Summerfair 2008

<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>Summerfair 2008</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 30 – June 1, Summerfair, Cincinnati</B>. Contact: Summerfair, 2515 Essex Place, Suite 243, Cincinnati, OH 45206; phone 513-531-0050, fax 513-531-0377. E-mail: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>info@summerfair.org</U></FONT>. Web site: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>www.summerfair.org</U></FONT>. Application: $30. Space fee: $375-$750. Space size: 10x10 to 10x20. 100% outdoors. Exhibitors: 300. Admission: $10. </div> <bR> <div> This was our fourth year participating in Summerfair. Excruciatingly hot temperatures and severe thunderstorms can wreak havoc with this long-running show’s gate attendance, which can directly impact sales for most artists. And this year, for the 41st annual show, it was really hot on Friday and Saturday. That, in addition to a threat of rain on Saturday, really kept the crowds down from previous years. On Sunday, though, the weather was a little cooler, and the crowds came out.</div> <div> Cincinnati is one of the few remaining cities that does not have an art show every weekend, so the locals usually support Summerfair. Thursday setup is very easy, as booths are spread out enough to allow ample room for parking. Patty and I were able to pull our truck and trailer behind our booth and stay there the whole time while setting up. Also, there is lots of room for storage behind most booth spaces and even room for some artists to hang their work on their outside walls. Overall, this is one of the easiest shows to setup and breakdown for.</div> <div> Sales at this year’s show were downright scary for most and non-existent for others. This is usually such an above-average show for most of the artists I spoke with, but this year’s event was waaaaaayyyy down. Last year, Patty and I made half of what we did the year before, and it still was an above-average show for us. This year we made half of what we did in 2007, and that brought our total to the level of a below-average show. We actually sold nothing on Friday and Saturday and did not make our first sale till midday on Sunday. Our second sale came at five minutes until closing time, and we totaled just the two transactions for the whole weekend, with an average ticket of $2,200. We felt very lucky to have gotten those. (Our second sale was directly credited to the newsletters I mailed out before the show, as a previous customer came back and added to his collection.)</div> <div> I spoke with one exhibitor (a wood artist) who reported a good show, his best of the year so far. All others I spoke with were way down and very disappointed. A jeweler reported that her sales were down by 70 percent, a photographer was down by 60 percent, and a fiber artist was off by 40 percent. A painter I spoke with made just $385 total for the show; needless to say, that artist did not make back expenses. A glass artist who has been participating in the show for over 20 years said this year was his worst here by far. Most artists I spoke with were shaking their heads, trying to figure out excuses for such a poor year: economy, weather or a combination of the two.</div> <div> On the positive side, the treatment of artists here is very good. Summerfair is a very well-run, well-organized show, and all artists I spoke with except one said they would return and try again. Breakdown is about as easy as it gets. You just drive close to your booth and load up, and just as with setup, there seemed to be plenty of room for everybody. All in all, I’d recommend this show to anyone regardless of how far you have to travel. We drive up from South Florida (1,100 miles) to participate here. This year’s event was one of those shows we’ll just have to shrug off, and I hope it turns out better when we come back next year.</div> <div> <I>Editor’s note: </I><I><B>SA</B></I><I> had received 20 FastAudits as of press time, and most artists agreed that sales were down from 2007. However, most categories still drew high marks, with the majority of artists blaming weather and the economy for lower attendance and disappointing profits. Sales averaged between a four and a five (out of ten), quite low for Summerfair. Layout also received some complaints. Still, several artists still went home with healthy totals, including a clay artist ($4,000 total sales/$32 average item sold), an oil painter ($5,000/$55) and a metal artist ($9,015/$237). Keep in mind that it’s always a game of expectations at this event, which is consistently one of the top-rated shows in the Buckeye State. </I></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>