Wells Street 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>Wells Street  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>June 14-15, Wells Street Art Festival, Chicago.</B> Contact: Old Town Merchants & Residents Association, Special Events Management, 2221 West 43rd Street, Chicago, IL 60609; phone 773-584-6642, fax 773-523-6760. E-mail: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>karie@chicagoevents.com</U></FONT>. Web site: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="ITC-NewBaskerville" ><U>www.chicagoevents.com</U></FONT>. Application fee: $30. Space fee: $350-$475, not including add-ons, parking and electricity. Space size: 10x10 to 10x20. 100% outdoors. Exhibitors: 240. Attendance: 50,000 (gate).</div> <bR> <div> I would recommend this show to anyone, regardless of travel, but with a few cautions. It’s almost a must to have a helper here: Crowds are large and can be overwhelming, and the setup and breakdown are among the hardest Patty and I have ever done. The show, which was ranked #40 in fine art in the latest <I>200 Best</I>, is on Wells Street in downtown Chicago on the same weekend as the Old Town Art Fair (#12), and booths are back-to-back down the center of the street with no room for storage behind, although some booths do have storage space on the sidewalk in front.</div> <div> Setup is bright and early Saturday morning, starting at 6 a.m. The staff is very friendly and pretty well organized, but the layout of the show, combined with tight spaces, makes setup a real chore. Many artists get here really early to secure their spots in line. Many more choose to park on side streets and dolly in to avoid the confusion, but there is room for only so many. Every year when our alarm goes off at 4:30 Saturday morning, I ask myself why the hell we are doing this show — this is way too much like having a job!</div> <div> The good news is there are no booths on side streets. Bad locations here are right in front of some of the local bars, as crowds of partying Festival-goers really get a bit rowdy, especially as the day goes on, and the show hours are until 10 p.m. on both days. Artists are allowed to leave at dusk, but combine the regular show hours with the early setup, and Saturday is a REALLY long day! But once Patty and I are all set up, have the truck parked and are able to relax a bit, I think, “OK, it wasn’t THAT bad!”</div> <div> On Saturday, the weather was absolutely perfect, with blue skies and temperatures in the mid 70s. Big crowds of friendly Midwesterners came out, and I remembered why we keep coming back. Most of our high-end sales happen earlier in the day here: This is Chicago, and high-end sales are quite frequent. Around 4 p.m., the crowd turns pretty young, and most artists are simply entertainment for the beer-drinking public.</div> <div> On Sunday morning, a bad storm with high winds hit, knocking over and destroying some booths. These downtown shows with wind whipping between buildings can get pretty tough! Our double booth and display were moved about four inches down the street, and our neighbor’s Light Dome tent was crushed into a ball and fell on top of our tent. Staff from Special Events got a ladder and removed her tent piece by piece. We were very fortunate not to have any damage, but others were not so lucky, losing their display and work. </div> <div> About 11 a.m. the storm passed on, and Sunday turned into another beautiful day. We sold only two pieces, with an average ticket of $2,750, which is about half what we usually have done here. A sculptor reported sales of about half her average, a painter reported slightly below-average totals, a jeweler said he was down from previous years but still did OK, and a glass artist had a good show, selling mostly lower-end items. All said they would return.</div> <div> Breakdown can be even tougher than setup if you don’t have a plan! The show is open until 10 p.m., although artists can leave at 8. The bad news is that vehicles are not allowed into the site until around 10:30 p.m. Most artists choose to dolly even if they’re a few blocks away. This year we hired a local to help us tear down and dolly, and it was the best $40 we ever spent! We broke down a double booth and dollied two blocks in 90 minutes, by far the fastest we have ever gotten out of here. </div> <div> <I>Editor’s note: A printmaker who sent in a FastAudit had a slightly more negative view of the show and would not return. Although the artist gave high marks to most categories, the $1,320 in sales were below his/her expectations and “only covered actual out-of-pocket expenses.” The exhibitor made almost all his/her sales on Saturday and said, “Sunday’s crowd was mostly walkers.”</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>