Beaux Arts Miami

<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>2008 Beaux Arts, Miami</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>January 19-20, Beaux Arts Festival of Art, Coral Gables.</B> Contact Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, 1301 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146; phone 305-448-0078, fax 305-448-0045. E-mail: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>raroot@aol.com</U></FONT>. Web site: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>www.beauxartsmiami.org</U></FONT>. Application fee: $30. Space fee: $275-$325. Space size: 10x12. 100% outdoors. Exhibitors: 250.</div> <bR> <div> This was the eighth year in a row for Patty and me at this show. The Festival is well organized, with lots of smiling and helpful staff. Setup is on Friday and lasts all day, and depending on where your booth is, you can either park right next to your space or dolly a bit. Keep in mind, though, that there are some spaces behind the Lowe Art Museum that get very little traffic, and if it rains, you end up in the mud all weekend.</div> <div> This show has been cursed by bad weather at least one day almost every year we have done it. It’s either really cold or rainy — or really cold <I>and</I> rainy! Saturday at the most recent show was warm but nice, which meant that the day for bad weather this year was Sunday: It rained in the morning and sprinkled a bit during the day, and it was cool.</div> <div> A lot of talk at this year’s show was about the absence of the crowds and how the quality of work had really gone down. This used to be a much better attended show with very high-quality art. Artists were wondering whether the advertising budget had been cut and what was happening with the jury.</div> <div> Sales for us at the 57th annual show were way down, and this was the second year in a row that we did not make back our expenses! We will give this show a rest for at least a year — if we come back at all. It’s really a shame, as this used to be such a good event for us, we love doing it and the show offers $20,000 in awards. The campus is beautiful, and the staff is really great.</div> <div> I spoke with three photographers: Two reported well-below-average sales and will not return while one reported slightly below-average sales and will probably try one more time. I also spoke with two painters: Both reported sales well below average and will not be back. A woodworker’s sales were also well below average, but the artist will try again. And a mixed media artist will also try again, after sales that were slightly below normal. Lastly, a jeweler reported average sales and will be back.</div> <div> Breakdown was pretty easy, depending on where your booth was. Patty and I usually go out to eat and come back to pack up, but cold and sprinkles kept us from doing that this year. It was a bit of a free-for-all but seemed to go off without any problems.</div> <div> If you are in the area doing another show the week before or after, this can be a nice filler if you have inexpensive pieces and can have a successful event just by selling those. I would not recommend traveling very far, though, as hotels in the area are pretty expensive this time of year. </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>