The Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival was amazing. I learned and experienced so much at this show. It was a big show (about 150 vendors) in the heart of Syracuse, New York. Since the show is in its 41st year, I knew going into it that it was "the real deal." Here's the run down of my three day show.
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Thursday
After a 6 hour drive, I arrived (by myself!) in Syracuse on Thursday around 4:30pm. I immediately decided to walk around the city and get my bearings. I managed to find a decent parking spot and began exploring. Of course, my main motivating factor was to find my booth spot for the show. Once I found the art show area, I saw a ton of artists setting up their tents (set up was scheduled for early Friday morning, not Thursday evening!). And even weirder, I ran into someone I knew from the first show I did-- Bill Dziejman! Bill is an awesome person and a creative photographer. He began to telling me that if I could set up my tent tonight, that would be the best time to do it. He also told me not to stick around the area after dark since it was not the safest place to be. I thanked him, ran back to my car, and started setting my tent up. I was so excited! I wouldn't have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to set EVERYTHING up by myself. I could do some of it tonight, and then the rest of it tomorrow. I could handle that.
I was able to take my time and set my entire tent up. It was nice not having the early morning pressure to get everything done quickly. As I was working away, I met one of my art show neighbors, Bill Peck. He arrived when I was just about finished (only took about 2 hours--geez!). Really nice guy who does woodwork, mainly rocking chairs. His stuff is pretty cool. We discussed our booth placements and agreed they were in a decent spot.
I headed to my motel and checked in. I finally settled in after 9:30pm. I was pretty exhausted but amped for the next day. The forecast called for rain, but I was trying not to let that get me down.
Friday
I got up around 6:30am, shoved food in my face, and drove off to my booth. I managed to get everything set up in a short amount of time. The rain was holding off somewhat, but you could tell the skies were going to open up several times throughout the day.
I met my neighbors, Dee and Michael Miller, who create beautiful wooden flower arrangements in these gorgeous wooden vases. Visit DM Wooden Flowers and check them out! They had their daughter, Nina, with them for the duration of the show. I have to say, these were the best possible neighbors I could have ever had for one of my shows. They were extremely kind and helpful to a newbie like me, and their daughter was so much fun to hang out with! They introduced me to other artists they knew there, which was pretty friggin' awesome. Anywho, more on that later.
I was told by several other artists that Friday for this particular show is the best day for buyers. This year was a different story. The business lunch crowd was non-existent because of the rain, and that hurt a lot of sales for many vendors. It poured right around 9:00am, and continued to rain off and on all morning and afternoon. Poor Bill Peck had wood furniture that was getting flooded with rain water! Fortunately, my booth held up very well. I was soaked, but my paintings were nice and dry.
The day inched along, I had a few viewers come in my booth, but nothing exciting. I was pretty down on myself. My only saving graces were Dee, Mike, and Nina. They kept me smiling.
Around 6:00pm the show came to an end, I went to my car and called Steve up, and started to cry. I just felt like such a loser. All around me vendors were managing to make sales even during the rain showers! I couldn't make a single sale, and I just felt awful about it. Steve listened and said, "Do you love your work?" I said, "Yes." Then he asked, "Do you believe in it?" And I answered, "Yes." Then Steve said something that just made the most sense. He said, "You have to give people an emotional connection to your artwork. Tell them the stories behind your pieces. You need to talk to them."
Okay, for most of your reading this, you are probably thinking, "Well DUH." But, I needed to hear it just like that, right then in there, for it to truly sink it. It suddenly became very clear and apparent to me that I needed to work on my attitude and my approach to possible customers. I felt better hearing the straight facts from Steve. He's good for that. :)
I grabbed something easy for dinner and headed back to my motel room. I was able to sleep much better that night, knowing the first day was behind me. I had Saturday to look forward to-- better weather and a chance to redeem myself and really try to finally make a sale.
Saturday
Craziness! Saturday was a complete blur. I had TONS of people coming in my booth. I was constantly talking and interacting. My neighbors were slammed with sales and customers, so we only chatted here and there throughout the day.
And then it happened. A nice couple came into my booth and they were checking out my work. Then they read my bio. They were both touched by what I had written, that I was willing to be really open about my life. The woman actually cried a little! The man opened up about his issues with anxiety. They especially loved my painting titled Spotted Twigs.
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| Spotted Twigs-2011 |
They thanked me for my time and left. And then less than a minute later they came back and said, "We want it." Meaning they wanted Spotted Twigs! I was so overjoyed and shocked, but I tried to remain calm cool collected on the surface. They wrote me a check and I told them they could walk around the festival while I packed up their painting.
As soon as they left, I was on my phone texting my mom and Steve (who was on his way to Syracuse via tiny plane!). I gave Dee a high five to celebrate my first official art show sale. I had feelings of excitement, gratitude, and relief rushing through me. It is such a wonderful feeling to have others enjoy the work you put out there, but then to have someone purchase it with their hard-earned money? That feeling is priceless.
Steve arrived by plane/taxi around 2:30. He was so happy for me. I continued to try to talk to as many people as I could. The show closed around 5:00pm, but we hung around until about 5:30. It was a good day for me. :)
Sunday
The last day. And the crowd was full of browsers. The weather was pretty hot, probably around 90 degrees in the sun. I stayed somewhat cool under my awning behind my tent.
It was slow just about everywhere. I was finally able to walk around the entire festival. I met and spoke with another painter, Liz Williams. I loved her shimmery paintings (the pics on her website don't do them justice). She was kind enough to give me some tips (like getting into the right shows) since I told her I was just starting out. Overall, the entire caliber of artists at the show was pretty impressive. Everyone there seemed to have a talent for what they did. And I was happy to be a part of it.
Steve and I started to slowly pack up around 4:30. The show was closing at 5:00. We managed to get everything down and packed up in less than an hour. We said our good-byes to our awesome neighbors, and headed off to the Camillus Airport. I reluctantly dropped Steve off. His travel time was only going to be about 2 and a half hours. I had a 6 hour drive ahead of me. At about 6:30 I was on the road heading home and arrived at my house at 12:30am.
Even though I made only one sale, I felt pretty good about my experience. I learned so many crucial things about my potential buying audience, what pieces I need to concentrate on when I make more paintings, and that I need to spruce up the overall appearance of my booth.
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| Front of my booth |
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| Right side of booth |
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| And left side of booth... it just needs something to spruce it up and make it less... white. |
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Rankings time! A brief overview of how I do this: I list my important categories and rank them 1 through 10- 1 being the worst to 10 being the best. Please keep in mind this is simply my opinion and I'm trying to sell contemporary paintings.
Location: 8
Syracuse, New York is a fantastic city. Like all cities in America, it has been impacted by the economic recession, but it has not been hit as hard as others (like Detroit!). The actual location of the art fair was probably the best pick for the city. Right in the heart of Syracuse, the architecture of the surrounding buildings and flow of the streets make it perfect for an art show.
Audience: 6
This isn't a fair rating since it rained on Friday and sales were missed as a result. I didn't get a chance to experience the business lunch crowd. However, the crowd was full of shoppers on Saturday. Sunday was pretty much just an extra day to sit around.
Sales: 4
This rating ONLY pertains to me. I know for a fact all of the other vendors around me were making lots and lots of sales. But, their stuff was very different from mine, too. I had an organic jewelry maker to my left, wood flowers to my right, and a pottery booth across the way.
Show Organization: 8
For such a big show, I gotta give them props. Even though the organizers did not come around and personally introduce themselves to each and every booth, they put out a ton of helpful information for all artists to abide by. That's all I need!
Overall: 7
I consider the Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival my first real show. It was a great thing for me to experience at this point in my artistic career. I met lots of other artists who were helpful and willing to share their experiences. And more importantly, I got to sell my first painting! However, I probably won't apply for the show again next year. I need to try to get into shows that are geared towards my buying audience.
Phew! That was a long blog entry. Thanks for hanging in there and reading! Now that I'm back home, I'm back to working at the pet resort and trying to make some headway on our wedding planning. Our big day is coming up in only 2 MONTHS!!!!!!!!! Time flies!
I'll be posting soon again.
Peacing out,
Nikki
Nikki
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