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This is a one-day show sponsored by the Kalamazoo Art Center. It is held in and around Bronson Park and artists with booth locations on the interior can drive in on the sidewalks for set-up. This was my 5th. year in a row doing the show and it has become a real gem and a pleasure to do since they offered the Friday set-up.

This was the second time they suggested we be open on Friday evening. Last year we arrived in the late afternoon and were busy setting up while patrons were milling around the show. We didn't sell anything that evening, but had a very good Saturday. This year we came early and were ready for the 5 to 8 PM opening. We sold nearly $400 and didn't close-up until 8:30 PM.

Saturday morning the show picked up right where it left off. Many of the same patrons from the night before came by and made their final purchases. There is a parade that goes by the park and provides a distraction for an hour or so and the library had a book sale that is well attended. This year the Art Center had a "Garage Sale" in their galleries and that was fun too. There is also "craft" show set up a half-block away to take advantage of the large crowd.

The day became more and more overcast and rain was predicted for 7 PM. The show closed at 5 PM and within a half-hour the rain began as a drizzle. We all packed out wet but most of us were really pleased with our sales. Any one-day show that can deliver a $2000 + paycheck is a winner for me these days.

Having bailed out at the last minute on 3 shows this year (booth fees and all), it was time to see how things were going. The Denver show has the advantage of being organized by Jim DeLutes, a road show veteran. Jim is (almost) obcessed with making this an event of note and I trust the guy to actually do what he says, and he said he promoted the bejesus out of it. He was right.

The crowds were there, (most with hands in pockets), but we were blessed with 4 days of the best weather Colorado could offer. That, my friends, was a minor miracle.This one may have cost Jim his soul. Sales for us passed my goal of 5K, but what was unusual was what was purchased. I rarely sell a big framed piece, sold one. I usually sell a dozen or so canvas wraps, sold three. The matted prints flew out the tent, and most were purchased in groups of three or four. Very cool, since this product has the highest profit margain. A few commissions (we will see) a wedding (been a while for that). The neighbors (the dancing dachshunds,a jeweler, a sculpter and Heather the clothing lady all had varying degrees of success (and for two of them, this was the last show,both going on to bigger and better things).My good friend Jeff (analog BW) had a decent show as well. No one complained about anything but sales (well, Jeff dislikes the preponderance of what he refers to as "landscape porn" the overly saturated nature work in the 10X20 booths). Some observations from the show:
1) I am convinced that tent poles have a secret life. Despite careful packing, pre assembly and organization, once exposed thery are never where they were left.I can see the damn things snickering and laughing, jumping from bag to bag just to confuse the hell out of me during set up. I plan to install a nanny cam in the bags to prove my theory.
2) One of the most under rated benefits is people watching. I have my favorites, the hippie in the flesh colored body suit leading his llama thru a show in Nederland, my biker buds and goth people that readily identify with my work (damn, that's some sick s**t dude!), and my all time favorite, the white guy in shorts with black knee socks with the flip up sun glasses. This show had the March of the Cougars. It began quietly, a trickle of little black dresses, high heels and feather boas that turned into one of the oddest parades of prefumed and overly made up women I had ever wittnessed.Side by each, no male escorts in sight, I thought "this is one hell of a girls night out". Turned out to be the premier of Sex in the City. Quite a sight, and more than one husband got the shot to the ribs by the girlfriend/wife as his head swiveled to admire the scene.
3) Despite years of shows, I can still screw myself.Had a bike couple (pedal bikes) stop and exhibit some good interest in the work. We talked for 20 minutes or so, and they asked if it was OK to take a few pics of the booth for reference to take back to the hotel. I never allow this, but they were soooo nice. I said OK. It started with a few general pics, then she began to frame the images, he would hold them up for her.By the time I realized I had been set up, they had a half dozen shots.Very uncomfortable confrontation followed, I stopped short of asking them to delete the images (I really had no proof of their intentions). Never again.
4) As the show ended, had a guy (blue blazer/yellow pants) walking with his wife stop for a second.He raised his hands in disgust, and said loud enough to hurt the feelings of anyone within earshot" Why can't these people do something different, it's the same old crap at every show". Wow. That one really hit below the belt.Hard enough these days, and to have one a**hole summarily dismiss the creative efforts of all the hardworking people kinda got to me. Then I thought, this guy is probably the only male to see Sex in the City with his wife.Good enough for me.

A Post script: I received a call from the people I let shoot photos. They placed an order for 6 canvas pieces. Happy for that, of course. You just never know.

I did both weekends of the show and the best thing about it was the people. Great support, lots of nice people who brought water and snacksaround every hour or so, lots of booth sitters and a great brunch on SundayMorning. Move-in Move-out was rough as you must have dolly and go up and down aramp to enter the show area. There was a wide variety of art on display and anice price point range, the layout was much better than the Spoleto Fine ArtShow that went on across the street. The heat and humidity was unbearable andmost likely what kept the buyers away. This was my first time at the show and in talking to my neighbors they all reported slower than usual sales. the worst part of the show was the black babypowder like dust that covered everything pressure washing the panels and tenton top of a bad sales weekend makes this show more work than it was worth. Allof the art like wise had to be cleaned hours and hours of additional work.

I am a mixed media 2-d and 3-d artist who mainly paints animals and uses bright happy colors and live only 4 hours from the show.

Almost 200 Artist enjoyed this beautiful Square in the heart of Philadelphia. Always one of the more high level group of artist in the area, Fine Art exclusively, not craft and Photography. Many new faces. Unfortunately the weather was impossible. The hit and the humidity did the time for artist very hard. The set up on thursday always is very convenient and easy. Friday, first festival day, normally is quiet, the public, mostly people are working in the area. Saturday, the best day. The 18 th st. was closed to the vehicular traffic to permit restaurants put tables in the street. High public traffic all day long. Particulary my best day of the week end to make business. Sunday, was a short day, very windy and the organizers

let free decision to artist leave the festival before 5PM, after the news about the possible tornado in the area.
Synthesis, good show, easy to do, good educated attenders, they know what they are looking for. I had notices from other Artist about big sales ( included me). But I know very hard time for other artists. One of my favorites Art Shows

The DeForest Dragon Art Show was on June 5, 2010. It is fund raiser for art scholarships. The show is in its 7th year and has developed a nice following. It is a smaller show with about 75 artists. There were plenty of "tire-kickers". Which is fine, as our art is not an impulse item. They need to walk around and think about it for a little while.

Then about 2:00, a man was sitting on the ledge just behind our booth. He was having a heart-attack. The paramedics were called. The next thing I know there are 15-20 people swarming around this guy.

While they are working on him, the tornado sirens go off. The skies had been "threatening" all day. But now we were going to pay for it. They came through and told us to pack up, then told us to get into the library for shelter, as there was funnel cloud in the area. Then it starts to pour rain. We were packing in the rain. (Never an enjoyable event). I tried to adjust the wall of the tent to keep the rain out, only to get dumped with a gallon of rain water off the top the tent, right on my head. I was soaked. (Better me, then our art).

We got the art loaded in the car. Since we were only about a half hour from home, we took the art home first and returned to put the tent and other wet items into the vehicle separately.

We ended up having 5 pieces of art that were damaged by the rain. All have been repaired and are ready for next weekend.

It was very disappointing. But the show had good potential. I think we would have a decent show, if it had not been for the rain. The lesson learned: Always be prepared for the unexpected. Gee, sounds like I am a boy scout. lol

Having bailed out at the last minute on 3 shows this year, it was time to see how things were going. The Denver show has the advantage of being organized by Jim DeLutes, a road show veteran. Jim is (almost) obcessed with making this an event of note and I trust the guy to actually do what he says, and he said he promoted the bejesus out of it. He was right.

The crowds were there, (most with hands in pockets), but we were blessed with 4 days of the best weather Colorado could offer. That, my friends, was a minor miracle.This one may have cost Jim his soul. Sales for us hit my goal of 5K, but what was unusual was what was purchased. I rarely sell a big framed piece, sold one. I usually sell a dozen or so canvas wraps, sold three. The matted prints flew out the tent, and most were purchased in groups of three or four. Very cool, since this product has the highest profit margain. A few commissions (we will see) a wedding (been a while for that). The neighbors (the dancing dachshunds,a jeweler, a scuptor and Heather the clothing lady all had varying degrees of success (and for two of them, this was the last show,both going on to bigger and better things).My good friend Jeff (analog BW) had a decent show as well. No one complained about anything but sales (well, Jeff dislikes the preponderance of what he refers to as "landscape porn" the overly saturated nature work in the 10X20 booths). Some observations from the show:

1) I am convinced that tent poles have a secret life. Despite careful packing, pre assembly and organization, once exposed thery are never where they were left.I can see the damn things snickering and laughing, jumping from bag to bag just to confuse the hell out of me during set up. I plan to install a nanny cam in the bags to prove my theory.

2) One of the most under rated benefits is people watching. I have my favorites, the hippie in the flesh colored body suit leading his llama thru a show in Nederland, my biker buds and goth people that readily identify with my work (damn, that's some sick s**t dude!), and my all time favorite, the white guy in shorts with black knee socks with the flip up sun glasses. This show had the March of the Cougars. It began quietly, a trickle of little black dresses, high heels and feather boas that turned into one of the oddest parades of prefumed and overly made up women I had ever wittnessed.Side by each, no male escorts in sight, I thought "this is one hell of a girls night out". Turned out to be the premier of Sex in the City. Quite a sight, and more than one husband got the shot to the ribs by the girlfriend/wife as his head swiveled to admire the scene.

3) Despite years of shows, I can still screw myself.Had a bike couple (pedal bikes) stop and exhibit some good interest in the work. We talked for 20 minutes or so, and they asked if it was OK to take a few pics of the booth for reference to take back to the hotel. I never allow this, but they were soooo nice. I said OK. It started with a few general pics, then she began to frame the images, he would hold them up for her.By the time I realized I had been set up, they had a half dozen shots.Very uncomfortable confrontation followed, I stopped short of asking them to delete the images (I really had no proof of their intentions). Never again.

4) As the show ended, had a guy (blue blazer/yellow pants) walking with his wife stop for a second.He raised his hands in disgust, and said loud enough to hurt the feelings of anyone within earshot" Why can't these people do something different, it's the same old crap at every show". Wow. That one really hit below the belt.Hard enough these days, and to have one a**hole summarily dismiss the creative efforts of all the hardworking people kinda got to me. Then I thought, this guy is probably the only male to see Sex in the City with his wife.Good enough for me.

After using an EZ-Up tent for five years, I bit the bullet and bought a professional tent. I asked the Artfairinsiders.com community for help and Linnea Lahlum recommended a Showoff. She provided lots of helpful points that made me feel comfortable moving forward with the purchase. I practiced setting up the tent at home and discovered I had some problems with my mesh display walls from Flourish.

I use Flourish white mesh walls to hang my artwork. I love how easy the set up is and how light and portable it is compared to the solid panel walls many artists choose. What I didn't anticipate was that the tent is a different size than the EZ-up... it isn't a true 10x10 according to the people at Flourish.com. The legs of the tent and upper tent structure is a different size. I needed to order new bottom support poles and hardware for the base of the tent. The Flourish people also say that I will need to use a rubber mallet to get the top hooks of the walls to fit the new size of the upper structure. They also said I may need to create some kind of extension for the velcro strips on the back wall as it will be wider than my EZ-Up. Not the end of the world, but I was disappointed that I couldn't use my new tent while I wait for my new Flourish supplies. Thought I would share this info in case anyone using EZ-Up and Flourish is ready to graduate to a "big girl tent" as my friend Claudia calls it.

We had a beautiful but HOT weekend for the Barrington show on 5/29-5/30. It was the first year for this show and the community seemed to be very invested and supportive. Amy Amdur puts on a first class show and I was very impressed with the turn out. The crowd was steady and the location was good. My setup flight was at 8:00 pm on Friday night and it was the first time I tried to set up in the dark. Street lights didn't provide much help.

For me and many other artists I talked to, it was a great show. I had several commissions and sold lots of prints. Sunday was the better day for me and several of my neighbors, despite the fact that it was the hotter day. I would definitely do this show next year and I'm looking forward to the other Amdur shows I'll be doing this summer.

I've participated in the Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Festival for the past four years and I certainly hope to be accepted again next year. My medium is photography. Show hours for both Saturday and Sunday are 10am to 4pm. There were 96 artists evenly distributed among the mediums. Application and artwork samples are submitted by mail. There is no jury fee and the show fee is $125. Sturgeon Bay is the "entrance" to Wisconsin's Door County - an area of the Wisconsin "thumb" that is jammed packed with vacationers from all over.

The layout - Located on the water in lovely Sunset Park, booths are laid out for a comfortable patron flow. Each artist has 3 to 5 ft of space on both sides of the booth. Sure is great having this space not only for storage, but it nicely allows walk around room for those wishing to hang artwork on the outside walls.

The weather - Could not have been more perfect! Clear blue skies, max 5mph winds and low humidity. I recall in past years having to tie my tent to the van the winds off the lake were so strong and cold. Not this year!

The crowd - Likely due to the weather, attendance was quite a bit lower than the last three years. I don't have the statistics yet, but in my opinion attendance was about half what I've experienced in the past. This show typically has not only local Door County residents, but in the past (and this year as well), 50% of my sales come from Illinois residents, most with second homes in "the Door" or those that arrive on their sailboats.

The $$$$ - I was a tad worried on Saturday. My sales were way down from previous years. However, three other artists that have attended those prior years with me were doing great. Barb, a fantastic jeweler, always has a booth across from me and she did on Saturday what she did all weekend last year. She has a great following and I was beginning to wonder where "my people" were. Sunday cleared that up for me. Barb's Sunday was not so great but mine ended up quite well and my total weekend sales were a couple hundred higher than last year. Pretty good considering the lower attendance. This vacation area on the Great Lakes however is certainly my market - I should always do well here as most patrons either live on or close to the water, are sailors/boaters and make their living in a town that has one of the largest ship building facilities in the world. My peeps!

The Other Side - While the four of us artists who have done this event for many years seemed to have a successful show, I spoke with four or five that had dismal results. For three, it was their first time at this event and they mentioned they would not return. I wish the attendance would have been higher as their artwork is stunning and they should have had better sales. As several of us have had many repeat customers over the years, perhaps this is one of those small vacation town events that seems to have a distinct following. Looking at my sales four years ago, they were not that great in comparison.

The Organization - I have always appreciated the hard work Kristi and her team of volunteers put into this event. Each artist is given a "goodie" bag upon arrival with area literature, water, chapstick, a muffin, dried cherries and other fun stuff. For some reason (slow sales for some) Kristi had to deal with alot of artists complaining about other artists this year. Grumblers snitching on other artists, accusing each other of buy/sell, narking on "original/non original..... I was amazed at the outright pettiness of some artists and I certainly would have not expected that at this little event. While Kristi had to address each issue brought up by each artist, it couldn't have been easy. One of the features many of us have looked forward to over the years are the roving musicans and one clown she has walking throughout the booth. One musician plays the violin, one plays a "squeezebox" (one of those hand accordians) and the clown sometimes acts as a babysitter by involving the kids with various things while the parents get a chance to enter the booths. They are absolutely wonderful and quite appropriate for this venue. Geez.... one artist approached Kristi right in front of my booth and demanded that the violin player stopped. Talk about bitchy artists!

The cheerful volunteers were plentiful and checked in frequently to offer breaks if needed.

Food - Each morning coffee and donuts are available for the artists. A special artist reception is always offered after closing from 4pm to 6pm on Saturday. A nice selection of cheese/sausage/fruits and other yummies along with various beverages and wine are always offered under a tent as the artists mingle and awards are handed out. The food court and the kettle korn guy are across the tennis courts from the artists (thank God). Several local organizations run the food court area (Jaycees etc) and they have run of the mill burgers/dogs/brats as well as salads, beverages and potato curls - I always tend to bring my own food.

Art Raffle - an art raffle tent is in the center of the booths and for the first time I checked it out at the end of the day on Sunday. Got a kick out of the many who came back to see if they "won" their coveted artwork. Plenty of cheers and groans from all.

This is not a huge event by any means. However, in my opinion it is top quality art and the organizers pay attention to the details to provide a pleasant experience for all. I'll post my YouTube Video in the next couple of days or so.

40 Question Blog Series – Question 21 What can I do to relate to mycustomers better?

Everyone buys something for different reasons. Whether it is a car, a cellphone or even art, everyone is not the same. Recognize this becauseall of your customers are not the same. You know your work insideand out, but do you know your customers? Can you relate to them? Ifyou are a “middle class” artist, can you relate to an audiencethat is upper class with your art? Here's some tips on how to get inthe head of your customers...

Question 21 What can I do to relate to my customers better?

To understand your customers you have to know who they are. Generallyeveryone has a typical customer/marketing audience for their art orcraft. The key is to learn what their beliefs are, their passions,favorite shows and books, and so on. While most folks may questionthe logic of learning a customers favorite t.v. show, this info canhelp in breaking the ice when it comes to selling to customers.Here's some examples.

1. Finding a common ground can help ease both parties when talking about yourart. It isn't enough to just have your work on a wall or shelf at ashow, you have to sell it and each person responds differently towhy they buy. Tell interested customers whether a particular pieceis inspired by a piece of artwork on a popular t.v. show or the bowlis just like one that Paula Dean uses on The Food Network. Theseexamples allow customers to personally identify with a piece,which will make them more likely to buy it. Those from a higherincome bracket might want to know if your work was featured in arecent art exhibit or if it a popular seller at a local gallery.Knowing where these people shop, watch on t.v. and so on are allways to get customers to relate to your work and help them becomeattached to your art.

2. People with different economic backgrounds display art in different waysand this can affect how your work sells. Those with money often buylarger format work because, with having bigger homes, their wallsare bigger and are less interested in small 11x14 photographs, butgravitate towards large format work. At the same time those withsome spending money, but live in apartments or smaller homes,gravitate towards smaller pieces, this is why having a largeselection of art work sizes (for example) opens yourself up to alarger buying audience.

3. Don't be too specific with your work. While the economy prevents peopleto spend money easily, the more specific a buying audience you havethe more likely you will not have great sales. My personal storywith this deals with my new line of candles. Granted everyone sellscandles these days it seems, the key is to offer something others donot offer yet anyone would be interested in. I developed a line ofpalm wax candles called Destination Scentsations which ties intravel and scents to those who love candles. I can't think ofanyone who doesn't freely talk about their recent vacations andmix that with those obsessed with making things smell nice became myinspiration with my new line. Combining the two opens my product tonot only people who have money to travel but teens who dream oflounging on a tropical beach to those planning a destination weddingand so on. Doing this opens the door to people who wouldn'tnormally buy candles, yet love to travel and at the same time givecandle lovers an even better reason to buy my candles over others.

Look at your work and ask yourself what else can I do to make my work moreappealing to others. Get to know your audience because if you can'trelate to them, how do you expect to sell to them. The more youappear genuine and honest to your customers, the more they will buyfrom you – economic recession or not. Next question will covernaming your business – soo many people are doing it wrong, learnhow to do it right!!! - Michelle Sholund,www.bythebaybotanicals.comand www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com

I paint pictures.....acrylic....portraits, sports art and scenery and everything in between. I sell prints of my orginals.

I was very disappointed in the low attendance at this show on May 29 and 30, 2010.

And it was the consensus of several artist who have attended this show before that attendance was down.

Now there were 100 booth of great artists.....but this made no difference..at times the place was quite empty.....even on 1:30 on Saturday.

Weather was hot for Sturgeon Bay.....but dont think this is a good excuse.

The food was quite poor. Poor quality hamburgers.....nice entertainment for the kids.

The promoter was quite upset that I did not bring any originals, just prints.....she said it was stated in the rules that there a painter needs to bring some originals. Some? I again checked the rules and there was no reference to the requirement to bring originals. The only thing the application says is: "Reproductions: Only original work and signed and numbered prints may be exhibited."

( Gee if I was a photographer it would be so easy.....and I would not get hasseled ....lol)

Will not do this show again.