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05-08-2008, 07:22 AM   #1
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help with art fairs

Hi,
I'm looking for some help in regards to having a booth at art fairs. I'm fairly new at this and doubt if my style will sell but some people have encouraged me to give it a shot. A guy I met while shooting a canoe race wants to share a booth with me at some local art fairs. Our styles are very different so there is no problem with that and it cuts the cost in half.

To be brutally honest the major reason I'm considering doing this has nothing to do with photography. As a 65 year young "Old fart" and single I'm thinking this type of venue might attract some rich widows, or maybe just horny ones. The cost is very low so why not?

Any advise you could pass along would be greatly appreciated. Which size prints sell the best, price structure, or anything else.

Thanks,

Ken

05-08-2008, 07:36 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by regken Quote
Hi,

Any advise you could pass along would be greatly appreciated. Which size prints sell the best, price structure, or anything else.

Thanks,

Ken
Bigger is always better if looking to attract horny widows.
05-08-2008, 07:59 AM   #3
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Love your foggy harbour pic I have never done a show before so I don't have any info to share but do wish you good luck and will look forward to hearing about your experience
05-08-2008, 08:06 AM   #4
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While I have not done an art fair, I have had a booth which showcased my company. The first challenge you need to figure out is how to get people to notice your booth in the sea of other booths. In a line of booths, what can you do to draw ones eye to your booth? For me (many many moons ago) I had several large monitors displaying my website work which I used to do. I also had a large banner and some other artifacts on the booth that made an interesting kiosk. If you can rent a big-screen TV have a number of large monitors displaying your work, you may yield the same results as I did. If it will be outside. and will not have power, you may need to rent a generator. You may also want to consider throwing some spotlights on your both. Light it up like a roman candle so it stands out.

05-08-2008, 01:54 PM   #5
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Ken,

If you have time before the art show comes up try to go to some other shows and see what photography is being displayed. Talk to the photographers and ask what is selling best for them. Be careful though to sort out the BS that some will throw at you. A lot of the people that do art show have a regular circuit that they travel to and show. It's hard work and long weekends. You will need a good set of back grounds to hang some of your work on to display. These are not a minor investment either. My brother and I did some art fairs years ago and found out that wildlife--even outstanding wildlife photos do not sell very well. Think in terms of what your wife or girlfriend would hang on the wall to decorate with. You will need to have several sizes of your photographs on display. Some framed and some just matted. Art shows are a good place to also sell note cards (with envelopes). Check out the Photographers Edge in Colorado. They have a lot of material that is useful for art shows. Their phone # is AC 800-550-0254

Hope this helps you out a little and Good Luck Kent
05-08-2008, 04:20 PM   #6
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Art fairs vary of course, but small, local ones - churches, community mixed use centers, neighborhood park - are most common.

Small things sell, occasionally quite well.
Large(ish) prints, framed, matted or loose, almost never do. My vague sales estimate is about 2% - 3% prints, remainder small utility gift type printed materials. Cost, convenience, subjective taste, perceived frivolity vs utility.

Blank greeting cards with matching envelopes, singles and packaged sets sell better than the lazy effort 1 for $2 / 5 for $5. Packaged sets! Especially for the ladies you so desperately want to meet!!!

Other inexpensive printed materials: note pads, to do lists, "From the desk of ...", various format calendars (wall, desk, etc.), laminated table placemats.... You can increase sales slightly with leveraged items: calendars, memo pads, card sets or like items with matching photo prints and design layouts.

My experience is grouped prints in for example a 2X2 array, matted or framed, sell better than single prints. Walk through a large department, furniture or bath store and look at the type and groupings of prints. Similar to these occasionally sell at art fairs. People buy convenience.

Essentially, the photo art print buyer is extraordinarily rare. People, your target ladies, buy small useful things by the bagful.
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