Boca Raton Museum of Art 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>Boca Raton Museum of Art 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> Boca Raton Museum of Art Festival</div> <div> February 7-8 18th Annual Boca Raton Museum of Art Festival of Art.  Mizner Park, Boca Raton, Fla. Contact:  Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Mizner Park, Boca Raton, Fla. 33432.  561-392-2500. </div> <div> Set-up for this show starts at midnight on Friday night.  I'm not sure how many artists took advantage of the midnight set up, we arrived early Saturday morning and it seemed most artists were setting up then.  Set-up was smooth, unloading was close by for most people.  Parking was a bit of a hike and the lot filled up so buy late morning some artists had to find alternate parking.  The staff at the show is friendly and helpful, coffee and bagels are served in the museum.  This show is in a very upscale shopping center with lots of restaurants, shops and art galleries.   </div> <div> Saturday the weather was good, it rained for 5 minutes mid day then the sun came out.  There were good crowds all day long.  Most of the artists I spoke with said business was pretty slow, way down from previous years.  One photographer and one wood worker reported having good days.  We sold one medium priced piece and hoped for better on Sunday.  </div> <div> Sunday the weather was great and the crowds came out to walk the show.  Most artists I spoke with were very frustrated from the lack of sales.  So much so that Sunday at 4:00 several artists were packing up early.  There were still plenty of people there, very few carrying packages.  One photographer reported having a great show, a mixed media glass artist reported having a better than average year there, a wood worker reported having a way above average show with one person spending $5000.00 in his booth.  Another wood box maker said his show was good.  Those were the positive comments.  A lot of artists I spoke with said their show was way down.  A jeweler, four year veteran of the show, said she did about 1/3 what she usually does there.  A painter, 14 year veteran, said his sales were about 1/3.  Several painters I spoke with were shut out completely.  As for us, we sold two small pieces on Sunday and our sales were slightly less than half what we made there last year.  </div> <div> Breakdown was very smooth, some artists starting parking their vans just outside the show around 4:00 in anticipation of a quick get away.  I pulled my truck and trailer in front of our booth about 5:15, there seemed to be plenty of room for most artists to park fairly close to if not right next to their tents.  </div> <div> There is so much money walking around this show, Boca is a very upscale community and the people here usually buy a lot of art.  Be prepared for hagglers, your most frequently asked question for the weekend is usually"  Is that your best price?"  I came down $25.00 on two pieces that were in the 400-500 range and that was enough to make the sale.  So you don't have to compromise a lot here to make it.  We will try this show again next year and hope for better.  Most other artists I spoke with said they were not ready to give up here just yet.   </div> </td> </tr></table></body>