State Street, Ann Arbor 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>State Street, Ann Arbor 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>July 16-19, Ann Arbor State Street Area Art Fair, Ann Arbor.  </B>Contact: Kathy Krick, State Street Area Association, PO Box 4128, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; phone 734-663-6511 or 734-663-5942, fax 734-663-5942. E-mail: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>statestr@a2state.com</U></FONT>. Web site: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>www.A2statestreetartfair.com</U></FONT>. Application fee: $35. Space fee: $675-$1,825. Space size: 10x10 to 10x20. 100% outdoors. Exhibitors: 325.</div> <bR> <div> This is one of those shows we had heard so much about, but because of the sheer size of the overall event and the economy in Michigan over the past few years, Patty and I had always avoided it. However, I spoke with an art-show veteran who told me people come from all over the country to attend this show and that I should really give it a try. So we did! </div> <div> Setup was on Tuesday and was so much easier than we had anticipated. Our booth location wasn’t the greatest, as we were at the southern end of one of the main streets, but it made for an extremely easy setup and breakdown, if that’s any consolation. It was our first year here, and we were in an area with lots of other first-time artists. I guess you have to pay your dues and move up the street to better spots as spaces become available.</div> <div> Show hours were very long, 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Wednesday and Thursday were extremely hot, and business was kind of slow. I walked around talking to other artists who had been here for a few years, and all of them were commenting on the lack of crowds. It rained on Friday for a short time, but the good news is that it did cool things off for the rest of the day. Saturday brought more rain off and on, so that may have had an effect on attendance.</div> <div> Sales were extremely disappointing for us, as we sold only one piece in four days, for a total of $1,000. We again had lots of close calls but could not close on them. We had several patrons comment that they didn’t want to spend in this economy.</div> <div> I spoke with a jeweler who reported an OK sales total. The artist was down from past years but was still happy to sell earrings in the $19-$39 range. A sculptor reported slightly below-average sales, adding that sales totals had been this low a few times before, but not many. I spoke with two ceramic artists, and both said sales were far below average; they doubted whether they would return. A glass artist, who doesn’t plan to come back, said sales were painful. A photographer who had done the show for more than 15 years said this was by far his worst year while two other photographers also reported sales well below average. A metal artist did manage to make a few sales on Saturday and was unsure about returning, and a fiber artist reported totals of way below average and will not return. Lastly, a painter had a below-average show but would try again at least once.</div> <div> Breakdown went very smoothly on our end of the show site, as there was plenty of room to park across the street from our booth. Rain from earlier in the day made things a bit messy, and we had to dry off a bit, but all in all it was much easier than we had anticipated. Artists farther up the street, where booths were located on both sides of the street, had less room to park, and I’m sure a dolly would have come in very handy for them. </div> <div> I spoke with soooo many artists who said this show had been their best in years past. They said it had been declining for the past few years, and they hoped that this year it had finally hit rock bottom. GREAT! We do a show for first time and everyone around us says we should have been here last year. I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened to us over the years!</div> <div> It’s hard to say if we’ll go back next year. July is a good six months past the inauguration of a new president, so maybe we’ll wait and see what happens with the economy. Despite the long hours, we enjoyed the town, the people, the awesome campus of the University of Michigan and the show. If sales were better, this could become one of our favorite events of the year! </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>