It’s hard to imagine a weekend in the New England spring and summer without one town or another hosting an arts and crafts show. I love wandering the aisles inspecting the works of local artists and seeing all the different offerings and creative themes. I often stop and talk to the stall owner and see if they like the show…Imagine what it would be like to exhibit your paintings at a local arts and crafts show…
Yesterday, we talked about the ins and outs of running a successful art exhibit with a benefit, fundraiser, or charity event. Today, it’s a traditional for-profit program that I’d like to talk about. I think we all like to visit these shows until someone says…”Hey, you should sell your stuff. You’re really good!”
In addition to compliments, we are going to visit art shows and think, hey, I can do this… And why not? We don’t have to make a living as artists to exhibit at these shows. Earning happy money is all the motivation we need.
I will advise you to carefully consider which paintings to bring. The greatest hits of all time are paintings of local scenes or a common theme. A common theme could be all seascapes, or all lighthouses, or all wildlife, etc. You’ll need to research the program to decide what might work best for you.
Remember the questions we asked about charity events and shows?
Same question for any possible art exhibition. You have to do your research. Go online and search directories of festivals and art shows and find as many as you can in your area. Watch them over and over again, the questions you need to ask are:
1. What is the attendance at the art exhibition during the last 3 years? History will give you an idea of whether this show is growing or declining in popularity.
2. What is the history of the providers? How many first time sellers? How many providers repeat? This allows you to quickly find out if other vendors have deemed this event worth attending.
3. Show organizers often schedule a dozen shows throughout the region during the season they call the circuit. See if the same vendors attend each fair in the circuit. Many performers earn an entire year’s income in just the short season by signing up for every show within an organizer’s circuit. Check it out. It’s not hard to see a show travel one weekend to Tucson, AZ, then Los Angeles, then Phoenix, then Santa Fe, then El Passo, then Las Vegas and so on. You know that when an artist signs up for all the shows on a single circuit, it is a high income for him/her. So be sure to check it out.
4. Talk to other artists and vendors to get their reaction. Will they sign up again next year? How many years have they exhibited? What makes this show unique to them?
5. What kind of promotional advertising programs are the organizers carrying out? Estimated attendance this year? What is the biggest drawing power of the show…or what drives people to take time off during their valuable weekend to attend this particular show?
6. What is the average cost of items offered by other providers? (Why? Because if you are trying to sell paintings for $175.00 and all the other vendors are selling items for $15.00, these are the wrong people for you…)
7. What is the average sales per event for vendors…?
8. What kind of other sellers will participate…? In other words, match your products to the true interests of your audience.
9. What kind of special show offer can you put together that will more than cover your costs for being in the show?
There are many publications available that list arts and crafts shows chronologically or by region rather than date.
This is only a partial list….
* Where are the shows
* Art Search
* art exam
* Find Art
* etc…
There are also tons of online resources available for your review.
Additionally, you will find listings for the arts and crafts exhibits listed in this post. More importantly, artists who have attended the craft fair in previous years share their views and reviews of their past shows. These performers break down the types of items that sold well, at what price they did well, and rate whether they would attend the show again. Find the program that matches your job!
To ensure your arts/crafts display is a success, use this guide as a checklist:
* Plan which paintings/works you will bring with you.
* Decide whether or not it is appropriate to demonstrate during the fair.
* Show organizers often have a “show manual” that lists rules, union obligations, if any, and advanced forms that must be completed/submitted by certain dates to purchase electricity, signs, installation schedules , etc. Ask about them and make sure you have followed all instructions accordingly. Not all programs have them, just find out.
* Determine the types of payment methods you will accept. The more you have, the more likely you are to sell. Options include cash, credit cards, checks, cash on delivery, PayPal, etc. Again, planning will help you. Bring purchase receipts and order forms. See the sales tax collection policies and how it should be paid. If you are already a business, you may have these answers. If it’s just you, see what the show management has to offer or make an arrangement with a neighboring exhibitor for credit cards, etc. The key is to plan and make these decisions ahead of time.
* Send invitations twice. First, 3-4 months in advance to everyone on your email and mailing list. Announce your participation, dates, times and that you will offer a special program (don’t tell them what it is, just that it will surprise them and it is only offered during the program). The second invitation is 4-6 weeks before the event as a reminder. Email your invitations back to your list two weeks before and the Monday before the show. Make sure that each invitation is a complete rewrite and does not look like the others.
* Have any printed material ready at least one week before the start of the fair. I suggest that you create a black and white biographical description of yourself, regardless of your artistic education (even if you are “self-taught”) and what you have painted and specialized in. Include all the shows you have attended and the prizes won.
* I also suggest that you prepare an “Overview” sheet for each original painting you are exhibiting. Put this together in black and white. Include a nice black and white photo, the title of the painting, his name as the artist, the size of the painting, the structure the painting is in (masonite, canvas, etc.), and the history of its paint. Often people will buy the painting as much for the story as for the painting itself. Talk about your inspiration for the painting, your personal and spiritual investment, the colors you like, and why you love it. Make people identify with you as much as with the painting. This is your secret weapon. Have lots of copies (that number depends on the show, and may be advised by the organizers or other attending artists). Remember that black and white copies are only pennies. Start with a 100 to start with each painting and then calculate with each show you attend.
* Prepare a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) for each original painting you bring to the exhibition. This is a statement that this is an original painting, that you are the artist, and that you are claiming that this is an authentic painting of yours. These certificates are invaluable to many collectors as they love having the history and credentials of the artist as much as the painting itself.
* If you have had articles written by or for you in newspapers or magazines, bring them framed or in an attractive tabletop folder.
* Have another attractive tabletop folder with 8″ x 10″ photos of your artwork. The more the better to show your range of creativity. Mark the sold as SOLD.
* Have plenty of business cards ready and take them with you.
* Decide how you are going to collect a mailing list or email list. The people who take the time to want to be in contact with you are very important people to you. They might as well become customers…they just need to get to know you better before they buy.
* Decide how to tastefully display your paintings.
* Frame your work.
* Consider printing a few prints of your favorite (or income-generating) paintings or postcards as lower-end price points.
* If you are only bringing a dozen or two paintings, then bring computer generated color postcards or color photographs of each. As you talk to people, you will find out if they take a particular painting seriously or not. If so, give them a postcard of that painting… Make sure you have their contact information, painting title, medium used, size written on the back of the painting. It must be a color cropped photo with no frame to fill the entire side of a postcard. That postcard has to scream, “Buy me, buy me, buy me!”
* Pack everything carefully for the trip to the show or festival.
* Arrive early and prepare quickly. Then search for ‘non-competing artists’. Before the show starts, introduce yourself to the non-competing performers and let them know that you’d be happy to refer people to their positions for your line of work and, in return, would like them to do the same for you. Hand out a few business cards to your new members with your booth number on each one.
* Consider paying a commission for any buyers who come to your booth referred by your non-competing artist partner. This little-known strategy works very well. Order the same for each non-competing artist.
* During the show, be nice. Get closer to the people who visit your booth. Shake their hands and talk about the ‘story’ behind each of their works. Let your work speak for itself. Listen to what people have to say, and if you suspect they are really interested, ask them if they would like to take the painting home with you. Ask for the sale. Most sales don’t happen because people are too shy to ask for the sale. Selling is not about saying ‘magic words’ that overwhelm a customer, break down their barriers and force them to buy the paint. Sales is about making it easy for the customer to buy from you.
* Remember, all arts and crafts shows and festivals have one purpose. Bring buyers and sellers together under one roof so that purchases can be made. Your stall visitor came prepared knowing that all the stalls there will be competing for their dollars. It’s up to you to get your unfair share.