My first official art festival! I'm pretty excited... and nervous! I've been making tons of different things, new things, big things, small things, and lots of things in between. I'm honestly not sure what will sell and what won't. I haven't had really great sales of anything anywhere to really be able to gauge which of my designs do well and what don't.
I also don't have a lot of small, very cheap things... most of my 'cheap' items are in the range of $30-$50. Which is ok I guess... but I feel like I should have some really affordable things... but I really don't know how to make small, easy things that don't look like crap! I've tried... it doesn't work out very well... I don't even have any designs for really small, easy things.
Soooo... we'll see. This is a big iffy for me, because I've invested so much time and money and resources into this event, and I'm really hoping it works out well.
As a reminder to you all, Summerfest will be taking place in Bountiful, Utah (200 W. 400 N.) from August 9-11. Events start at 5pm-10pm Aug. 9, then will run 11am-10pm on the 10th and 11th.
You can find more information on it here:
http://www.bdac.org/summerfest/summerfest.htm
In other news... *sighs*....... I have really been failing at this summers art shows.
I was SUPPOSE to enter the American Fork Steel Days Art Festival... and I COMPLETELY FORGOT about it... *facepalm* For some reason I'd gotten it into my head that there weren't any more art shows in July, so I didn't bother to check my calendar, and thus missed it... then this last week was entry dates for the Midvale art show. This one I remembered... but ended up not entering because it overlapped with Summerfest, and pretty much all my sculptures are coming with me, and the ones that aren't are retired.
The next (and last) art show of the year will be the Sandy Art Show in a few months. That one is pretty decent, so hopefully I'll have something really good to put into that.
Lets see... what else has been going on... hmmm...
Pretty much just preparing for Summerfest. Haven't really extended the 'feelers' much looking for other sales avenues, which I really SHOULD be doing... but I have a few places lined up to check out once this is settled and done with.
Having an actual art festival to attend has done wonders for my little booth. I haven't been terribly picky about my look to date, because all I'd been attending were little farmers markets where you don't have to look great. But for a major event... I've had to step up my game.
It's still far from perfect, but I've been actively trying to improve the look of my booth. Table clothes for my tables, racks and hangers to display my lawn art and hanging sculptures.
Better organization of supplies.
Square card reader so I can now process credit cards.
Real bags! I actually went and ordered a bunch of the heavier plastic trade show bags, so now people actually have something to carry their artwork away in!
Gonna try out these nifty glue dots my cousin gave me... so that I can attach my business cards directly onto sculptures, rather then fiddling with the little plastic tabs.
I also went out and bought a few 49gal. and 32gal. storage bins. That way I can have actual containers to load my artwork in, rather then shoving it willy-nilly into the back of my truck, or storing them wherever there's room in the house.
The one thing I still really want to get, is a fully enclosed canopy for my booth. The one I currently have just has the top cloth, but it doesn't extend over the sides. I really want something where I can fold it down, tie it closed, keep the sun out, etc... but that may have to wait till I have a little more money.
In terms of other sales... I've been doing surprisingly well on Etsy this last month or so! Quite a few sales, as well as a few special requests, which is pretty awesome. I've also made a few things here and there over the month. Small commissions and requests, many of which I've liked enough to incorporate into my inventory.
Following Summerfest, I'll be out of state attending Gencon in Indianapolis. Sadly, not as a vendor... that is a trip that will have to wait for another time when I have more resources. But, if I have any fantasy-themed artwork left over, I'll take it out with me. Maybe scrounge up a few sales while enjoying the nerdness!
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