ART FAIRS AND SALES

SALES AND FAIRS IN 2009

CUSTER'S LAST STAND
      This was my fourth year at this fair, and it went pretty well--no thunder, lightning or hail this time. Here are a few photos from my booth at the 2009 Custer's Last Stand Festival of the Arts.
     

My booth at the 2009
Custer's Last Stand Festival of the Arts

Scott helps his Momma watch the booth

Scott and Momma do Wallace and Gromit

Me in my booth

Dizzie Lizzie, one of the street performers at
the 2009 Custer's Last Stand

The really annoying and terrible
Enfants Terrible street performers,
who annoyed everyone
(HINT: It's not really theatre if you
insult people on the street.)

A really talented artist painted a mural
right across from my booth;
it took the entire weekend.

The nearly-completed mural; which supposedly
shows how this intersection of Custer and Main Street
will look in about 25 years

A Glassblower up the way a bit

Bird boy,
Another street performer

Photos from the 2009 Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest

Deneise and Laura W in my booth

My booth at the 2009 Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest

Janis and Mary Ann in my booth

My booth at the 2009 Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest

Myke and Sharyl in my booth

Laura M shows off a nice mug

Got a good bit of traffic in my booth

Me and my sister Annie

Deneise did some early Christmas shopping
and gave me my last sale of the day

SALES AND FAIRS IN 2008

CUSTER'S LAST STAND
      Well, I certainly had high hopes for my first art fair of 2008, The Custer's Last Stand Festival of the Arts in Evanston. I had a lot of nice pieces to sell; my work had improved a lot since 2007. My pieces have gotten thinner and lighter, and I’d been experimenting with interesting twisted and swirled forms. I also priced everything pretty reasonably; most of my work was between $5 and $20. In 2008 I’d been given a prime location, close to the intersection of Custer and Main Streets, near the stage where a lot of folks would wander by. I fantasized about selling all my work and cancelling my fairs later in the summer; at least, I reasonably envisioned selling 150 pieces or more of the 400 or so I wanted to get rid of. And I hoped to raise a goodly amount of money for the honeymoon fund.
      All of which might have happened--if Mother Nature and the crowds had cooperated.

      We arrived Saturday morning and began to set up—in the rain. It lasted just long enough to wet everything thoroughly. Then the rain let up, only to return (along with some hail) for a number of brief but intense downpours throughout the day, and into Sunday as well. Everything got wet, and since I’d packed my pottery in cardboard boxes they got soaked and disintegrated, leaving piles of mugs and bowls mixed with cardboard mush, impossible to stack, move, organize or protect. A number of pieces got chipped, cracked or broken over the course of the weekend.
      The Custer Fair has always been on Father’s Day weekend, but in 2008 for some reason it was pushed back a week. The crowd was a lot smaller; there were far fewer people roaming the fair than in the past. That might have been due to the weather, or it might have been due to the fact that the Fair organizers have been charging admission for the past few years. Of course, the high price of gas and the generally sour economic situation couldn’t have helped.
      Every artist and vendor I spoke to complained that sales were miserable. Our neighbors, who were from Minnesota and were selling jewelry, had so few sales on Saturday that they packed their booth and left Saturday evening, abandoning their pre-paid space and all hope of making a profit. I immediately turned that to my advantage by expanding my pottery into their space on Sunday, which might have helped sales a bit.
      In the end I sold 67 pieces and made just over $700; after spending $410 to get into the fair. Last year I’d grossed almost $900, so this was a very disappointing showing, though Diane pointed out that at least I'd made a profit, and moved some stuff out of the basement.
      Many thanks to my friends and relatives who came and admired, especially Diane (my new bride, who worked the entire weekend with me and has always been wonderfully supportive and optimistic) and Scott (my new stepson, who’s been very careful when handling my pottery and has never broken anything) and Tim and Jess (my new in-laws, who were a huge help when drying and packing up everything at the end of the weekend.) THANKS A MILLION, GUYS!!

Here are some photos from the 2008 Custer’s Last Stand Festival of the Arts:

Diane and Scott showing off a face mug
(Scott's also munching on candy)

Scott with his Uncle Timmy and Aunt Jess

And the Hailstones came down
Scott said, "Hey! Little Snowballs!"

Diane, Me, Aunt Marybeth and Uncle Jim

SKOKIE ART GUILD
      After the hailstorm and disappointing sales at the Custer Fair I had high hopes for my second art Fair of 2008, the Skokie Art Guild Fair on July 12th and 13th. I’d never been to that fair but had been to the Skokie Farmers Market (which was right across the park on Sunday) and there always seemed to be a good crowd. In any case, since the fees were cheaper than the Custer Street Fair ($125 versus $410) I would have been happy as long as there was no actual hail. (I should mention that, one week after the hailstorm at the Custer Fair, there was a tornado warning and wind gusts of 60 mph at the Evanston Fountain Square Arts Fest, and many artists’ booths and all their work were completely destroyed. I felt bad for the two artists I knew at that festival, but very glad I’d decided not to apply for it.

Here's an article from the Evanston Newspaper about it, with some photos of the devastation,

      In any case, during the three weeks between the Custer Street and Skokie Fairs I invested about $80 in a dozen plastic bins, so if it rained my boxes wouldn’t disintegrate and leave a complete mess. Of course, I still had too many mugs, and had to pack along a bunch of regular cardboard boxes, especially since I’d bought the smaller, 10 gallon bins. That proved to be a smart move, though; the fair took place in the park next to the Skokie library, and it had rained the night before. This meant the grass was soaking, and was rapidly churned into mud by the crowd, but I was able to stack my plastic, waterproof bins on the grass and then set the cardboard boxes on top where they’d stay dry.
      The crowd at the Skokie Fair was sizeable, though smaller than at the Custer Fair. Over the two days about 5,000 people wandered by. In the few moments I had to poke around it seemed that the other vendors were selling prints, paintings, and other visual arts; I was one of only two potters, out of the 75 booths. Prices seemed to range from the ridiculously cheap (one booth sold Chicago area photo prints and postcards for 3 for $5) to the egregiously expensive (someone sold purses made out of old movie posters, laminated in plastic, for $125 and up)
      Several of my good friends came by, and by the end of the weekend I’d sold about $450 worth of mugs and bowls. Not a bad showing, though not as much as I’d have liked.

My booth at the 2008 Skokie Art Guild Fair
Scott and Diane came by to play Hide and Seek

Sharon came and admired a mug

So did Sarah

GLENWOOD ART FEST
      After the Skokie Fair I had a 6 week break before the next festival, the Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest on August 23rd and 24th. During that time I gave a good bit of thought to what I could do to both improve my booth arrangement and increase my sales. One thing I decided to do, since upwards of half my sales came from it, was expand the “Bargain Bin” in the front of the booth. I had a bunch of $3, $4 and $5 items in one bin, and tossed a lot of $5-10 things into another bin on the other side. It’s amazing how the same bunch of bowls, sitting on a shelf, will attract no attention at all, but if you put them in a bin that says “Bargain” people will paw through them like mad.
      One of my artist pals (who makes jewelry) and I had a long argument about the relative merits of a “cluttered” versus “aesthetic” display. She felt that the items for sale should be arranged with plenty of space around them, for the shopper to see and admire in a pleasant atmosphere. That’s all well and good, and I can understand the need for everything to be SEEN, but I was convinced that the more stuff I could put on display, the better.
      The answer I came up with was to make new display stands, my third set. My first and second set were designed to sit on top of narrow folding tables, and each had two shelves. I wanted to have more shelves to be able to display more items, since many of the pieces I brought to my art fairs spent their time sitting in boxes for lack of display space. One of the new stands would have three shelves, though it would still sit on top of a table; I liked having a table, covered by a cloth, to hide empty boxes and such underneath. The other two stands would basically be collapsible bookcases, with up to six shelves that I could adjust. I liked the idea of adjustable shelves so I could vary the height as needed.
      It was tricky to design because I wanted to make sure it would be sturdy, as well as portable. Also, when you load a six-shelf bookcase with pottery (even though the shelves were only 12” wide) it ends up being HEAVY! That was good, if the wind and hail came, but if the things toppled all my pieces would crash and smash.
      I was fairly pleased with the new stands; take a look at the photos:

One of the new display stands

The other one

      A problem arose during the Glenwood Fest setup; because of the narrow streets the organizers decided to prohibit cars in the fest area, even during setup and take-down. Instead they provided a dozen flatbed push carts, so we could park at the gateway, unload onto the carts and push them to our booth. That sounded like a fine idea—but anyone who’s familiar with Glenwood Avenue knows that it’s one of the few streets in Chicago that’s still paved with cobblestones, rather than smooth asphalt. As I pushed my bins and boxes of pottery over the cobbles they rattled, and I could hear the clinking of the mugs, followed by the cracking of the bowls. As I unpacked I discovered several dozen pieces had broken. The organizers have promised me that they’ll consider some solution to the problem posed by the cobblestones this year.
      Glenwood is a pretty big fest, with several hundred artists, also three music stages and a fairly large crowd, though not as big as the Custer Street Fest. The other artists all seemed to be independent, one of a kind artisans, and there was a wide mix of items available. There was incense, candles, paintings, pottery, glass, wood, and clothes. One guy in particular seemed to be doing a brisk business selling tie-dyed gym shoes, as well as underwear and shirts. There was also a booth selling furniture which featured a white canvas couch and chair, and passers-by were invited to write short messages on it in permanent marker as a piece of “active art”. The weather was nice, and there was food and music and people playing with fire in the evening. Most importantly, I sold over a hundred pieces and made over a thousand dollars, my most successful art fair so far.
      Here are some photos from the 2008 Glenwood Avenue Art Fest:

Some of my stuff at the Glenwood Art Fest

More stuff

More of my stuff

More stuff

Still more stuff
The new stands let me put a lot more on display
Which might be one reason for the increased sales

      A bunch of my friends came by to say hello and admire my stuff, as well as enjoy the other sights and sounds of the Fest.

Myke and Sharyl
Two of my most loyal customers
(As well as two great friends!)

Andrew, another good friend

Rob, (and his lady)
still another good friend

      There were a bunch of other interesting artists, and entertainment, at the Glenwood Fest. I was particularly impressed by the Pyrotechnic Fire dancers, who performed at the opening gala on Friday evening. Here are a few photos of them:

Firedance

More of the Firedance

One more of the Firedance

And a picture of the chair everyone got to sign
(The kids all seemed to love it,
How often do you get told you CAN write on the furniture?)

      I had intended the Glenwood Fest to be my last fair for the year, but my Mom gave me an application for a church “Holiday Craft Fair” at St. Matthew’s Church in Schaumburg in November and encouraged me to apply. I was hesitant, but did so, thinking that it would be a one-day fair, and people in Schaumburg would have a little spending money so I might make a good bit and shift some more of the bowls out of the basement. Being that it was a Catholic Church, though, I left my boob and butt mugs behind.
      So on November 1st I packed 5 bins of pottery, brought a table and display stand and drove 20 miles to the church hall. The Fair was only on Saturday, and the spaces available were much smaller than at most fairs, so I didn't bring as much stuff. I was also pleased that it was indoors; I'd had enough of hailstones and tornados for this year.
      I set up, and people came by and said, “neat!” but didn’t buy anything. During the course of the day the lady next to me, who had written a book about the firehouse across the street from Wrigley Field, did a far brisker business than I did. At the end of the day my sister Annie came and bought a couple of mugs, which brought me up to 14 pieces sold for a total of $64. The cost of the fair: $60. I had just made enough money to buy a cup of coffee.
      I have now resolved never to do a Church fair again—chalk that one up to a learning experience.
      Here’s a couple of pics of my display at the St. Mattew’s Holiday Craft Fair:

My Booth at the St. Matthew's Holiday Craft Fair

Another shot of my booth at the St. Matt's fair
(My worst ever)

      Overall, I did make a profit at all four of my sales in 2008, and moved some stuff out of the basement, though in the fall of 2008 and Spring of 2009 I’ve been busy and am already accumulating a lot of stuff to sell this summer Hopefully, whatever Sales and Fairs I choose to do in 2009 will work out even better--stay tuned for details about my next Art Fair!

SALES AND FAIRS IN 2007

SALES AND FAIRS IN 2006

      I first got interested in ceramics and pottery (and woodworking, and sewing, and drawing, etc.) as a hobby. It wasn’t my intention to make money at any of them (except writing—I’d always planned to become a rich, award-winning writer—and I’m still planning on that). Mostly, I wanted to make things for the joy of creating and expressing my artistic ideas.
      But as years passed I began accumulating a larger and larger collection of pottery. I gave some away as Christmas, birthday or wedding presents, but the collection still grew. And as I developed my talents pieces became less “spaceworthy”. After six months or so a bowl or mug that I’d made which I was thrilled with, and resolved to keep, use and proudly display, became less attractive as I made new pieces that were often thinner, lighter or more artistically appealing. Meanwhile, Dad was starting to complain about all the boxes piling up in his attic….
      The answer came in 2006 when I decided to sell my excess stuff at the Custer’s Last Stand Festival of the Arts in Evanston. I didn’t realize at the time how much work was involved, but after three exhausting days (ably aided by my nephew Peter and friends Diane and Janis) I had sold about 75 pieces and actually turned a $600 profit. I’ve been told by other artists that it’s rare to make a profit at your very first sale, so I was ahead of the curve already.
      I had a huge amount of help from my nephew Peter, Mom and Dad, and friends Janis and (especially) Diane, who spent her entire weekend sitting in my booth, working on her embroidery in between chatting with customers. I couldn’t have done it without you—thank you so much, guys!

      Here are some of the photos from the 2006 Custer's Last Stand Festival of the Arts:

A shot of my booth, with Diane at work

Some of my pieces on display

Some of my pieces on display

Some of my pieces on display

I built a set of portable display shelves that seemed quite sturdy, yet light and easy to carry.   Assembling them turned out to be a real pain, though--thanks, Peter, for taking care of that!   Once they were loaded with mugs and such, they turned out to be not-quite-so-sturdy after all, and had to be harnassed with bungie cords to the booth's poles...but your first art fair is supposed to be a learning experience, right?

Some of my pieces on display

I spent some time woodburning a sign to let everyone know who I was

Photos of my talented, dedicated and very much appreciated booth staff:

Much of the time, Diane had the difficult and taxing job
of ringing up sales and keeping an eye on the cash box;
here she is hard at work.

Diane and Janis didn't seem to enjoy themselves much

Peter did a lot of the manual labor
which required regular rest breaks

Dad was kept busy directing
everyone and making suggestions for
the best display arrangments

Photos of some of the happy, satisfied customers:

Happy Customers, or a family reunion

More happy customers!

Marge felt the need to demonstrate
the proper appearance for a "Tongue Mug"

OTHER SALES ENDEAVORS:

      Flushed with the success of my first art fair, in August of 2006 I posted a couple of my face mugs on E-bay, figuring I'd give it a try. Two weeks went by, and no bids were made. I guess I should stick to real-life displays of my work.
      I've also donated bowls every year to the Empty Bowls event at Oakton Community College, where I do my ceramics. Early every December they have a fundraiser and auction; most of the potters (and a few woodturners) donate bowls, and people come buy a bowl, fill it with soup, and the proceeds go to feed the hungry. That's another opportunity to buy some of my work....

I will keep everyone updated on where, and when, my next fair or sales opportunity will be--hope to see you there!