Well, Ellen and I just got back in from Ft. Worth--safe and sound, and richer--so it was worth it.
It took $767 worth of gas, 2600 miles of traveling, both ways, and four days of driving combined with a pre-show setup day then four days of exhibiting. All said, it was worth it. It takes a certain toll on one's body and psyches.(I misspelled it, but I don't care). We are home safe and sound, had some pizza up the block and now I am blogging. Life is good except for the damn Ybor chickens who have devestated my flower beds while we were gone. I will get my revenge this week, Ybor Chicken wings Special all week.
There is a lot to talk about, I took copious notes, while selling, how many of you do that? i will break this up into chapters. You can skip what doesn't matter easily that way. if I make numerous misspellings, please forgive me, i drove 800 miles today, i have had 4 Titos and grapefruit, so my 8th grade English teacher may take umbrudge--but you all can't, too easy of a target.
CHAPTER 1--THE ROAD TRIP TO FT. WORTH
We took off early last Monday, 5:30 AM. We decided (My wife Ellen Marshall, the worlds best pastelist, got into the show too) to make the big journey on Monday, say 800 miles, we made it to Layfayette,LA by 4 pm that afternoon, after numerous naps at rest stops along the way. We live in Tampa, FL. So a trip to tallahassee takes 5 hours, then 3 hours to Pensacola, then 5 hours more to Layfayette. Made it to a $45 nite red roof, ate at Outback on one of my free $500 scrips.
Next day would be an easy cruise into Ft. Worth where we would set up early on wednesday morn. Along the way, using the interstate to Shreveport, we stopped for a rest at Natchitoches. This is a gem of a city. Along a beautiful river with restored buildings, this is a gem of a town well worth visiting. Lots of good restaurants to choose from, and very photogenic. Plus, it is only ten minutes off the interstate.
We started off paying $3.69 for unleaded, but by the end of the trip, we paid $4.01--ouch!
We made it into FW by 3:30 to a Crown Plaza which we found, via a tip from this site, on Priceline for $45 per nite. We got a kingsize non-smoking. That left me plenty extra for Titos and Tequila, notice how I like those T-Ts. Hotel was five minutes south of downtown via the interstate, even had its own bar.
One aside--and I paid dearly for not paying attention. When we checked in, we were warned to not park under the trees on the the lot. Well, dumb me, we come in after hitting the Stockyards that nite, had a few Titos, so I say, what the heck, I am parking under the trees. Biggest mistake I have ever made with my van. The crows had managed to shit on every available surface from the hood back beyond my drivers door. It was the ultimate guano city.
The preday setup is well run, you can get in and setup your booth real easy.
For those of you who don't know about this show, here are a few salaint comments about the show.
I personally put this show in my top 5 picks of shows to do in the country.
It is a four-day show run from 10 am in the morn til after 8pm at nite( it is optional for artists, after 8pm they can choose to close or stay as late as they want. My neighbor stayed open til midnite fri and Sat. and made more than $3K in sales each nite after 8pm.
They get close to 400,000 people in attendance. They have lots of disposable income. There are only 225 artists invited, thousands apply. MOST ARTISTS MAKE BETTER THAN $8K at this show!!
Most booths are setup in the show's booths down Main Street with booths back to back. You have to store within your booth's parameters. You can rent a storage container for extras. Then, a number of artists, like me, elect to set up in an open parking lot. The advantage being, most of us have storage behind our booths.
There is a lot of conjecture on which place is better than the other. Me. I have done this shoew three years in a row, I will always take the parking lot. For several reasons. I get plenty of storage behind, I get my van in quicker at the end and am out of there. I have the Flying Saucer and 8.0 Lounge across from me, think copious Tequila and lots of beer selections.
Well folks, I haven't even got to the show info, and I am worn out. I am ending this blog here for the night. I promise to pick up where I left off tomorrow morn. Lots of good things to talk about, but right know, I am plumb worn out, stay tuned, more goodies to follow--we will talk about the extreme winds, the extreme sales and all the other goodies--good nite. Nels.
FIRST SHOW DAY--THURSDAY
The day started with crisp temps and only went to a high of 76. Crowds came out.
Here are some perks about this show. It is well organized and promoted. Friendly block captains,booth-sitters, each artist is given 35 bottles of water, artist lounge, artist cocktail party and an artist breakfest.
People came early to buy. This was my third year in a row here, it has been my best show for the last two years Ellen got in too, it has always been her best show.
Sales were mostly lowend for most 2-D artists that day. Most did around $1.2K for the day. Did not see many large pieces go by. All in all, not a bad start. Ellen and I hit Sushi Blue on the west side for dinner, it was awesome.
WINDY FRIDAY--JUST GLAD TO HAVE SURVIVED IN ONE PIECE
Well, the forecast all along was for winds in the 25 mph plus condition. It ended up a lot worse than that.
A precursor of bad things to come, happened when I talked to AFIer James Parker early that morn. During the night somebody ripped off his large cargo trailer, stole it right out of the lot behind the hotel--complete with all his extra inventory.
Also Rich Fulwiler had his van broken into at the Austin show the previous weekend. Crooks kcked in a window and stole his Garmin and a weapon. He was pissed.
In anticipation of high winds, I took prudent measures, which ultimately saved my booth from any damage. I had two-45-pound John Deere tractor weights on my booth's front corners. In the back of my booth were piles of concrete parking barriers. I tied down my rear corners and my rear awning to them. I ran a line of the side of my booth to a nearby fence. I hammered cut-nails into my front feet of the booth to keep it from "walking" in high winds. Also, I leave the middle open on the back wall of my booth. It lets the air pass through without creating lift. My booth shook at times from sudden gusts, but I was intact at the end of the day.
Others were not so lucky. My neighbor Rod had an entire wall come loose when a sudden 50 mph gust hit it. Pieces went crashing and the twisted wall ended up on part of my booth, none of my pieces were damaged.
Winds almost toppled Sam and Jeannie Maddox's booth. With help from ParKer and others, they had to dissemble the booth, take the work out and call it a day by early afternoon.
Down Main Street where Ellen was set up. it was a giant wind tunnel with gusts barreling down the street like a crazed locomotive. It was almost too hard to stand up in front of your booth. Forget about umbrellas, they got trashed. Even the heavy steel sculptures at the show end couldn't stand up to the winds, couple of pieces toppled right over.
Crowds still came and bought, I had a $3K day in the winds, all lowend sales--little pieces of paper in the browse bins.
At days end we were all exhausted and happy that the day was done. I had a couple extra Titos that nite. Slept real well.
SATURDAY--NOW THE SHOW REALLY BEGINS TO KICK INTO HIGH GEAR.
Jewelers with a pop-up tent that went POP! left early Sat. morn--they missed all the good sales.
With the front now thru and done, we had crisp temps for the day along with massive buying crowds.
The reason this is a top-selling show is because FW has a robust economy fueled by oil and gas. The people come with lots of buying energy. I have never seen so many beautiful women as I see in FW. They just keep coming, one more beautiful than the last. It is a good mix of ages in the crowd. Lots of young 20-40 year-olds, mixed with rich moms and dads. All are dressed to the nines in expensive cowboy boots and Stetsons. They come to buy, and we all make a lot of moola.
Again, it was mostly small work that sold. But Bruce Neimi, an Illinois sculptor, sold a large piece that day. Ellen sold a biggie--a longhorn--to a happy couple. Me, I sold mostly small pieces of paper. It all added up.
Usually, I close up at 8pm and go eat. Many stay open, some til nearly midnite. I stayed open one hour later, as an experiment, and picked up an extra $500 in sales--that covered my Tequila bill. My neighbor made $3K after 8 pm, not bad.
We found a new Italian chop house called Ferre. It was reasonable and good, and gave great pours on their drinks. We slept well that nite too.
To top it off, when I got back to the hotel, I checked my Zapp site--and voila!-- got in Saint Louis in September--that is another biggie.
SUNDAY--THE FINAL PUSH, ROUND EM UP, GRAB THEIR CREDIT CARDS AND HEAD FOR THE BORDER
Another perfect weather day, hit the low eighties. Crowds were out early, still buying small pieces. Sales were steady, but not nearly as good as Saturday's. For me, this year's show lacked high end sales and that is why I ended up maybe 30% off of last year's total--but it still makes a hell of a show, my checking account got a lot fatter.
Teardown at this show can be a bitch for a lot of us. Show ends at 6pm, and on Main Street they wont let vans in til after 7pm. Me, I was lucky to get my van in on the street behind my booth. I packed up and was out by 7pm, Ellen hadn't even got her van in.
For me, it was off to Del Friscos for a great ending meal. Ellen joined me later. She had probably the biggest show there, topping even Winter Park, FW is her ultimate market.
We slept great that nite.
MONDAY AND TUESDAY--GOING HOME TO YBOR RICH AND SASSY.
We left at a leisurely time Monday morn around 10 am and made it into Baton Rouge that nite, about an eight hour drive. Found a killer sushi restaurant called Ichibin and choed down on some serious pieces of Hamachi, oh, and some sake too. Made it home Tuesday, an 800-mile drive, safe and sound. One disturbing note though. At our last gas fillup near Gainesville,FL we ended up paying $4.01 per gallon for unleaded--what a rip!
Well folks, that is my story, jump in and add comments if you like. I am off to the golf course to see if I can find my swing. Nels.
This addition was a big hit with not only the attendees, but the artists themselves! The expanded food court will be centrally located for your convenience. 
called, "The North Shore social event of the year." This fair has been twice voted the best art fair by North Shore Magazine and it is an inaugural inductee into the Illinois Festival Hall of Fame. 
