Fur In The Paint

Ask and yea shall receive.
This was an unplanned event. Meaning I agreed to do it at the last minute.I had missed the deadline for the application (wrote down the wrong date) and so I figured “Ah well, it means I’m not supposed to do it I guess.” As in maybe there will be some horrific storm or sales will be lousy. (These are the things I tell myself so as not to be too hard on myself for forgetting or goofing up.)

At Brookings I talked with several artists who said call the promoter anyway in case they have a cancellation or something. So I did despite that the deadline was months (yes, months) ago.

I thought “What the heck what’s the worst that will happen? They say no.”

Now to be fair I have been doing this event off and on for over a decade and last year I won an award there. The show manager knows me by sight so it’s not like she was selecting blindly when she said yes, they did have a cancel and a space. Long story short, I went.

I went … despite the weather predicting scattered thunderstorms all day, temps in the mid 90’s with heat index of.106. I used my spidey senses and got a good feeling weather-wise. All in all it was hot but not horrible. The crowds were good and sales rather mediocre (for me that is. My potter friend will soon have to hire help just carry away all her cash from these events) But I made more money than had I stayed home and a new opportunity to potentially illustrate children’s books has come my way from it. So we’ll see how that pans out.

Now there’s something I don’t hear every day.
Patron broswing through my horse print bin. “We bought a print last year from you for our dog.”

Me: Smiles uncertainly and made some babbly kind of reply while this was going on in my head. Did she say dog? … Nah, I bet she said Don or Dawn. You know like some people say “Our Bob is such a hard worker” … Man I really need to get my hearing checked.

Patron Seeing my uncertain expression decided to clarify. “Our dog just loves horses. We got him this one.” (holds print aloft.)

Me: mentally “Okay she DID say dog”

Patron. “We hung it real low to the floor so he can enjoy it.”

Truthfully this is a bit weird but one of the coolest things I’ve heard. You just know that dog has the very best life if they actually purchase art for it. I wish I would have said as much to her but my mind was still trying to process the idea.

You know this could be a whole new market to explore. Hmm … what to do for a slogan.

Buy my critter art for your critter … Buy my critter art! Your critter will thank you

Meh, needs work. But again I really think that is so cool and yes just a tad funny. After all who says art should be just for people?

I was one hot mama … Just not in the “good” way.
So last weekend I did Brookings Summer Art Festival. Despite scary forecasts the weather held though nearby areas got hail and torrential downpours. The heat and humidity however were killer.

The event was pretty good sales wise as well. Not as good as last year but that was like a freak of nature show so this one was in the upper category for this event.

That makes 2 not-so bad events in a row with better than expected sales. If this keeps up I may even become optimistic about the whole economy thing.

My neighbor to the right of me is a potter and his event was not so good sales-wise. My neighbor to the left said he was down by a third. On the other hand my dear potter friend (who shall remain nameless for the purposes of sales conversation) totally rocked it. But then she always does. She usually does 2 - 4 times what I do at any given event. if I didn’t love and admire her so much, I’m pretty sure I would have stabbed her in her sleep by now.

Brookings is the one event where we are all even more so like family because they don’t move us around alot. So I’ve had the same neighbor artists for years.

I love that Brookings gives me my same spot every year.
For 2 reasons.
1. Its a good location with shade and a windbreak.
2. Patrons know exactly where to find me every year.

It’s a fairly crafty event with loads of birdhouses, garden art and misc artsy craftsy stuffs. This year they even had a taxidermy booth which would have been much better located in the historical camp. In addition to the art fair they have a Flea Market and Historical Pioneer camp complete with soldiers, mountain men, fur traders and well, Capt. Jack here. (Photo Right)

Apparently It Doesn’t Really Matter That It’s Not Johnny Depp.
Now while not the actual Capt Jack he did a really good impression of him and I was hard pressed to get a photo of him without a dozen or so women crowded around tittering, swooning and perhaps even drooling just a little, while waiting their turn to have a photo taken with this famous pirate.

I gotta give the guy props because I was sweltering in my Tee and short pants and Johnny is done up in heavy layering all the while not fainting from heat exhaustion. But then perhaps it was fear that kept him upright. You know like when I am heading to the barn with a big ‘ol pot of fatty greasy scraps for the cats and they get all worked up into such a frenzy that I fear if I fall down it will be the end of me. I bet Capt. Jack here was having a similar thoughts and yet he kept up with the charming facade.

Capt. Jack “Hello lovey, what’s your name?”

Random Female snuggling up to him for a photo. “Amy”

Capt. Jack “So Amy, you ever been on a pirate ship?” (said with slurred speech as he draped his wobbly arm around her.)

Amy … giggles like a school girl.

So um, yeah …. Amy was about my age.

And yes I was totally tempted to have my photo with Jack. And yes, I bet I would have giggled (despite the fact that I never giggle) when he would have asked the same question of me. But good sense and a large humiliation factor kept me from it. I’m not sure if I regret not doing it or not. Ah well there’s always next year.

Well I am working hard and getting ready to leave for an art event this weekend, I’ll be in Des Moines doing The Other Art Show. It’s the one held during the same time as their big Summer Arts Fest. This one has the bad wrap of being the event that has the lesser quality artists (sigh) so most people go downtown to “look” at all the art there because it’s often too expensive to “buy” and then come to this event to buy something they can actually afford. Ah to be an artist who’s work most people can’t afford. (said wistfully to self) Last year a driend and I went downtown on a little reconnassaince and the art was quite good but not I think in general so much the better than at the other art show. It just goes to show that pricing art truly is subjective. Okay moving on ….

For me the big draw of doing this event is being indoors. (Whoohoo!) We set up on Friday and then just walk in and out each day at start and finish. Its total bliss not to be in the searing heat and worrying about torrential downpours which Iowa has been having nearly every day now for many weeks.

As I’ve said though indoor events don’t make nearly as much money usually as outdoor events so we’ll see what happens. I’ve done this show several times and so far its always been worth our while. It’s our only indoor event this summer so I plan to enjoy it.

So in preparation for the upcoming art season I’ve made a handy dandy chart for me to check the stages of emotional progress of art fair income.

Stage 1. Please God Let me make expenses.
Stage 2. Sweet it’s all gravy from here.
Stage 3. Cool, we can afford to eat this week.
Stage 3.5 Woohoo! Our monthly bills are paid
Stage 4. Happy Dance Time!
Stage 5. Kneel before me, I am an art fair god.

Most events we fall between stage 3 &3.5 area. It’s been a few years since I’ve made it all the way to stage 5 (not since the economic downturn, but I still hit stage 4 once or twice each year.

As promised I am running over some basics in regards to selling your product. This seems like a good time to do it since I’m actually preparing for my first event which is this upcoming weekend. My experience selling art is primarily through art fair events where I am the actual seller and these tips are geared for this market, as opposed to galleries where the gallery deals with the patron.

No Hard Selling Please
While hard selling works (think used car salesman) in the end I want anyone buying my work to be thrilled with the experience and definitely don’t want them to have felt pressured into purchasing. Repeat sales are a huge part on my income. I like to develop collectors since I tend to do the same events year after year. Anyone experiencing buyers remorse after feeling pushed into a purchase will not buy from that artist.

The Importance Of Quality
I know you’ve heard me go on and on, on this topic but it’s pretty important. Once again if a product lasts people will be more likely to buy again. For me that means no fading of framing materials or prints and especially NOT the original work from using inferior products. It does cost more but anyone who knows art will appreciate and value this and using all conservation grade products has sold more than one or two pieces for me. Art is often seen as an investment. It needs to last.

Booth Appearance
Keep it neat and professional. This means avoid overcrowding, (yeah I struggle with this one from time to time) never have art setting on the ground, keep it as open and spacious (ie not trap or cave like) so people feel like it “safe” to come in and browse. In a like manner try not to sit in the front. Buyers are wily prey and many will avoid entering on this principle alone.

The “S” Rule
Again regular readers know what this is Shiny Stuff Sells. Lighting is an absolute must for indoor events and when outdoors only use a white tents or canopies. You may think a colored tent stands out in a crowd but it will cast funny colors on your product and/or absorb light once again making your tent a “cave.”

Demonstrating Your Art
Patrons, art event staff and judges all love an artist working their medium. Now I realize depending on your genre’ this may not work but for those who it does, if at all possible demonstrate.

Giving Out Business Cards
So I am kinda against the flow of the general populace on this but I keep my business cards in the back or on my person so a patron needs to ask for one. My reasoning? Well … first if they aren’t willing to ask they probably don’t really intend to use. And most importantly it offers me a chance to interact with the lookie-lou and see if there is something I can help them with (ie to get them to buy now instead of later)

Handling the “Be Backs”
So anyone who has worked any kind of event here’s this statement dozens of times a day. Most people never do and never have any intention of doing so. I’ve come to the conclusion that people really want to tell you they appreciate your work but just not quite enough to spend money on it. Saying this allows them to assuage any guilt they feel for not buying anything. Which of course is unnecessary and has been know to excite the newbie artist. So if you’re a lookie-lou and really don’t plan to come back, then just say you really like the work and move on.

Now for the artist a good plan of action is to have some sort of incentive to bring them back to your booth. Like a flier or postcard saying they get something FREE (everyone’s favorite word) with a purchase made at this event. Now the free thing doesn’t have to be a big thing. Perhaps a free notecard or 10% discount. I also have offered a free shipping deal if they order from my website within the next month. This generally only works a handful of times. Again most people really have no real intention of buying. But then you just never know. NOTE This free promotional piece should not be advertised in front of other patrons or everybody will want to partake of the deal.

So there you have it. If you like more information on what I discussed here as well as more info on the subject in general please visit my squidoo page Selling Art: Tips From An Art Fair Veteran

The Business of Being an Artist

I usually include books on selling art on my various art business and art fair lenses so I finally up and made a page filled with a wide variety of books on selling art.

The Best Books On Selling Art has a broad range of subjects ranging from the business of being an artist to art licensing. For you potential art fair goers there is also a selection of books dedicated to being vendors at both and and/or craft fairs.

The Categories On Books On Selling Art On This Page Are:
* The Business of Being An Artist
Contains books on business management, legal issues and creativity.

* Selling Art & Marketing Yourself
Contains books about selling through galleries, self representation * art marketing

* Art Licensing

Make Money at Art Shows and Craft Fairs

* Selling Art at Art Fairs & Craft Shows
Contains books detailing the in and outs of marketing arts and crafts at street fairs.

* Selling Art Online
Covers online art marketing like Ebay, Etsy websites, blogs and more.

And since the art fair season is just around the corner I thought I’d include my compendium page which list all of my art fair and art business related squidoo pages. It’s an easy way to pick and choose the information you’d like to read up on.

A Full Compendium Of All Of My Art Fair & Art Business Lenses

Yup I’m back and glad of it. Once again the event was worth the trip but was in general much less than normal. Most artists I talked with said their year was around 30-50% less than normal. Most, like myself had an occasional good event but the bulk of shows sales were down.

Nothing new really to tell of this event. The weather cooperated enough that Saturday had a good crowd but the buying was minimal. Sunday was just quiet.

Over the years I have pretty much been through every kind of thing happening at an art event; rain, hail, tornadoes, biting bugs sucking out gallons of my precious fluids, searing heat, cars crashing into tents, people breaking things … uh I’ll stop there as I’m sure you get the idea. But this weekend I was witness to my first fire at an art fair. Technically it was art fair adjacent but we still had to leave.

The alarm went off and surprisingly no artists moved. I say surprisingly because at the threat of a thunderstorm artists scramble like you can’t imagine. But we all sat occasionally looking around but not moving. I don’t think my neighbor even looked up from his newspaper. Eventually staffers came around and said to move towards the front of the building as a precaution. Once there we were asked to go outside “as a precaution.” After 15 minutes of standing in 10 degree weather we were told to go across the street. Yup as a precaution. Eventually they sent us off to another building on campus which was good because even though most folks grabbed their coats we were all shaking like chihuahuas on a caffeine overdose.

The good news the fire was contained quickly and we were allowed to get back to business. That kinda wraps up my art fair season. Normally I’m a little down about no more events but the sales have been so mediocre that I’m pretty much okay with it. I’m so looking forward to working on new art!

I’ll post my new ram next.

So you may well guess since I didn’t just jump right on this telling you all how awesome the event was … that it wasn’t. Not much traffic at all despite being a soup lunch and wine tasting. But the event was cheap to do so no loss and it’s always good to support the local art centers though I don’t think they’re much into critter art. (I know right?) Though they did use of my images for the inside of this card so that’s something.

Anywho I have been studiously working trying to get a bunch of bigger projects finished up as well as get ready for this weekends event. (I suppose technically it’s next weekend’s event) It’s the last of the season and I think I’m ready.

For today fun and frivolities I’m going to a movie and then lock myself up in the gallery and not leaving until I have at least an outline for this year Christmas card. Best make sure I have plenty of Diet Coke on hand to keep the creative juju a-flowin’.

So this week has been kinda nuts. I had a couple of quiet-ish weeks and then everything comes at once. I’ve been staying late (way late like 7 - 8:30 each night) at the gallery and still I’ve not so much as got the postcard for tomorrows event scanned so I could post it. So … umm …. yeah.

I’ll be at the Pearsons Lake Art Center in Okiboji, Iowa tomorrow. Actually it might technically be in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The towns kinda abut one another. At any rate the Holiday event is from 10-4 and I believe there is soup and wine tasting going on as well.

I’ve not done this event so I haven’t a clue what to expect. I’ll let you know how it went next week.

On Selling Art
I have just recently created a new Squidoo lens about Selling Art: Tips From An Art Fair Veteran It has some tidbits from some of the other lenses on marketing and art fairs but it also has a whole bunch new content. The lens has already been award a purple star and been blessed so I think it means it’s a good ‘un.

Note to Undaunted
Been meaning to email but as I say … no time for nothing. Once again I can’t comment on our lens because the captcha’s gone missing. I can’t seem to comment on Angela’s blog either but for a completely different reason. I think the bloggy gods are messing with me. But I do pop in and I love your MeerKat.

So as has been the way all along, this event was chocked full of surprises. I suppose that’s to be expected though since I do primarily art events and Carol does Dairy and Stock shows. We are talking different crowds of people here.

The first surprise was when we discovered that yes the event ran 7 days but it was only open to the public for 3. Meaning we had to be there for 4 days where all there would be was breeders. I’m like “Ah crap.” My first days sales total was $15. Carol had a sale before we even opened for one of her cold cast porcelain pieces of a trotting Percheron though so there was hope.

But those early days were really one long yawn. Fortunately I adore Carol so we spent much of the time laughing. Also Carol Eilers (Yup totally kicking myself for not getting a pic of Carol E in her booth) was there from Apples ‘n Oats fame and so we all went out to dinner together and in general just made a party of it. (And by “party” I mean an exhausted over-indulgent eating spectacular. Oh wait that might have been just me. )

Carol (photo right working hard on a sculpture for some sheep trophy due the day after we returned). As the event went on it slowly got better and the final day was a bit of a feeding frenzy for both of us, which is always fun. Though I’ve already had one check come back bad. Art Fair patrons almost never write bad checks. Not so sure about horse people.

Another surprise was our booth had a wide open view of the horse barns (which I planned on getting a snapshot of but didn’t as after the first couple of days they closed the doors.) We kinda missed watching the horses get groomed and harnessed less than 40 feet away but closing the doors definitely cut down on the draft. Somehow the dust still blew though. We had no heat for the first few days and Lordy it was cold. But on day 3 or 4 they kicked it on. Mind you I’ve been through worse. The MN Horse Expo one year I wore a heavy winter coat and blanket for the entire event. This wasn’t nearly that bad.

I’ve included a couple of shots of our booth. I think our work really looks good together. Carol doesn’t have much for horse art as I say she’s primarily a cow artist. In the end we both made enough money to make it worth the trip but not enough to consider doing it again.

NEXT POST: Will contain actual pictures of draft horses.

Well as you can see by the photo the weather was lovely. A bit chilly but all in all it was as wonderful as could be hoped for. The sales however were not … yet-again … sigh.

We made enough to make it worth going but last year’s sales were substantially better. It kinda set the bar. However Ames had some major flooding a couple of months prior so that coupled with the whole economy thing kinda put it in the crapper.

So what’s a girl to do? Why apply to two more events of course. To be clear one I do every year anyway. The other is new but it’s close to home and the fee is cheap. I’ve not got high hopes for either at this point. but I’m not just gonna sit home twiddling my thumbs.

Sadly a high quality event which I had done several times in the past (but quit because the sales where just not high enough for the cost of the event) has closed down. Two Rivers in Des Moines is no longer. It saddens me but I certainly understand. The event was so expensive to do and artists continually didn’t make enough to keep coming back, so they just didn’t have enough interest to pay to make the show. Still … sad to hear it though.