I just finished a weekend art fair in a nearby small city. This was my first “big” fair, meaning a booth fee of $200, which was a little intimidating. But I wanted to try one of the bigger fairs being held at a local resort conference center (it IS late fall in north Michigan, so art fairs need to be inside this time of year).
Well, the fair was not as large as advertised. It had fewer vendors, and much less traffic than expected. This was not completely the promoter’s fault; it was in large part due to the conference center being hard to find, even by two different friends of mine who are natives to the area, in spite of the signs put up.
But during the event, I met numerous professional artists who make their fulltime living at art fairs (yes, they were disappointed, too, with the low attendance), who were wonderful people. The quality of their artwork was outstanding, and I felt honored to be in a show with them. One gal routinely makes thousands at each fair she goes to, and at this fair, barely made her booth fee. Others had the same experience. But no one complained about the low attendance; we all agreed it was an opportunity to meet other artists and network, and we did.
And there were definite highlights to the fair. I made my booth fee, and a decent profit, so no complaints there. What delighted me was the response of the other artists, when I asked if they thought my art was good enough for the “big fairs”: they all unanimously said “Good gravy, yes!” which was encouraging. One artist who has made a living for over 20 years at fairs came to me privately and told me his opinion that I and one other artist in a different media were the two best in the fair – this, from someone who makes a fulltime, very good living selling thousands of dollars of art each weekend at fairs. I was amazed at his feedback.
The fair producer pulled me aside after I set up, and told me that they want me in a huge fair held in a wealthy part of the state where the artists make thousands on each painting they sell. When I checked with others, they said, “Oh, yes, that’s a great fair”. When I told the producer I was interested, they said, “After you enter, I will help you price your items.”
This art fair was benefitting a local food bank, which was the factor that made me decide to enter. The $3 entry charge was reduced by a dollar for each customer who brought canned food for the bank. There was also a raffle held, and various artists put in some of their art to be raffled off at this charity fundraiser. I donated a small 11 X 14 inch print of one of my paintings (The Chickadee Tree, shown above). At the end of the first day, one of the other artists said “I want to show you something.” We went by the raffle table (I hadn’t even looked at it), and next to each item donated was a paper bag in which customers could put their tickets for a chance to win the item. Some bags held one, two, or five tickets; one held about 20 tickets, and some had none. Then, she took me to my print. The bag was full, with over 100 tickets. I couldn’t believe it. She said, “Believe in yourself. This should prove to you that you really are good.”
I felt overwhelmed by then, thanked her, and went and sat down, trying to process this type of feedback. The artists at this fair were so generous with their information. They shared with me tips on how to improve my display; they shared with me which were the best art fairs in the state, and which ones to avoid. They shared their stories. One artist even had her spouse do a food run so we could have lunch the second day. I have never seen such camaraderie, such kindness, or such generosity before. These artists are not only good at their art, they are good, caring people. We all rejoiced when someone sold a big item, or did well in sales. While the art fair was small, the fellowship within it was BIG, and priceless. I am so glad I entered this fair, and believe this is a turn