I'm learning a lot through this my first art/craft show season! Last weekends show, which I thought would be a home run, was a huge disappointment! And though I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time, it was pretty darn close! I have one final show this season this coming weekend at 5 Points Park in Sarasota and fingers crossed will end the season with a bang! Throughout the season there have been many wonderful moments, but one moment from this past weekend truly puts a smile on my face! A customer very excitedly enters my tent and exclaims "I'm so happy to have finally found you, I've been looking for you at every art and craft show since January", which made the disappointment from the previous weekend fade into the distance! And though her husband did try to work a deal by talking me down on the price of the item she so coveted, I am happy to report that she did leave with the treasure she was seeking! Just in case you've ever wondered, an art/craft show is NOT a garage sale! Many of us don't have a physical storefront and this is our venue to display our hard work to the public. So it is not acceptable to most artists that you try to wheel and deal us on our price, in fact many of us find it quite offensive! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting a good deal as much as the next person, but this is not the place for that kind of thing! There are a lot of factors that go into how we as artists price our works and many artists don't charge for their labor as it is, so our work is generally priced more than fairly! Anyway, I apologize for the sidebar, but this situation was a bit disconcerting for me. But as this was to be her birthday gift and I could see that she would be heartbroken to walk away empty-handed, I didn't make a big deal about it and did work with them a bit. And although it put a slight tarnish on the experience, I think the outcome was good all the way around and I'm ecstatic that someone enjoys my work that much : )
I've been weighing my options, trying to decide if art/craft show gypsy is for me and I think I've decided to participate in local shows early in the season (Nov. - Feb). It just seems as though the market in Florida is pretty saturated with multiple shows per weekend, so traffic gets more and more diluted as the season progresses. I don't want to pull out completely because I really enjoy meeting and getting to know my customers face to face, so I'll be trying this schedule out in the fall.
I also made my very first art for art trade with a very talented local artist Robert Johnson whose art I've featured above. I love his use of perspective and color! He and his wife Sandy are residents of Anna Maria Island and Bob paints scenes from many local establishments as well as nature. They participate in quite a few of the local art and craft shows and they'll be in Englewood on Dearborn this coming weekend, so if you're in the area stop in and say hello!
And lastly, I'm super excited to start classes this week to learn some new jewelry design techniques and hone my skills, so wish me luck!
