Art Show Season Starts Soon

Spring is in the air in many parts of the US. That means the craft/art shows will be starting soon. My season starts tomorrow with the Fayetteville First Thursday Art Walk. Art walks and craft shows are an excellent way to expand your business. The booth fees are usually very low which is always good.

Many towns have several shows a year, many of which are sponsored by the town's tourism department. Call your local city hall for information. If they don't know, chances are they know someone who does. In addition to art shows and craft fairs many towns have multiple Farmer's Markets. That is another great opportunity to make new contacts and possibly even a few sales!

I started doing art shows with my family when I was very young. I later went on to owning booths at several Renaissance Faires all across the US. I am pretty much retired from doing shows full time. With my brick and mortar I only have time for a few local shows. I will be working on some "How To's" regarding doing art or craft shows in the near future. If you set up at a show or 12 I would love to hear about your How To's and tips.

Shows, Stores and Shops!

Many of you know that I have an Etsy shop (Tangled Metal Etsy Shop) and some of you know I do a show now and again. (see above image) What some of you may or may not know is that I am opening a retail store. Juggling it all around sometimes seems like a daunting task but I manage.

My Etsy shop does okay. It is growing. The more items I add to the shop the better I do. I am almost to the 300 mark as far as items. I have cheated a little bit and started listing some of my Christmas product. Funny thing is that people are viewing them too. Go figure.

Today I have a show in Fayetteville, AR. (Fayetteville First Thursday) It is a small show with an attendance of around 1500 people. It is a short show being from 5pm to 8pm. It also as a small price tag of only $20 to vend. I like the small shows because they do well for me. Well, most of the time they do. This show is once a month and I have started to build up a following. That makes it worth while.

Saturday I jump into the realm of owning a retail brick and mortar shop. (The Curious Crow - the website is a work in progress) The shop is pretty small, only 400 sqft or so. It is in a heavy traffic area in a great tourist based town called Eureka Springs, AR.

I also try and blog here every weekday to help others learn from my mistakes and successes. I am a pretty busy guy. I like working but I am not a workaholic. I believe in time off and vacations. I try to take a couple of hours each day to do noting productive. I cannot shut off my mind but at least I give my body a rest. I also try and sleep in once a week. I know that isn't something all of you can do but if you can try it! When I say sleep in, I mean an extra hour of sleep not stay in bed all day. :)

Today is one of those days when I really din't have much to say. Sorry about that. Tomorrow will probably be much the same. However, next week I will get right back to the tips and tricks and how to's! So, please, stand by! Let me know if you have any questions or comments and have a great day!

Art And Jewelry Shows

All last year I attended the First Thursday Fayetteville are walk in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is a three hour show filled with Arts and Music and Food. They tend to leave out the more country craft type people. It is a blast and the vending fee is only $20.

Tomorrow I will be attending again. I love doing smaller shows like this for many reasons. Mainly it is an inexpensive show with a decent amount of people. I would estimate that between 500 and 1500 people attend each month. Being able to put my products in front of that many people for $20 is some of the best advertising I will do all year long.

Do you have shows like this in your area? How do they work out for you? I will not be writing tomorrow but will be back on Friday. Until then, have a great day!