Fur In The Paint

Two Rivers Art Expo is located in Des Moines, Iowa. And yes, in case you were wondering, it was indoors.

The thing about doing indoor events, is that people get so territorial, (a $450 booth fee will do that to you.). A primitive caveman thing happens, where you find yourself wanting to club your neighbor for the slightest infraction on your space. Well I don’t, but some folks do. I bought a corner spot this year, so I only had one neighbor, (and they were great.)

About the event
This is one of those shows that seems to do everything right and yet does not bring in the big money I would expect from such a quality event. It has been 3 years since we did a Two Rivers event (that alone should tell you something.)

We will not be back next year, for the sole reason that this is the most expensive event we did this year and it was almost the least profitable (and that includes all the ones we have been stormed out of.) I had someone from Omaha come pick up their original painting and put down a sizable final payment. But if it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t have made much above expenses. (which include booth fee, hotel, gas, food and cost of goods sold.)

The odd thing is, at this point I really don’t get bent out of shape about much. Mike and I had loads of fun this weekend and spent money like we actually earned some. I know a few artists who did very poorly (as in no sales) and I feel for them. It can be crushing to the spirit to have that happen.

All the things Two Rivers does well

• Seriously high quality artwork. No buy/sell stuff here.
• It is held in a nice facility (at the HyVee Hall at the Iowa Event Center) and they decorate festively. It is also a clean show, no full trash cans or debris laying about.
• Nice award money
• Live music both inside the expo and in the hallway.
• Good storage space (which can be an issue at indoor events.)
• Artist lounge complete with tables, coffee, tea, breakfast breads and light snacks all day.
• Helpful and courteous staff. We had a small issue, which when brought to their attention, they apologized and immediately corrected the problem. (Huge thumbs up)

Downside

• Gate fee (as previously stated I don’t know that this is a negative, but I don’t feel it is a positive either.)
• Expensive event to do. My booth cost $450. Which includes a corner spot with electricity. That doesn’t include the jury fee though.
• Their load in/out has the potential to be horrible. It is well organized but the fact remains that 8 artists at a time are allowed 20 minutes to unload. They have over 130 artists. Do the math.
• Often lower sales than expected. They are really trying, I’m not sure what else they could have done. Des Moines is one of those cities that has one event after another and maybe they are just tapped out.