Fur In The Paint

So we are two for two. This events sales were less than expected. No idea why. It was a lovely weekend and the park had many lookers but buying was limited. Most of the regulars (artists that do this event often) said it was unusually slow. Ah well. At least the events sales are balanced. Two fairs better than expected and two worse.

The event is held in Owatonna Minnesota’s Central Park which was created in 1855. The fountain and trees were added not too many years later. Totally gorgeous. The event had 52 artists and several foods and kids activities.

I think next year we will return to Clear Lake’s artfair. It has equelly nice artwork and standards. The park is as nice and the crowds do come out. We always did well in CL but as we had been doing that show for something like 8 years we took a break and tried Owatonna. The big benefits for doing Clear Lake is not so much that I’ll make more sales but that my expenses are less. It is only a one day event (meaning more work time in the gallery) plus I’ve got no hotel expenses (2 nights worth.)

Owatonna’s Pluses

They had nice live music for the whole event

Coffee and doughnuts for breakfast

A very swanky artist dinner Saturday night

Impressive awards (good sized checks especially for the size of the event)

Relatively heavy on 2-D art (a rarity these days)

lovely park setting

Located near the twin cities so can and does pull buyers from there

Helpful, curteous staff

Easy load in and out

High standard for quality work (another rarity for small events)

The Downside

Small event in a small town (Not sure if this is actually a downside but nor is it a plus)

For the two years that I did the show sales were sluggish for many of vendors

And now for something just a little bit different.
The gentleman here spent much of the weekend wandering around the event painting scenes of all the activities

This photo is of him painting Mike and I from the back of the booth. Sort of a behind the scenes thing.

Pretty cool..

Tags: artfairs

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