Lessons learned from my first official arts fair

I often half-joke that I am the laziest-most-motivated person you know. Left to my own devices, I prefer to make few plans and just see what the day brings.

But I want more out of my life than spontaneity and enjoying life’s many moments alone can bring, which is where the pesky balancing act of tapping into ambition while also remaining present kicks in.

Let me tell you though: hitting override on my default setting (sticking with what is known and comfortable) is like dragging a dog where it does not want to go.

This brings me to my first official arts fair, which I just completed this past weekend in Truckee, CA.

What was the motivation? Well, I’ve known for a long time that while people like my art on its surface, what actually sells paintings is when folks get a chance to know more about me, the artist. The more face time I have; the more people connect with my writing, pics on social, stories and updates in my newsletter, the likelier someone is to connect with me and my work.

Over the past year as Wes and I have navigated sharing 19′ of what is both my Mobile Art Studio but also our shared home, my (awesome) supporters and clients – likely you! – have continued to support me, but I also need to grow my audience to keep this (and my art) going. This means creating opportunities for face time. Enter: the arts fair.

I’ll share here, in the spirit of transparency and “behind the scenes” of what it means to be a full time artist (aka business) – what was awesome, what was hard, and lessons learned.

What was awesome:

• The people. Hands down. I got to talk to so many fun and interesting folks at the fair, from families, friends, partners, and other vendors who were all super sweet. I handed out one million business cards.
• Witnessing peoples’ reactions to the Mobile Art Studio. People were stoked to check it out and had great responses and questions to the set up. Everyone was very encouraging.
• Support for my paintings – there was 100% enthusiasm for my work. My fave was kids’ responses – the emphatic “wow’s!” made me smile, and kids and adults alike enjoyed rifling through my business cards (that have multiple images of my paintings on one side to choose from) to pick their favorite.

What was hard:

• Setting up as a vendor at one of these shows is no small feat. I observed others setting up elaborate EZ-up tent along with merchandising displays, and all in all it truly does take hours – the preparation, travel time, fair arrival and setup time, and breakdown. For me, I was in continual motion to adapt the Mobile Studio from “me living in it full time” mode to “gallery mode” and back – which is awesome, AND work. Wes is out in the field leading a trail crew right now, so I pulled 90% of this off solo! That meant packing up the truck, securing the trailer, hitching the trailer, towing, pulling into my spot(s), leveling, unhitching, stabilizers, plugging in/unplugging, managing water, etc etc etc.
• Few vendors did well, in terms of sales, at the event – myself included. Again, I made lots of great connections, but sales-wise I didn’t even cover the entry fee. All told, with gas for towing, RV park overnights, entry fee, and merchandising/display goods purchases, I completed the event at a pretty significant (for my business) loss – I don’t want to look at it too closely if I’m honest, but probably somewhere in the neighborhood of -$750. I made around $200 in 10-ish sales – all merch, no paintings, which is okay but also data – see below. (Will it pay off over time in terms of new connections to potential patrons? Maybe! I’m open to and optimistic about that).

Lessons learned:

• Get more information in advance on what the event organizer is doing to market and promote the fair. I’m not sure why this one was poorly attended, but I know that I (nor other vendors) didn’t receive a marketing packet to help us promote, which I think is a pretty normal promotion tactic. Locals said they didn’t hear about the fair, so something seems to have not quite worked – combined, maybe, with the timing leading into the July 4th week.
• I need to do some Alli Harvey Art soul searching on if I want to double down on craft-type fairs like this one, where folks come looking for small goods and gifts vs necessarily making a fine arts purchase; or really start trying my hand at the juried, higher-bar for entry but also oftentimes higher value fine arts type events. If I go with the former strategy, I need to up my merchandise and display game. If I go with the latter, I need to be prepared to invest significant money and time, and position my artwork competitively. (I’m very open to your thoughts on this as I mull it over!)
• It’s a very good idea to be working on a painting-in-progress while doing these events, because it draws in curious onlookers and also gives me something to do so my full-bore attention isn’t intimidating anyone (you ever felt that, coming up to a booth? You just kind of want to poke around and not necessarily fully engage, but the artist is there with their full presence focused on you – it makes me too self aware to enjoy it as I’m browsing someone’s work while they watch me!).

I have a notes app going on my phone of many additional ideas and aha’s from this fair, which you’ll likely see coming slowly to fruition over the coming months. In those takeaways and ideas alone, I would park this event at a net positive – with the added bonus of creating new muscle memory for me doing events. Now this type of thing is more in my comfort zone, which means next time I do it it’ll be a lighter lift – helpful in hitting that override-what-is-normal switch I confessed is difficult earlier. In short, this event was excellent practice for me.

That’s today’s little behind the scenes on my ongoing learning, especially on the business side of things. I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Pics from the fair + handles for some of the awesome people I met below.

Other creators to check out:

• Jams & Jellies by Laura. Y’all. These were my nextdoor neighbors at the crafts fair, and part of me doesn’t want to do another one unless I get them again. Laura and her daughter Kaylene are so kind, AND their wares are *delicious*. Check them out!
• Liz Xedes. Liz is SO talented in multiple forms, and insightful/fun to talk with to boot (we ran into each other getting a post-fair drink and talked for a while). Check out her wood burning, resin, and tattoo work – and maybe someday check out her tattoo work…on me.
• Nevada Santa is the real deal. Him and his wife, a fully decked out Grinch aficianado because of course, were so nice and fun. Santa even steered me to the better running trail when he saw me about to make an error in judgment, advising me to get down near the river vs staying alongside the road.
• Ad Astra Photography. JJ and his friends were a delight to talk to. Totally enthusiastic and sincere. JJ had the insight that photographers and painters are doing similar processes to access/create our pieces, which I’d never thought of before (and he articulated it much better).
• Last but certainly not least: Alpine Lock and Key. What makes “locking oneself out of one’s running vehicle – I didn’t know that’s a thing – at 6am on the Saturday of your very first ever arts fair” a bearable experience? Calling up Mitch and he’s there in 20 minutes, and super nice about the whole thing. If you’re in the Truckee or Reno region, give these folks a call for your lock and key needs.