First off, I want to explain that 99% of my shows are small, juried, fine art fairs on the northwestern shores of Lake Michigan, in lively little tourist towns, and not nationally ranked. The shows I typically do have somewhere between 60-90 artists, not over 200 like ELAF. My usual show is set in a park, frequently on or near water; nice shows, intimate, grassy green tent floors, lake breezes, and I have no idea how many people come through, but it’s not 70,000 like ELAF.
I tell you this right off the bat, because then you can see that my perspective is not from someone who has done national shows regularly. I can’t compare ELAF to previous years, or other national shows, but I can tell you what it’s like to do a bigger show than I’m used to doing. I think there are lots of you in art fair land wondering if size really matters. (I’m talking about the size of the art fair; get your mind out of the gutter...)
This was my first show of the season, my first national show, first street fair, first time with my new 10X20 trimline (yes, they are gawd-awful heavy) first time with no waterfront breezes, park setting, or green grass to stand on.
I’m a painter, and the list of painters and other 2d artists at this show was impressive to me. Lots of really beautiful work and I was honored to be there.
We were sent a packet with our booth location and set up time, and other pertinent information prior to the show. There was road construction around the fair, but without too much trouble we were able to find our booth spot and drive right to it for hassle free set up. Well...except for the aforementioned gawd- awful heavy double trimline. There were volunteers on every corner ready to direct us through the maze of orange cones and blocked off streets. This end of the street was a new addition to the fair, and veterans and newbies to the fair were given spots here. There was plenty of space behind the booth, not much on either side. It was a great location, except for being right outside a bar. We were a bit nervous about that, especially at night. There were a few cigarette butts near and under the back edge of our tent on Saturday and Sunday morning but thankfully no burns anywhere on the tent. ( I quit smoking about 6 months ago and part of me is just jealous of other smokers...isn’t that stupid?) But, my booth has a certificate that says it’s fireproof so I’m sure I needn’t have worried about any burns... Being somewhat familiar with the college drinking crowd, I was delighted not to find some hung-over freshman laying in their own vomit amongst my paintings and bubble wrap in the mornings.
Saturday crowds started early and my booth continued to be busy throughout the entire day. And they were buying. It didn’t slow down until the end of the day. Connie came into my booth and introduced herself, and it was very nice meeting you Connie! The patrons were educated and not one of them tried to haggle or complain about my prices or the economy. My prices are about in the middle I think; $200-$1000. No prints, only originals.
ELAF hosted a reception for us Saturday night, and the Marriot put on a spaghetti/salad banquet which was a wonderful surprise. It was great not having to go out in search of food after working all day. For me, it was WORK! I like to talk to all my customers and am on my feet almost the entire time. Standing on the pavement was quite different than grass and by the end of Saturday I was one, big, ache! If I continue to do fairs in streets, I’ll take some kind of floor cover with padding. Not only for easier standing, but my gawd-awful heavy trimline got really dirty on the pavement.
At the reception, I talked to a couple of veteran ELAF artists that felt sales were slow, but here’s where different perspectives come in. Me, used to smaller shows, thought it was crazy busy. For someone used to the major crowds, well, I guess it felt slow to them. They also commented that Sundays are typically the slower of the two days, so I mentally prepared myself for a hot, slow, kill me now, kind of day. The heat was ridiculous, 2 fans in my tent did nothing but push the hot air around. (Battery operated fans, not fans of my work...) But, this is Michigan and it could have been 50 degrees and raining golf ball sized hail, so honestly I’d rather have the heat. Sunday was hotter than Saturday, if that’s even possible, and sales started quite slow. I began to wonder if my roof was high enough to jump from, but by afternoon it picked up. People that had been in on Saturday came back to purchase on Sunday afternoon. My theory is that they went to church and God told them to come back to the fair and buy my paintings... One neighbor reported an excellent day, the other claimed about average but a little slower than expected. A painter friend down the row told me that she had done well. Incidentally her paintings are priced about like mine.
Breakdown and loading up seemed quite organized. There were staffers to assist anyone that needed help. Like most shows, they wanted us to pack the artwork, break down the tents and then go get our vehicles, load up and clear out. The entire staff was friendly and helpful and flexible.
I really enjoyed this bigger show and will apply again next year. Sales were really good for me and I would tell anyone that is considering a larger show to give it a try, don’t have unrealistic expectations, and realize that the only way to really find out is to do it for yourself.
