First Art Fair this weekend and I sold jack !!

cwphotos

The people in my town are so annoying. Sat out there for 6 hours and all people bought were the useless little knickknacks at the booths around mine. Next year its popsicle stick houses and beer holders for me. I just dont think it was the right market for fine art...... :dunno

Harryb

cwphotos wrote:

The people in my town are so annoying. Sat out there for 6 hours and all people bought were the useless little knickknacks at the booths around mine. Next year its popsicle stick houses and beer holders for me. I just dont think it was the right market for fine art......

Art fairs can be rough depending on what the locals are willing to spend. One of our local pros told me his best selling item at "art" fairs were little note cards that sold for $4 a pop.

From what I've seen of our local art fairs the folks want kitsch as opposed to art. You want to get some shoots of dogs playing poker, that would be a seller.

cwphotos

:uhoh I never thought of little post card type things...... *gears turning in head* That might be a good idea. But im glad someone feels my pain...

dragon300zx

was it an art fair or an arts and crafts fair?

Sam

cwphotos wrote:

The people in my town are so annoying. Sat out there for 6 hours and all people bought were the useless little knickknacks at the booths around mine. Next year its popsicle stick houses and beer holders for me. I just dont think it was the right market for fine art......

First thing that came to me reading this post was pretty negitive.

Just because you show up with your wears dosen't mean anyone is obligated to purchase anything. It's up to you to find the best market for your work.

I took a fast look at your galleries, and I thought many of the photos I saw were very nice, and worth buying in my opinion.

How were they packaged? Priced? Did you have a nice upscale tent, booth, carpeted panels to hang framed works? What kind of inventory did you have?

Already asked, but was it a glorified flea market, or a large Art & Wine Fair? Was it a jurried event?

You can't expect to show up at one event and sell everything you have.

You can quit, or try to determin why you didn't sell anything. Was it the photos, the presentation, the sales person, or the venue?

Just my thoughts.

Sam

ian408

The art and wine "festivals" around here are like that. People just want the
toe rings, wind chimes and stuff for the kitchen. The photographers that
seem to see the most action are the wildlife and note card sort. Big pictures
of bears on an Alaskan river or small note cards with local scenes.

Sam

ian408 wrote:

The art and wine "festivals" around here are like that. People just want the
toe rings, wind chimes and stuff for the kitchen. The photographers that
seem to see the most action are the wildlife and note card sort. Big pictures
of bears on an Alaskan river or small note cards with local scenes.

Ian,

I have been going to a few Art & Wine Festivals near here, and have made it a point to talk to the photographers. Some seem to do very well. While I think fine art photography is getting tougher, and tougher, there is still a market out there.

Sam

USAIR

I went to two art shows last weekend.
I also was thinking of trying to sell at some of the local shows.
But after watching and talking to people there I don't think it's for me.
I didn't see much in they way of photography selling.
Mostly junk sold.


I even listened to one guy grill a photographer
about how easy it was because he shot digital and somehow it wasn’t real photography.

I think some believe you take a photo then put it in Photoshop
and then hit the magic button and out pops a masterpiece.

Fred

USAIR

Also you may want to chech out this

Fred

marlof

USAIR wrote:

I think some believe you take a photo then put it in Photoshop and then hit the magic button and out pops a masterpiece.

I think that was what the Radial Blur speedtest was all about?

b8264d

cwphotos wrote:

The people in my town are so annoying. Sat out there for 6 hours and all people bought were the useless little knickknacks at the booths around mine. Next year its popsicle stick houses and beer holders for me. I just dont think it was the right market for fine art......

Martinsburg has a fair every memorial day weekend and I think the response to photography is the same. Very little sales but the wine and food sells out. Now, got a small town thirty minutes away that has a University as it's claim to fame, plus quite a bit of Civil War history, and you'ld probably sell more than half your images.

I think you just have to find the right market and the right type of customers.

Just my two cents.

dragon300zx

b8264d exactly. Thats why I wanted to know if it was an art fair or an arts and crafts fair. You really need to check these places out before you go to them. Arts and crafts fairs are gonna be worthless because the people who go to them are looking for crafts mainly. The tacky kinda stuff your grandma buys, very handmade, very country, very not art (yes I'm a snob). Now a Art Fair that is judged and is filled with fine art painters, fine art photographers, jewelry, blown glass, etc. These are high ticket items and draw people with finer taste who buy art and not trinkets. There are typically two or three of these a year by where I live and they are usually in the college towns or very affluent area's (again snob but hey). I know guys who make couple grand a weekend selling matted black and white 5X7's and then a couple big framed peices at these shows. Plus the sales they get after the shows from people who took their card.... It's really all about knowing the market where you are at and not going to a hot dog's and coke show when you have filet mignon and wine product.

cwphotos

Thanks for all the comments everyone. For some reason this didnt show on my screen as having unread posts. To all the posters, it was put on by the Kenosha Art Assosciation. I didnt go alone. Our photogroup had a booth and about 4 photographers sold from the booth. I think it turned more into an arts and crafts show though. I was one of the youngest sellers there at 23, most were old ladies (no offence to old ladies) with copper bird feeders and other stuff. The booth was free so I mean overall I dont care, it just didnt go the way I figured it would. There is another one in September that is out at a place called Hawthorn Hollow which is a privately owned nature preserve. I expect a much more affluent crowd then so our group is again going out there. Im by no means done...I was more or less venting.

Thanks for the link. Good article. Oh and as a side note I use acid free mats, tape and backboards for my sales, which are then bagged. I think frames are to much....I think its better to let them buy the print and then go find a frame they like.