Art Fest A Moderate Success

[Ed Cordes]

This weekend was the Corning Shindig which is a juried art fest with some other entertainment and food stuff going on in our town. Last year was our first experience doing anything like this. We were worried that the economy would hurt sales this year. Well the report is mixed. There were less vendors but the same number of photographers - 4. Last year Saturday was our best day this year Sunday was best. Last year 80% of sales were by credit card this year about 20%. The crowd was significantly less with many more lookers and talkers and less buyers.

It is amazing the number of photographers who visit a booth and think they too can make a lot of money selling at the show. Most don't know what I mean when I say they need to learn to take the camera off of "P" or "green square" and learn what they are doing!

Bottom line is that Gail and I covered our expenses and made a profit, but less than last year. However, this year any profit is better than no profit, so we are happy.

[Dan Brown]

Congrats on the profit Ed. Just curious, what did you sell? Small, medium or large prints? framed and/or matted? Greeting cards? I'm thinking about entering this arena!

[Alfred Forns]

Happy for you and Gail !!!! Big Congrats !!!

With just about everything being down this year you did well !!! I know it is hard work !!!

[Dave Phillips]

congrats......selling some is better than none.
I have never sold anything.....and haven't tried!!

[Mark Fuge]

Been there and done that, during a similar down market. I know success in the art show world is hard work, but congratulations on succeeding in this economy. The future will look brighter.

[Ed Vatza]

It is amazing the number of photographers who visit a booth and think they too can make a lot of money selling at the show. Most don't know what I mean when I say they need to learn to take the camera off of "P" or "green square" and learn what they are doing!

I am personally moving in this direction myself. It is a plan that is unfolding methodically as I head toward retirement from my day job.

Anyway as I wander around art shows, I am also amazed by the number of folks who look at an image and say things like "We have roses. I can take a picture like that." or "I know where that was taken. Why buy the picture. We can go take our own."

Just this past weekend I had a query as to where a particular image on my website was taken. I told the person where it was taken and how to get there. Then I added that getting to the spot is the easy part. Getting the image is a whole different story!

[Ed Cordes]

Congrats on the profit Ed. Just curious, what did you sell? Small, medium or large prints? framed and/or matted? Greeting cards? I'm thinking about entering this arena!

Thanks to all for your comments.

Dan, it is interesting what sold. About $100 of note cards at $2.50 each. Scenic and some animals, giraffes in particular were wanted by one customer decorating a baby room. We also sold some hummingbirds and butterflies. Print sizes were all over the place. I offer 8 1/2 X 11, 11 X 14 and 13 X 19 all matted with only a few framed.

Ed Vatza, we heard the same comments - "I know where that was done" I can do that" or "digital makes it easy".

One of the comments I DID NOT hear was "that was Photoshopped". Pretty much everyone accepted the images as "real" photography.


The rest of the vendors had mixed reviews. Some did OK some did poorly. The ecconomy is really affecting this type of business.

[Mark Fuge]

I am personally moving in this direction myself. It is a plan that is unfolding methodically as I head toward retirement from my day job.

Anyway as I wander around art shows, I am also amazed by the number of folks who look at an image and say things like "We have roses. I can take a picture like that." or "I know where that was taken. Why buy the picture. We can go take our own."

Just this past weekend I had a query as to where a particular image on my website was taken. I told the person where it was taken and how to get there. Then I added that getting to the spot is the easy part. Getting the image is a whole different story!

Get use to it Ed,

One of the joys of doing photography as an "art form". Everyone has a camera and has taken a picture. Some turn out and some don't, but they swear that the image was just like theirs! I felt like telling one gal that was looking at an image of mine, "Well the picture would cost you $100, but the trip back to take it wlll cost you about $2,000, Hope the weather and lighting are the same that day!" Restraint is not always easy!

Good Luck and keep cool. You will need it! ;)

[Dan Brown]

Thanks Ed, I may be attempting some sales as I am in a possible forced retirement situation:(:(

Thanks to all for your comments.

Dan, it is interesting what sold. About $100 of note cards at $2.50 each. Scenic and some animals, giraffes in particular were wanted by one customer decorating a baby room. We also sold some hummingbirds and butterflies. Print sizes were all over the place. I offer 8 1/2 X 11, 11 X 14 and 13 X 19 all matted with only a few framed.

Ed Vatza, we heard the same comments - "I know where that was done" I can do that" or "digital makes it easy".

One of the comments I DID NOT hear was "that was Photoshopped". Pretty much everyone accepted the images as "real" photography.


The rest of the vendors had mixed reviews. Some did OK some did poorly. The ecconomy is really affecting this type of business.

[Ed Cordes]

Thanks Ed, I may be attempting some sales as I am in a possible forced retirement situation:(:(

Dan, sorry to hear about your forced retirement situation. Making a living at art shows is difficult to say the least. I made a small profit after expenses for entry fees, and printing and matting costs. However if you have to factor in travel and lodging expenses like some of the other vendors did it is more difficult to show a profit. The art show does generate hits on my website which in turn generates a few sales. However, it is still not showing a profit for the year if I consider travel to the photo locations and new cameras and lenses etc.

I think there are some on BPN who do well in this regard, but they may have more established reputations than me.

[Dan Brown]

Thanks Ed for the reality check! I have tried this in the past with the same story. We'll see what happens, I don't want to sink a bunch of $$ into inventory though!:eek:

Dan, sorry to hear about your forced retirement situation. Making a living at art shows is difficult to say the least. I made a small profit after expenses for entry fees, and printing and matting costs. However if you have to factor in travel and lodging expenses like some of the other vendors did it is more difficult to show a profit. The art show does generate hits on my website which in turn generates a few sales. However, it is still not showing a profit for the year if I consider travel to the photo locations and new cameras and lenses etc.

I think there are some on BPN who do well in this regard, but they may have more established reputations than me.

[Ed Cordes]

Thanks Ed for the reality check! I have tried this in the past with the same story. We'll see what happens, I don't want to sink a bunch of $$ into inventory though!:eek:

Dan, it is more than just print inventory. You will need a tent - EZ Up basic is about $200. Metal racks to hold prints are $100 each and you need at least 2 so they will free stand, but 4 is much better. A sling type print stand is not to bad at about $35 or so. The last one was $40 for 2 on special.

Here are some links for you to check out.

http://www.graphicdisplaysystems.com/ For Print racks My wife bought material at JoAnn Fabrics and sewed covers for them - cost about $100 for 4 racks.

http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discou...rint-Racks.htm For Print Stands

WWW.clearbags.com for mats, backs and bags to hold them

We bought a folding 6 foot table for about $40 at a Home Depot

I also bought 5 feet of 4 inch PVC pipe and cut it in half so I had 4 pieces of 2 1/2 foot lengths. I filled them with concrete mix and placed a hook in the top. The ended up being about 30 pounds each. These I tied to the 4 corners of the tent to hold it down in the wind. The first year I used cinder blocks, but they didn't look as good.

If you get started feel free to email or even call me and I can give you any advice I can. I am not an expert, but I have learned a few things along the way.

We bought most of the stuff last year and made enough to cover the cost of all the investment in things with a little left over. I use them at 2 shows a year as I don't want to make it a full time job and have all the travel. This year I only had to buy the stuff to make the concrete weights so, other than entry fees, there were no up front costs besides inventory. This is what allowed us to make a profit - no capital investment this year.

I am attaching an older image of our booth. The racks in the back now have the black covers which really make a big difference in appearance. It is not the most exotic set up, but we have had many positive comments on it and it has generated some $$

Hope this all helps.

[Mark Fuge]

One suggestion on your display, that I experienced in the past. I had a large 24 x 36 inch framed image of a Moose on the Yellowstone River, that I put at the front of the display board. People could see it coming from a distance. You'd be surprised how that drew them in. Unfortunately it did not get the money out of their pockets, but I had fun watching them come past the other displays without batting an eye at them to see the Moose. Might be an idea to try, if you are willing to go a little bigger with one or two prints and put them up front. Doesn't have to be that big, but size does matter in their viewing the display.

Good Luck Ed & Dan!

[Nancy A Elwood]

The idea about having a few large ones to attract people, is what I do. And it does work. The top ones are canvas. Ed, have you thought of mesh walls? They have really worked out for us. This is our new booth design for the new season. I am fortunate that my husband makes my frames and mattes the images. It is true about getting a name. Towards the end of last season I started having people return to my booth from other shows where they had seen me. I started getting workshops and sales better then.

[Ed Vatza]

Lots of great tips and information here. Thanks.

I am hoping that 13x19, 16x20 and 17x22 images will, once matted and framed, be large enough for display. That the biggest my Epson 3800 will do. Otherwise, it means the addition of a 7880 or getting them printed outside.

[Nancy A Elwood]

One other thing is the booth fees. All the juried art shows have an application fee and then a booth fee if you get accepted. The application fee is non refundable. Most of the better art festivals have booth fees of $250.00 to $400.00. Most of them have gone to online applications, via Zapp, www.zapplication.com, or Juried Art Services, www.juriedartservices.com . Hope this helps!

Cheers

[Mark Fuge]

Sorry for the delay Ed, but life has been on us lately.

As for size, the 17x22 with an overmat and frame would suffice. Don't be afraid to get them printed however, if you have a great one that could go larger. You don't need more than one or at the most two large images for your display. I think most people would understand not having all 36x45 inch prints available. You can have them custom printed on order, for non available sizes and maybe even shipped from the lab to the client, depending on framing and mat options.

Good Luck!