DeLand Fall Festival - Justice!

This weekend I participated in the DeLand Fall Festival, which is a fine arts show. Now, I've had mixed results from DeLand this year - the March show was great, the September show was terrible. So I faced this show with great trepidation. However, my fears were to be unfounded, and how!

There was no Friday night setup for this show, and if it hadn't turned out good, I would never return, as that is almost a dealbreaker for me. Who wants to wake up at 5am, spend 4 hours setting up, getting all sweaty, and then deal with customers all day? Not I! However, I got in very early, set up without mishap, got breakfast, and settled down to a delightfully cool and clear day filled with crowds. My neighbors were neighborly, I was within sight of my trailer (parked in a nearby alley) and all was good with the world.

Near the end of the day (around 4:30) I was approached by the organizers. Evidently only my jewelry had been juried in, and i needed to take the photos down. Huh? I went back and looked at all my paperwork (I always bring it all along) and none of their letters to me indicated that I was anything other than 'accepted'. No restrictions, explanations, etc. I would have set things up very differently if I knew it was just jewelry - made up photos of my jewelry for the walls, etc.

So, I went to the artist appreciation dinner Saturday night, armed with my letters, to see if I could argue my side. Luckily, after a bit of searching, I found Brad, who talked to Dorothy, the lady in charge. Since it had been a communication error on their part, Brad graciously told me I could leave my stuff up. I thanked him profusely, and asked him if he was sure? I was willing to be gracious at this point as well, since they were so kind about it. He said he was sure, and that he knew next year to make sure the letters were more precise.

Good thing, too - I sold about $400 worth of prints the next day! The show ended up being 3 times my average show in sales, and I had a great time. A bit worried about clouds on Sunday afternoon, but it didn't turn into anything rainy. A breakdown coordinator came by and asked me what my arrangements were for breaking down - he was glad to hear my trailer was close by, and no traffic need be blocked :) That was the first time I'd seen one of those - great idea!

Definitely a show I will be doing next year, it was a well done and well run show.

Next up! O'Connell Center Holiday Craft Show in Gainesville.

Oops, catching up!

Well, it's been a while - I've been busy busy busy and sick sick sick. I got a cold over Thornebrook weekend, and it ended up being strep throat by the next weeks. But I get ahead of myself:

Butterfly Festival

The weekend after Thornebrook was Butterfly Festival in Gainesville, Florida. It was a small, children oriented affair, second year, but nice and local. I verified that someone would be there Friday evening until 6pm, so I could complete my setup the night before. I had a generous 10X20 spot, so I carefully planned the space using a spreadsheet. That's AR for you!

When I got there around 4:30, they said the gates closed at 5pm. 5~! I was told 6! ARGH! To top it off, I was still sick from earlier in the week, coughing and such. I was also without help, so I did my best to set up quickly... then they relented and said I could stay til 6. Thanks!

Then I discovered that my 10X20 was really more like 10X15 - because the person pacing out the areas didn't do it right... well, no big deal, they just sort of moved the tents over, since I was second to the end. That worked! I set up what I needed to, and went home to be miserable.

The next morning, bright and early, off to finish setup. It was actually a glorious day, bright and sunny, not too hot, lots of people. I did good sales, and got some lovely shots of the swamp/bog in the middle of the field, and some waterlillies. Even got a shot of a butterfly (they released several groups of Monarchs during the festival). There were lots of hippies there due to several 60s era performers, and evidently hippies like my stuff. :)

Sunday was a little more hectic, as it rained three times throughout the day. Short rains each, so I just sort of took in my prints, and waited each one out. Didn't seem to affect the crowds much, and all was well. Did a good weekend total, met a lot of people that wouldn't normally come to art shows, so great exposure. However, the next week I was sick bleh. No rest means no healing.

McIntosh 1890s Festival

The next weekend was a one-day show in McIntosh, about 30 minutes south of me. It's a quaint country craft show, and I did well last year (about $450 for a day). This year my booth spot had a bush in the middle of it, so instead I chose a spot on the main drag - but it had quite a lean to it, dipped back in the back of the tent. I had fun setting up the night before, including dropping my box of beaded ornaments (and breaking some) :( However, I got it set up and went home for more rest. I got up super early, as I knew from experience that folks went in early to shop, even though the show doesn't officially open until 8am. Sure enough, there were shoppers around at 6:30, in the dark!

It wasn't as good as last year, but still an above average day. I despaired for a while until one girl came by, and purchased three prints, as she just moved into a new apartment and needed to decorate the walls :)

Breakdown was fairly easy, but the walk to the parking was very far...


Mount Dora Craft Festival

Now, this was supposed to be a great show - 300,000 attendees, 350 vendors. From all accounts, though, it was rather disappointing. I barely covered expenses (including hotel and gas) with my sales, and it was gloomy all weekend. We did have a lovely meal at an Icelandic restaurant Saturday night, called the Frosty Mug. However, Saturday morning Vicki was ill, and Sunday all day I was feverish from the onset of my Strep Throat. I laid in the back for a while, while Vicki saved my butt. She also broke down the majority of the tent for me (in the rain!). Ugh that weekend sucked. I don't think I'll be doing that one again - if FOFA (Ocala) is that weekend next year, I'll try it instead.

The doctor visit Monday told me I had Strep, gave me antiobiotics. It cleared up the infection, but the cough won't go away!

Micanopy

Last weekend was Micanopy, and that was a much better show than the last! The weather was beautiful, it was homecoming weekend for the Gators, and we won so the alumni were in a good mood. I did better than last year, and it was a good year last year, so things are looking up. I sold two prints of Celtic Fire, when I had sold none previously. Still coughing, though!

This weekend, there are no shows. I am relaxing, healing, and hopefully, not coughing. I have ordered some more prints from WHCC, as I ran out of one print (Repentance) that has been selling well. I added four more prints that are new, one from Nova Scotia and the others from local shots, including the waterlillies from Butterflyfest.

Hectic, hectic, hectic!