Gaithersburg Fine Arts Festival

I'm SO happy to be back at home, in the nice cool weather, and far away from Gaithersburg, Maryland.  Why, you ask?  Because this show was a major bust.  It was extremely hot and there were zero buyers in the crowds.  And I'm not just saying this because I did so poorly in sales.  A majority of the other artists showing there struggled, too.  Needless to say, the show was very disappointing for most of us hard working artists.

I'm getting ahead of myself (oops!), so allow me to get back on track here.

Steve and I arrived in Gaithersburg sans pups on Friday, late afternoon.  We stayed at the Sheraton, which was really nice.  After grabbing some delicious Indian cuisine for dinner, we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim.  I didn't sleep very well that night (never do in new places), so when Saturday morning came I was feeling pretty tired. 

Set up was TIGHT. 

I have no idea where Steve got this shot, but he did good!  A view from above of all the artists tents.

The show was in a fancy alley-way between restaurants, hotels, and shops.  The artists booths were smushed together, which was no biggie.  The buildings offered a reprieve from the scorching sun.  The show ran from 10am to 6pm on Saturday.  There were crowds, but I noticed the only buyers were purchasing jewelry... and that was it.  Most people came thru to browse, eat lunch, and then go to Target or Charming Charlie.

A true girly-girl store... with all items made in China.

Target was within walking distance.  How can you compete with that!? :)

I sold one painting on Saturday, which was great, of course, but no where near my breaking-even mark. 

Sunday's show ran from 10am to 5pm.  The crowds were even flakier on Sunday.  Zero buyers.  It was hot, and Steve and I were just ready to go home. 

I had a hand-held fan on me the entire time!

I sold one tote on Sunday and that was it.  Game over, it was time to GO!  We started to slowly pack up around 3:45.  We knew breaking down was going to be rough because of the tight fitting street and rough set-up.  Steve was awesome... he schlepped all the stuff back and forth to our parked car bit by bit.  He's truly my hero. :)

We managed to book it outta there around 5:45 and go home around 11:30 that night.  We stopped and picked up our dogs from my mom's house, which added a bit more time, but was totally worth it.  They were much happier with her!  She totally babied them, gave them treats, and let them sleep on soft carpet and couches all day long.  I'm glad we didn't take them with us to this show... they would have been MISERABLE.

All in all, I had high hopes for this show and I was let down.  The show took place in an affluent area that had money, but residents clearly preferred to spend their hard earned dollars in clothing stores and coffee houses.  Just not the right demographic.

My number one complaint of the show was the lack of artist amenities.  We all had to use the restrooms in the businesses around us (I'm pretty sure I used the Starbucks restroom 25 times over the entire weekend!).  Plus, we didn't receive a welcome packet with ANY information, which was a first for me to experience. 

However, let me just say, the caliber of artists showing at Gaithersburg was phenomenal!  They were extremely talented and I was so proud to be showing my stuff next to them. 

So, that is it for my art shows for this year.  It was a short run, but oh well.  I'm pregnant and I wanted to go easy on myself.  Did I mention how happy I am to be home!?

Laters,
Nikki