06 Decatur Arts Festival

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05bfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Decatur Arts Festival</B></div> <div> <B>6260 N.W. 19 Street, Sunrise, Fl. 33313 Toll Free 1-877-512-3333    Email: </B><A HREF="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com"><U><B>mike@mikealbin.com</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05cd2043.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Albin.Com "><U>Mike Albin.Com </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web design"><U>Web design</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="ma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Articles"><U>Marketing Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Show Reviews"><U>Show Reviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Tools"><U>Marketing Tools</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="l.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#777777" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>May 27-28, Decatur Arts Festival, Decatur.</B> Contact: Decatur Arts Alliance, Inc., PO Box 401, Decatur, GA 30031; phone 404-371-9583. E-mail: info@decatcurartsalliance.org. Web site: www.decaturartsalliance.org. Application fee: $30. Space fee: $200-$450. Space size: 10x10 to 10x20. 100% outdoors. Exhibitors: 145. Attendance: 45,000 (2005 police estimate).</div> <div>  </div> <div> Decatur is in the heart of Atlanta, near universities, restaurants and lots of shopping. Patty and I had heard that this could be a good show for moderately priced work and thought we might give it a try. We have a good following in the Atlanta area and hoped a few of our customers would come by and add to their collection of our work. But the best-laid plans … </div> <div> Setup was staggered. It started Friday morning for some artists, Friday evening for others and Saturday morning for exhibitors with booth locations on the street. There was construction this year that forced some booths to be moved, and layout was a bit unorganized to say the least. There were different unloading areas for each section, but overall setup went pretty smoothly. We did have to dolly about a block, but that was mostly over sidewalk, so it wasn't too bad.</div> <div> This was downtown Atlanta in late May, and it was HOT on both days, with lots of sunshine, heat and humidity. Festival staff brought around bottled water about once an hour to keep artists hydrated, though - a very nice touch. Treatment of artists was well above average and included really nice handmade nametags, breakfast both mornings, booth sitters and friendly volunteers.</div> <div> Our booth was on a sidewalk that ran off the main street. There was a sign next to the street saying "more artists this way," which is never a good thing. I have to admit we did get pretty good traffic at our location, but there were booths close by us that got very little, and those artists were not happy. </div> <div> A few people from our mailing list stopped by to say hello at the 18th annual show, but this was just not our weekend for selling. We had lots of browsers who loved our work but had very little interest in purchasing. No one was asking the questions that would lead to a purchase, so I don't think we will come back.</div> <div> The artists we spoke with who had the best success were selling items in the $50- $700 range. A whimsical painter selling $700 originals said she came close to selling out on Saturday, had a great show overall and would definitely be back. A photographer, another painter and a potter all reported above-average sales. A glass artist, a photographer and a fabric artist all reported slightly below-average sales but would give the Festival another try. Finally, a jeweler reported average sales, while a metal artist reported a slightly above-average take. </div> <div> Breakdown was pretty typical for a street show. Some artists chose to dolly, while others scurried for the best parking spaces. We were staying the night, so we went back to the hotel, took a little nap and went back around 9 p.m. to load out. Our tent was the last one standing, and because we had parked very close, we were able to pull away and be on our way back to the hotel at 10:02. </div> <div> I would recommend this show to any artist selling moderately priced originals if you don't have too far to travel. The staff all deserve high marks for treatment of artists. The only real negative was the confusing layout. As I mentioned before, not only were some artists in very slow areas, but if you were unlucky enough to have a space next to the stage, the music was so loud that speaking with anyone interested in your work was next to impossible while the bands were playing! Loud rock music is not conducive to selling artwork. If exhibitors cannot speak to or hear their customers, it defeats the purpose of showing up and trying to make a living!</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>