St. Stephen's Art Show

<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>St. Stephen's Art Show</B></div> <div> <B>347-LOVE-ART  (347-568-3278)   Toll Free 1-877-512-3333</B><B>    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> 2004 St. Stephen's Art Show</div> <div> February 14-16, the 16th Annual St. Stephen's Coconut Grove Art Show.   Contact: 2750 McFarlane Road, Coconut Grove, Fl. 33133 303-558-1758 </div> <div> e-mail: info@artshowss.com   </div> <div> This show is held on the grounds of the St. Stephens Church in Coconut Grove, right next to the big Coconut Grove Art Show.  In previous years the shows were located so close together that most of the show patrons were not aware there were two shows.  This year the big Coconut Grove Art Show moved down the street, put up a fence and charged $5.00 for admission.  All the artists at the St. Stephens show could talk about was, "how is this going to affect us?" </div> <div> This was our fourth year for doing this show and it's usually one of our best shows of the year.  Attendance figures for the Coconut Grove Show is usually in the 750,000 range and the people come to buy.  Slightly less than half of them make it through the St. Stephens side.  There are a few patrons we talk to every year that say they prefer the St. Stephens show because the art there is better, there is shade and it's not so crowded.  We also usually sell our biggest, most expensive pieces here.  There are very large homes in this area with lots of wall space.  </div> <div> Set-up is on Friday and staggered so artists in the middle can set up first.  It's very well run and very organized.  Show director Wanda Hammond strolls the property making sure everyone follows the rules.  Step out of line here and she comes down on you with an iron fist.  You always know exactly where you stand with her.  </div> <div> The show starts at 10:00 am on Saturday but if you get here anytime past 8:00 am, finding a place to park is next to impossible.  The crowds here arrive early and be prepared to talk and talk and talk about your work.  </div> <div> This year there was a noticeable decrease in the amount of traffic through the show.  Two photographers I spoke with said they were way down in sales but a acrylic sculptor said he had a very good day.  A  chandelier artist reported selling 3 pieces on Saturday at $5000.00 each, a very good day.  For us Saturday was way down, only one small sale, it was our worst single day ever at the show.  </div> <div> Sunday started off with rain but cleared up around noon and the crowds came out.  Still the number of people was way down from previous years.  Usually most of the buying here is Saturday and Sunday so we were hoping for a good day.  Most of the artists I spoke with said Sunday was way down for them.  The acrylic sculptor had a zero day, we sold two small pieces and were down about 80% from the previous year.  The two photographers were in the midst of their worst shows ever there.  One new photographer to the show said he was selling his work and reported it to be an above average show.  All we could hope for was to have a great day on Monday!</div> <div> For us Monday started off early with one of our biggest pieces selling before 11:00 am.  A few hours later another of our biggest pieces sold and we were on our way to a great day.  We finished ahead of last years sales total.   </div> <div> Two long time veteran photographers of the show said this was their worst year ever there.  One veteran photographer and one new photographer both said sales for them was good.  The acrylic sculptor was down from last year and the chandelier artist was very happy overall.</div> <div> Every artist I spoke with said they planned on returning next year to try  again.  If they'll have us, we'll be back also.    </div> <div> Breakdown here is very hectic, lots of artists just dolly out to the street to avoid the mayhem.  We choose to zip our sides down, go out to dinner and return 90 minutes later after most have cleared out.  You are required to break down completely, have your space inspected to get a pass so you can bring your van onto the property and load out. </div> <div> One note of interest, this was show director Wanda Hammond's last year running the show.  There were even reports of seeing her smiling as she walked around  on Monday.   </div> </td> </tr></table></body>