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As you know fine art & fine craft shows are hard to come by in December but I've found a first time show in St. Augustine the week between x-mas & new years that I'm going to give a try. It's on Zapp as The Old Town Art & craft festival.

As I'm always leary about first time shows  I contacted the show director to get the scoop. Lynn Wettach is the show director and she and her husband are both artists on the circut. Last year she was in St. Augustine the week between x-mas & new years and it was packed with people so she decided to host a show there. It will be held in Fransis Field which is where all the busses let out and the main parking garage is, I've done shows there in the past and it's great visibility. There will be no entertainment to draw people away from the artists and she assured me that the selection of artists and crafters will be balanced with no buy sell allowed. The show will be on Wednesday & Thursday with setup on Tuesday, very easy setup & breakdown. The cost is 225. for a standard space and if you want a corner it's 50. more.

If you read my blogs you know I search out smaller or little known shows and  if Lynn does everything she says she's going to I think this show has a chance. Every time I've done this show with the art league I've done over 2K.

Hello!

I am new to this, but I have been reading your comments for a while now and they are so very helpful!! Has anyone ever done the Festival of the Vine in Geneva? This year it's Sep. 10 & 11, they are still accepting applications, but before I send mine and the $175 booth fee, I'd like to know a bit about it!

Thanks!

Hi Connie and everyone else!

Question!  Does anyone know about the Howell Mich.  Melon Fest?

They are adding a section for fine craft.   I was approached, but I do not want to make the trek from Il. if the people attending are budget minded and out for farm goods and handy crafts.

Thanks

Paula Grill

Well, I just got back from the beach and read all the wonderful reviews of last weekend.  Everybody has risen in their writing to incredibly new levels.  I can't blame paucity of sales on gnats, lovebugs or tornado damage, wish I could, but here's my report.

First weekend of May, the fragrance of jasmine weighs heavily in the air, pirates are everywhere whirling their swords and beads, the smell of cooking shrimp permeates your inner cores, the crowds come roaring and jabbering wildly down centre street--yep, its Shrimpfest time in Fernandina Beach.

To give you a little background, Fernandina Beach (hereafter known as FB) is the first town in Florida on the ocean when you cross the St. Mary River south of Georgia.

History is everywhere in this town.  Old antebellum mansions are as common as horsehoe crabs on the beach.   They have a charming historical district downtown and run the show six blocks down Centre Street with additional booths, some antiques, others B/S, down side streets.  Probably close to 350-plus booths.

No shortage of crowds, they come by the thousands for the three-dollar strawberry fruit smoothies (the stand next to me closed out early on Sunday, they used more than four-thousand pounds of ice and sold out on smoothies), they come for the shrimp-pies, heck they come for anything that has a resemblance to a shrimp including plastic ones on a stick.  They come to drink copious amounts of beer, they leave after-effects around most visibly.  They come for the Friday night fireworks which happen when many of us are still setting up.  Some even come to buy original art, and not so original art.

I have done this show for more than 20 years.  Some years it is real winner, other years like this, it is not so great.  I made money, but it was way off the mark.

Part of the charm of this show is because I stay with a number of other good artists at Aileen Moore's historic house which is two blocks from the show.  Aileen puts up with all of us, very gracefully, puts on a great feed on Saturday night with most of us contributing something to the cause.  I can set up my booth stash my van across the street from it for the whole show, have "Position A" for teardown (Someday we will talk about the importance of "Position A", but not now) and stumble home to her house two blocks away.  It doesn't get any easier than that.

You are talking northern limits of Jacksonville, utter-southern limits of South Georgia here which spells for sales in art--very,very traditional, mostly conservative picks of art.  Hey that is what sells best here.  They love to get you down on the price if they can.

The committee is the local Art Association, very parochial, which means they don't get out and about to check out how other shows are run.  You do it their way or the highway.  Some years, long-standing exhibitors find themselves stuck on the side-streets between B/S and dubious antigue dealers. Reason being, if you don't get a high enough jury score than you lose your Centre Street position, and it is off to the netherlands.

This year they had one exhibitor on the sides who was selling B/S of a surfboard with the words "Margaritiaville" and some funny saying on it for $21.  He didn't make it.  He supposedly sold more than $15K of it on Saturday alone.  Artists complained (yeah, they didn't know which warehouse where they could pick up some of those boards) about the guy.  The committee came and basically said, "Naughty, naughty, don't be selling those anymore."  Rebuffed, he put them away for a while and then continued selling to his litlle old heart's content.  What ya gonna do?

So that is some of the buying atmosphere you have to contend with.

For the most part, spaces are generous for stock storage and display.  You can pull right up in front of your booth for setup and teardown.  They have booth-sitters, nice awards (I got second in photo and RC Fulwiler got third) and even some free food for the artists.

It seemed that the crowds were down this year, sales were off by 40 per cent for a lot of us.  There were still lots of success stories.  Serious money was being made, just not a lot of it was going around like years past.

I won't give up on this show, especially since I have a reinvite because of the award, but if it continues to down-spiral I may look for other pastures--but it is hard to give up on Aileen's place and the good times with old friends who come there.  It is a reunion.  It is one of the many beloved perks of this business, being able to reconnect with artist friends over decades of experience.  Oh the stories we have to tell about each other.  I seem to star prominently in many of them for better or worse.

That has always been why I have loved this business for more than 36 years, because of all the like-minded creative personalities I have met and shared good times with.  No money could replace those times, and that is why I keep merrily plugging along at this biz.

Extra little high today.  Got my acceptance to Lexington, which just about sets my summer.  Now, if I could get either AB&E or the Plaza, I would be in hog heaven.

No show this coming weekend, but then I go next for Artisphere in Greeneville SC.  You will get a full report about it.  Only 125 invited artists--it is a good feed and an extremely great opportunity to make mucho moola at.  Aloha, Nels.

beautiful setting in a shady parkfriendly, gentiel southern Georgia folks,  Hi Oliver

Tifton is in the southern part of Georgia about an hour from the Florida line and as removed from the hustle and bustle of the big city as you can get. They have all the chain restaurants and big box stores you could want but they're on the outskirts of town. The downtown area has all the charm of small town america with locally owned stores and restaurants. This is my second year at this long running festival (31 years) and again I was not dissapointed with my sales, I even won a merit award in the 3D catagory (I'm a jeweler).  Let me give you the nuts and bolts of the show. Friday setup and you can pull up to your booth and setup. Saturday morning breakfast, and I mean breakfast, bacon, eggs, biscuts, grits. Awards were in two catagories 2D and 3D with best in show of $1000 awarded in both catagories, 1st place 750, 2nd 500, and six merit awards of 100. They arrange discount rates with the Hilton, but I stayed at the Marriott for $50 a night. No jury fee and show fee of $125. A good mix of fine art and craft with no buy sell in sight. There is local entertainment on two stages, quite good, but not intrusive. Saturday was very well attended, but Sunday was not so much. Mary Ann the show co-ordinator and her staff of volunteers were very helpful, boothsitting when needed & offering to get me food so I didn't have to leave my booth. Beautiful spring weather, crisp and cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon.

This is not a big show so you won't get lost in the crowd and the be backs usually come back. I would recommend this show to just about everyone, you'll make a good paycheck. But if you're one of the artists that doesn't like to interact with people that come into your booth then maybe this show isn't for you as the people of Tifton are very friendly and sociable and they want to talk to the artists.

Just lost my first blog on this show, so please excuse any typos. 

This is a great locals favorite ATL Festival.  The weather was perfect and I would guess 100k people showed up.   This festival has lots going on.  There is a b/s street market, juried arts and crafts, lots of music, tour of homes, one of the best ATL parades and lots of beer. 

Set up is early morning on Saturday.  For being so big they handle it well.  There is free parking for artist althoug it is a bit of a hike.  The booths are set up in an old established neighboorhood very close to downtown Atlanta.  Booths on both sides of the street, with a sidewalk behind the booths.  You have some storage and working area behind the booths.  They also give every one 10'x 15' of space, so plenty of room to move around.  Break down is normal,  put stuff off to the side, go get your vehicle.   I got out in less then an hour.

The crowds are always big.  This is not your traditional art fair crowd IMO.  Near the port a potties and a kid zone there was a student artist tent.  They had a large 36"x 48" painting at the front of a nun hitting a bong and next to that was a large painting of the pope (with out the hat)  smoking a joint.  The kids were curious and the parents just laughed.  If you are someone who has a problem with this, then you shouldn't be at this festival.  The shoes and purses going by are not high end, but $500 price points are not a problem.  Anything over $1k is not as popular, but there are buyers at this festival who can handle this price point.  The jewler next to me had a great day on Saturday and was happy with Sunday.  The booth next to me (you can see their work in the 2nd pic)  almost sold out.  He sold collage type work of Turtle Lisa and Block heads.  I was able to walk around Sunday morning before the show to say hi to everyone I knew and talked to anyone who would talk.   The 2d people I knew and showed around me had an OK day on Saturday, but wanted a better Sunday.  I felt the same way.  Sales on Saturday don't really start until after the parade.  Like I said the parade is fun, but starts in the middle of the day, 2pm, and stops sales.   My booth is along the parade route.  The street is narrow so in and around your booth is filled with people watching the parade.  If you are prepared you will trap potential customers in your booth right before the parade and then you have them for the next hour.  I actually just had to stop writing this because my parade victim just called and I am going to his home next week for a commissioned piece.  Sunday sales start off slow but pick up again later in the day.  By the end everyone I knew and showed around was happy and would be back.  I do feel like there should have been more sales considering the crowd.  Most people going by were only carrying a beer.   I think contemporary, fun and funky things do better at this festival.  I have a photographer friend who shows images of Italy and he had an OK show, but would be back.   A close friend turned 40 this Sunday and I made her delay the celebration until next week so I could do this show.  I am happy I did and will plan around this show again.  If you are  a local artist you can get a ton of contacts that will keep you busy  all year during slow times. 

Attached pics- 1st one shows what the crowds looked like most of the time.  The second one is less crowded and not as typical.  The rest are of the parade, very colorful in more ways then one.

Well, we art show exhibitors quickly learn about how to deal with the vagaries of Mother Nature. Rain, cold, heat, high winds...I've seen 'em all...or so I thought.  But I never expected to have to deal with swarms of "Love Bugs".  And while it's important to keep things in perspective, given the ravages of tornadoes through Alabama this past week, there's no doubt that these amorous insects put the kibosh on festivities--and sales--this past weekend. 

For those of you who don't live in the South, "love bugs" are medium sized insects--a little bigger than fireflies (which they sort of resemble), and 'way smaller than locusts (which also travel in hordes).   What makes them unique is that...hmmm, how to put this, exactly?...once they get it on, they can't get it out.  So they live the rest of their lives (up to a week or so) oddly conjoined, splattering on auto windshields and everything else in their path. 

According to my Internet sources, they're attracted most by four things:

1) White surfaces

2) Asphalt

3) Heat

4) Nectar

All of which made the unfortunate artists and patrons of Howard Alan Events' Siesta Fiesta this weekend pretty much Ground Zero for the little #%*(@s.  Although both days dawned with surprisingly cool temperatures and low humidity for this time of year in Florida, temperatures heated up quickly both days, and by 11 a.m. the bugs started coming in waves.  Although a few of the artists I spoke with eked out a decent Saturday, most did not...and by early afternoon bugs outnumbered customers by, oh, several orders of magnitude. 

At the end of a long, long day--this is perhaps the toughest setup in the HAE stable of shows, with tents back-to-back along the center of a single long, narrow street, necessitating long, repeated dollys--we scraped bug residue off our vehicles and headed wearily to our hotel rooms, hoping that stiff breezes and clouds would  miraculously save our Sunday. 

Alas, Day 2 brought both more of the same (sun, bugs) and less of the same (sales).  For whatever reason, the critters seemed especially dense in my area most of the day, but no one was immune. By lunchtime bugs were rampant--on jewelry, on artwork, crawling in the browse bins, and shrouding the seas of white canopies.  Customers and artists valiantly tried to conduct business, but it was pretty much futile. Artists were surrendering their tents to the flying armies, and customers (if they entered the tents at all)  wouldn't browse the bins.   When I did make a sale, I had to sweep them off my invoice pad to write up the order. In mid-afternoon I was spotting handkerchiefs tied around faces to keep the bugs from getting swallowed. 

Never was 5 PM more eagerly anticipated.  Breakdown was surprisingly cheerful and efficient, given the extra work everyone had to clear the intruders off their artwork and canopies.  (The bugs are acidic--so as to be distateful to birds that would otherwise munch 'em--and it's important to get that glop removed as soon as possible.) 

We were about halfway through breakdown when Mother Nature had one more surprise in store--a pretty strong, but thankfully brief, dust devil that swirled up from nowhere and targeted my tent and about a half-dozen others nearby, flipping my neighbor's E-Z Up into the air and capsizing my canvases stacked on browse bins, pinwheeling my blue 10x10 tarp to parts unknown, and scattering some jewelry and artwork in at least two other tents.   Folks reacted quickly to hold down what they could, and luckily, there didn't seem to be any damage.  And as I finished packing, I thought about last week's Tuscaloosa twisters and decided to count my blessings. 

Yes, the show was an ill-timed financial disaster, and I'll be scrambling to get the mortgage and insurance paid this week.  But the tent and the vehicle will be clean again by Monday night, and  I've still got a home and a livelihood.   And as I drove home, I was really proud to be an outdoor artist, and prouder still of everyone else at the show, who just did what they could, and what they had to do, with a minimum of complaining and a lot of humor. 
(Check out the jewelry counter and the canopy behind my neighbor Brenda)

(By midday on Sunday they were all over the browse bins.  If only I'd used black
mats, I might have avoided this problem!) 

(I'm not sure if my neighbor Dave is ducking to get out of their way, or
attempting to clean them off the white pole)

(The final straw--they were attracted by the citrus in
my unopened bottle of Gatorade!)

     Let me preface this by saying I have been a glass artist for 6 years.  Started out doing small shows and I am slowely working up in caliber of show.

     This is my third year doing Magic City.  It has always been one of my best and favorite.  The staff work hard to make it a good show.  With all the tornado's and bad weather we almost decided not to take the trip.  All the weather came in on Tuesday and Wednesday and we were to drive down on Thursday.  We called and were reassured that the park and downtown were in great shape and they were.  No damage.  Driving down certian parts of the state looked like a war zone.  Total disaster.  But as we got into town everything looked good.  You have to feel sorry for those people in the surrounding area though.  Total devestation.

     Anyway, back to the show.  Layout is great.  Load in is easy, load out is ok.  Lots of ladies wearing red aprons eager to do what they could to help.  We sat up pretty quick with not much trouble.  Off to Dreamland to get ribs.

     Day one of the show was slow.  We didn't expect much.  Citizens of that area had so much more to worry about than the art show.  The crowd was sparce most of the day.  We made a few sales but just a few.  That evening after the show they had a dinner for the artist and gave awards.  While I don't ever expect to win an award (there are people with much more experience than I who are far more deserving) I do have a couple of opinions.  One of those opinions is that there shouldn't be only one judge.  Although they brought in a young California artist who was a qualified artist there should always be more than one.  Then it's not just one man's opinion.  That being said I somewhat agree with who won the awards.  A ceramist friend of mine won Best of Show and deserved it.  Lots of awards were given.  It was a nice evening.

     Saturday the crowd was better.  Weather was beautiful.  Sales were pretty much confined to the $25 to $100 range for me but a glass artist across from me sold a $1000 piece and and $3000 piece.  So money was out there.  (I don't even have a $1000 piece in my booth).  We did sell a $425 woven glass wall sculpture so all wasn't lost.  The crowd stayed pretty much all day.  We had a pretty good day.

     Sunday started out slow.  We had to wait until the church crowd let out.  Around 2:00 the crowd started picking up.  Sales were slower than Saturday but we did make a few smaller sales.  The show was over at 6:00 and by 5:00 all the buyers were gone.  So that last hour was a battle just to stay awake.  Finally teardown.  You had to be totally broken down before you could get a pass from one of the ladies in the red aprons.  You took that pass and went to pay the taxes.  Then you got a load out pass and were able to go get your vehicle.  It got a little crazy trying to find a place close to your stuff to park but it all worked out.

     My only problem with the show was how they placed the artist of the same medium.  Within a row of 10 booths there were 4 glass artist.  There were only 8 glass artist in the show of over 300 artist.  They could have spread us out a little better.  That being said everything else went great.  You could tell much planning and thought went into the event.  Lots of volunteers and it was easy to find someone to answer a question if you had one.  All in all a great show and I hope to do it again next year.

Pat

September 29-October 2                

Ohio Mart is a juried show and will accept only handmade original art. Plan to display your art at Ohio Mart in the fall. Cost for a 10 x 10 space is $450-$525. Jury fee $25.00. Tented and outside spaces available.

Benefits include:

Further information:  

Every year Sunshine Artist magazine holds a Show Poster Contest and I always look forward to the issue that shows the winners. Over the years many members of AFI here have had their work featured and the current slate of great posters is no exception. The winning posters come from the blockbuster shows and smaller ones also. A successful poster combines the artistic concept and the work of a graphic designer.  This year there were 61 entries.

Winner for Best Use of Color was the Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff, St. Joseph, MI - art work by Michael Stipek, an active member on this site. Congratulations to Sara Shambarger at Krasl and to Michael too.

Other winners who are members of ArtFairInsiders.com, but very quiet ones:

Best Artwork, Riverwalk Fine Art Fair, Naperville, IL, art work is by Kathleen Eaton, a frequent poster winner. In fact, I have a poster with her art on it on my office wall from the 57th Street Art Fair. Beautiful job, Kathy.

An infrequent contributor here, but a person whose work is often used to advertise an art fair is this image for Artisphere in Greenville, SC, by Bruce Holwerda. The Sunshine Artist staff chose this one. Good job, Bruce and congratulations to Liz Rundorff in Greenville.

Winner for Best Layout & Presentation is this poster for the Ann Arbor Street Fair in Ann Arbor, MI, with artwork by Mark Traughber. Congratulations to Mark and to show director Mo Riley who seems to be keeping this fabled event on the top of the list.

Please let me know if I missed any other members who were included as winners. More info: www.SunshineArtist.com.

I recently got my "not invited" notice to this fair but I really want to attend because my granddaughter lives in Louisville and I want another excuse to go out there and visit for a while. I have heard rumors of other, concurrent fairs that run next to and at the same time as the St James Court. Does anyone out there have more info to share on this subject? Done any of these shows? Anything will help.

Thanks, Kathleen

Deadline:  5/2/11

The Plaza Art Fair marks the beginning of autumn for all Kansas Citians, and attracts art enthusiasts from all over the nation. This annual celebration is located on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., recognized as the oldest shopping center in the country and a beloved destination in Kansas City.

The Plaza Art Fair exhibits have grown in quality and creativity over seven decades to become a nationally recognized fine art and fine craft event. The three-day celebration of the arts allows visitors to experience the personalities and diverse talents of world-class artists firsthand.

Beyond the colorful collections of art, this extraordinary event offers even more. With delicious food, magnificent music and interactive art experiences for all ages, there is something new around every corner.
 

POINTS OF INTEREST: 

• 
  
• 300,000 art enthusiasts attend
• $10,000 in cash awards 
• Individual Artist Electricity 
• Artist Breakfast, booth sitters, hospitality area 
• Free Parking

photo by Roger Peck, Topeka Government Examiner

Join us as the Plaza Art Fair tradition continues...

Applications available at: www.zapplication.org

CONTACT INFORMATION:
    Director: Kara Lowe
    Phone - 816.753.0100; Fax - 816.960.6215
    For more info:
    www.countryclubplaza.com/Events/Plaza-Art-Fair
    E-mail: info@countryclubplaza.com

It is always a thrill to exhibit at the Plaza, the air of exclusivity that this fine shopping center exudes brings out the young and affluent to see and be seen AND collect art!

P.S. You've got to know that if they are celebrating their 80th there is really something here! Apply today.

Hi everyone, Im new to this site, I am interested in joining Art Fairs in Northern California, If anyone knows of any upcoming fairs.. Please let me know

Thank yu

Jennifer CAtino

Well folks, we are almost to the 5,000 member mark here at Art Fair Insiders.  Has anybody got any good suggestions for a great way to celebrate this fantastic milestone?  I have been thinking about it as I watch the new members join us daily.  It seems like there must be some way to have a virtual celebration.  My guess is that we will hit that 5,000 member mark by Sunday. 

I remember watching us reach the 4,000 member mark.  I thought that was pretty special, too.  It is great watching this site grow and improve as we strive to help artists make a living through art.  Many of us have made many new friends here, too.  Plus, it is great being able to keep in touch with old friends that time and space have separated us from.  

I wonder, who was the first person to join this site once it got rolling?

Who is responsible for bringing the most new members to this site?

Who has added the most photos here for all of us to enjoy?

Who is the biggest contributer of blogs and posts? 

What has been the biggest sale ever in our Classifieds?

What was the longest post ever and what was the topic?

There is much to remember.   So, let me start the virtual toasting to a great site for artists and their work. 

Jacki B

Laumeier marks the start of my 2011 Art fair season during mothers days weekend. I end my last season of the One of the Kind Chicago. In this time, I had several set backs with a death of an Uncle. While getting the inventory and load the van for the event was easy getting my mind set was difficult.

Thinking about gas prices and considering that I only have 4 local shows has make me wondering about pricing. Think about how the economy has improve but the gas prices. Thinking about my regular job. Thinking how I had choose to separate my life, the shows and work apart is eating a life. Thinking about the time I will in the road without my wife. Thinking can I do it as photographer.

It is difficult to get started but I should be fine after the second one. It will be great season. It will be my best season ever. I feel that soul will be free since I love doing art shows. 

Should I consider doing shows all year around. I may not have a choice in that matter.

Whatever happen, I will be very happy because is what makes my soul feel happy other than expending time with my wife.

The St. George Art Festival is produced by the City of St. George Leisure Services Department. Promoted as family friendly and has live music on three stages and a "kid's creation station" where the little ones can make things to take home, helps to keep them from being too fussy! The staff couldn't have been more friendly and accommodating of artists with snacks each day, water, coffee (yuk), tea, hot chocolate (yeah) and a breakfast! Set up was all of Thursday before the show in the historic town square, which by the way is quite nice with large sculptures and water features, making it easy with a leisurely pace if you got there early, they even had big wagons that you could borrow which really helped going over the grass. Parking was easy and plentiful near the fair.