Brentwood Fall 2008 Art Show Results

Vaughn McMillan

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LOML and I did the Brentwood Fall Art Show today. We had a good time at the show, but it was a bust. We sold a total of 1 pen for $40. Money-wise, it was the worst show we’ve done yet. Interestingly, the spring version of this show a few months ago was the best show we’ve ever done. Same affluent demographic, but people were being tight with their purses. All the vendors we talked to were having similarly dismal sales. It was a good-sized crowd, beautiful weather, and we had very positive responses from people who saw my stuff. Lotta people, but not many of them carrying purchased merchandise. This doesn’t leave me with a real warm and fuzzy feeling for next weekend in South Pasadena. Ah well, that’s the way the woodchips fly.

Here are the obligatory pics...

Da Booth:

Brentwood Fall 2008 Booth 800.jpg

Da Crowd:

Brentwood Fall 2008 Crowd 800.jpg

As I said, we did have fun. And I sold enough stuff mail order last week to cover our entry fee for this show. ;)
 
At least you were not stuck in some wind and dust swept parking lot.

I agree with Mike, a nice booth set up for sure, and your work is also great, you just need to hit that right market and client, and no, I don't have any other answer besides keep trying.....:wave:
 
Nice!

Agreed. Very nice setup. Sorry to hear that you had the same luck as me. :( I hope your show next week is better. Hopefully this show will at least result in some mail order sales.

Hutch
 
LOML and I did the Brentwood Fall Art Show today. We had a good time at the show, but it was a bust. We sold a total of 1 pen for $40. Money-wise, it was the worst show we’ve done yet.

This doesn’t leave me with a real warm and fuzzy feeling for next weekend in South Pasadena. Ah well, that’s the way the woodchips fly.
Well, I see your problem - no booth bunny! :rofl::rofl:

If things get slow next week you can always drop over to the Gamble house for a tour!:D
 
Sorry to hear it didn't go well Vaughn. In my limited experience at A&C shows, success seem very hard to predict, kind of like fishing, you do all the right things...and nothing, then some times you pull them in one after another. Maybe it was the wrong moonphase;). Hang in there!
 
Your booth display and your work certainly were not the reason for poor sales :thumb: Tight wallets to blame.

Hope the next show goes better!
 
Great looking booth Vaughn. As was said it is not your work that is not selling. I had the same experience. Nobody was buying anything and I sold just 4 pens to the tune of $125. I think with the economy the way it is and the uncertainty of the future of the economy really is weighing on peoples minds. They are just not spending period. I've sold more by word of mouth for gifts than at the fairs.
 
Vaughn,

What Bernie said! Everything looks good, it's just that you're going for the high-end market, and those people would have been *very* nervous this weekend about money. The headlines are hard to ignore.

Still, just keeping your name out there, and showing up, may end up driving traffic to the website. At some point, it's all about mindshare and brand-image recognition. The duck will eventually fly, as long as the wings keep flapping! ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Thanks for the comments, guys. As I said, this show has been very successful for us in the past, so I know the slow sales are not a reflection on my work or my booth display. ;) Times are tight for everybody right now, and decorative wooden items are pretty low on most people's priority list. I'm disappointed with the sales numbers, but not kicking myself about it, since I know it wasn't my fault.

On the plus side, I handed out a hundred or more business cards, including one to a local arborist who was eager to find someone willing to take big pieces of green wood off his hands. I also talked to another turner at the show (Gary Wilson...real nice guy that I've done several shows with) who wanted to know if I was interested in partnering with him on some future turning wood purchases. (My answer was yes.) And lastly, I got a chance to have a good chat with Ray Leier, the producer of this show (and the one I'm doing next weekend). Ray is one of the founders and owners of the del Mano Gallery, which is one of the best galleries in the world for woodturners. Check out the list of people whose work as been displayed there. Ray's a good guy to be on a first name basis with, and very supportive of new artists. :)
 
I think there is nervousness everywhere. The properly wealthy are always insulated to some extent and the properly poor are never in the market, The people in the middle are the ones worried at the moment and also where the "volume" for products like yours lives. My sales for this year are down on last and they have been a completely different shape to all my previous years.

My only advise would be to try and stock up on smaller, low cost items to try to cover stand costs at least, that's the first hurdle.

Better luck next time:)
 
I really like your setup! I am selling some stuff this weekend but am having someone else man the booth along with some of his stuff. I have 3 soccer games on Saturday.
 
That the Duarte show? They were still trying to sell spots there as of last week. (Got spam? :eek:)
Nope, it's the Mission West Fall show in South Pasadena. I'd imagine that a lot of the various show promoters may be having trouble filling all their booth slots. A couple of weekends ago we also noticed more empty booth spaces at the LA County Fair than we've ever seen before. My guess is that there are fewer vendors willing to risk the booth fees, as well as some who paid for the space months ago but have since gone out of business.
 
And lastly, I got a chance to have a good chat with Ray Leier, the producer of this show (and the one I'm doing next weekend). Ray is one of the founders and owners of the del Mano Gallery, which is one of the best galleries in the world for woodturners. Check out the list of people whose work as been displayed there. Ray's a good guy to be on a first name basis with, and very supportive of new artists. :)

Don't know if you noticed Vaughn, but the second column is short one name for them to be balanced...I think McMillan, Vaughn would look great in the 5th spot on the right hand column? :dunno:

Meeting the right people can be more important than selling one pen or bottle stopper. :rolleyes:
 
Ha!!! I agree with Rennie! Get some Bud Girls out there and offer a free photo op with every purchase. Just remember, it's the economy of the crowd, not the merchandise.
 
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