivings after I received the site plan a few days prior that it was just me and an art exhibition in the hall.   I hoped someone would come in to see the art!!  

They wanted people set up from 10.00am but when I arrived at 8.30 there wasn't a soul in the streets.   I stood out there a few minutes in the sunshine (it was a very brisk morning!) and someone drove past and screeched to a halt.  It was the organiser and she wasn't expecting anyone till around 9am as everyone else was at church (which got out at 9am).   She drove away and came back a few minutes later with the keys and told me to set up wherever I liked and dashed off.   We looked at the exhibition and picked a nice sunny spot near a window since it was rather chilly to set up in.  One of the ladies arrived shortly after and so did the other stall holders.   There were 30 booths and what a mixture - local products (eg wine, emu oils, wood), books, good coffee, local lamb for lunch, an artist with her work and painting at the same time, some folk music,  etc.

We had positioned ourselves in amongst the art so that if anyone came through, they would see us.  We found out the art on display was all from the local area and most was for sale - from $30-$850.    This fact brought all my ideal clientele in - rural ladies over 40 -  with some husbands too,  and they sold quite a few pieces of art during the day, (I believe the top price paid was $650) - including one to me!

I had steady sales throughout the day - more sales than the day before, but most of them were of a lower value.   Most were buying for themselves (including a number of the organisers who kept dashing past me) but a couple of younger harried looking mums were cross at not getting a mums day pressie and bought their own!

I did hear that the non-art and non-food people didn't do well at all.  The wind had increased and it stayed cold (but sunny) and this probably impacted on people's spending - they kept their hands warm and in their pockets!    The people who were there came to look at and buy art rather than products it seemed.   Booth fee was a mere $25 so not much to cover in expenses.

After such a good weekend I can now rest happily and gaze at my new painting .

So who's coming to live downunder!?  Buy/sell is rampant but the customers still buy art :)

Deleted Blog

Connie and I have discussed this post and I have decided to delete it in the interest of fairness to the artists that have been offended. Serious issues such as this cannot be settled in such a public forum.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

July 15





10am-5pm
120 artists




Does the city of Kenosha, WI, have a place in your art fair future? Located



between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan, Kenosha lures city people to this verdant community on this summer weekend.


One  day art fairs are great. Visitors await them all year and know that the  buying is "now or never." Art fairs associated with a cultural  institution bring the audience you are looking for. This is a beautiful  park setting with up to 10,000 people in attendance. It is one of the  most popular art fairs in the area with cash prizes of $1250.00.


The  art fair is the Friends of the Kenosha Public Museums largest  fundraiser of the year. Artists return year after year due to its  popular appeal.





What's not to like?