Gold Coast 2006

<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>Gold Coast River North Art Fair</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>August 4-6, Gold Coast River North Art Fair, Chicago.</B> </div> <bR> <div> This show is held on the sidewalks along several streets in downtown Chicago. It's a well-established, 49-year-old tradition, and patrons eagerly await its annual visit. The sidewalks are wide enough for booths, patrons and even a bit of storage.</div> <div> The Fair has quite a different feel from other events Patty and I have entered, as it's the first street show we've done where the streets are not closed to traffic. The noise from cars, buses and sirens can be overwhelming at times, but by the third day, I felt like the usual urbanite, as my brain was beginning to block out all the noise.</div> <div> Setup was very easy and well organized. You simply parked right in front of your space and unloaded, found a parking space, then came back and set up. There were plenty of nearby parking lots to choose from, and all-day parking cost just $30 for our truck and trailer. It was not the nightmare I thought we were in for!</div> <div> Although this was our first time doing this show, we had done other shows in the area, so we do have a small following. But that didn't seem to help. This was one of those frustrating weekends where people just could not make up their minds! We had people come to the show just to see us after receiving our newsletter and come back a second or third time, but they still could not decide which piece they wanted. This went on all weekend and drove me crazy with doubt, wondering what I was doing wrong. I know we've all been there! We ended up selling four pieces, the last one a large piece at 5 p.m. on Sunday that made the show for us. We ended up with an average sales total.</div> <div> I spoke with three painters. One had done the show for several years and said this was usually a good show for him. However, this year's totals were well below average, and he was not sure if he would return. Another reported average sales totals, crediting one large sale on Sunday for saving his show. The other reported below-average sales, saying people were just not buying this year. </div> <div> Of the two printmakers I spoke to, one reported above-average sales and the other about average. Both said they would return. A jeweler, a sculptor and a wood artist all reported average sales and said this year's show was not as strong as past ones. All three are planning on returning. Another woodworker reported above-average sales and said he would definitely return. I also spoke with two photographers: One had slightly below-average sales, and the other well below. But both still plan to come back.</div> <div> Breakdown was about as easy as it gets. We broke our booth down, piled or leaned everything on the sidewalk, parked right next to our space, loaded up and went. I did see some artists dollying from side streets, but I'm not sure how far they had to go.</div> <div> This was the first promoter show we had done in several years. Patty and I had tried a few different ones but just preferred the treatment, area involvement and feel of community shows. Other artists had told us about Amdur shows, though, and I was even a graduate of her boot camp (well worth the time and money to attend), so we decided to give two of her shows a try (see the following review). Well, Gold Coast was our first promoter show that really had the feel of a community event. It had awards, a dinner, booth sitters, and friendly and knowledgeable staff members who stopped by our booth several times to see how we were doing.</div> <div> Patty and I will definitely return, as we feel there is enormous potential for big-ticket sales. We had more people in our booth who were interested in our work and could actually afford it than we had seen in quite some time. It's no wonder this show is ranked as high as it is.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>