good elephant pottery
  • blog
  • recent work
  • where to buy
  • the potter
  • contact
  • mailing list
  • school

Virginians, don't take this personally.

10/9/2012

5 Comments

 
I've been doing art festivals for over ten years now, but this past weekend was my first one in Virginia (Fairfax Festival of the Arts). This might seem strange given that Virginia is not very far, in fact it's closer than driving to Baltimore or Solomons in Maryland, which I have happily done many times. I have always thought there were plenty of great shows in Maryland to bother to look elsewhere. And I didn't want to deal with sales tax in multiple states (I have personal experience with a DC sales tax license, which was totally not worth the effort), but I have learned that Virginia has a very simple temporary sales tax reporting system that does not require a permanent license. And this is the year that I am shifting my business plan to do more shows and less wholesale, so I decided it was time to expand to the other side of the river. 

The show itself was of great quality and professionally organized (by Paragon Art Festivals, which is the same group that ran the Downtown Silver Spring Art Festival that I enjoyed so much this past spring). My sales were only so-so, but that can partially be explained by the dismal weather that blew in on Saturday afternoon, then froze our fingers off on Sunday. The rest can be explained by my lack of a customer base there. I saw only two people who I recognized from my mailing list. Whereas at the Silver Spring and Columbia shows, which were also new for me this year, I saw lots of "The Good Herd" because that's where they all live. 

The artist next to me, whose work was brilliant, had a very good show. And his price points were such that selling a few pieces are all he needs. I mention that just to point out that he did well on merit, and by knowing the value of his work, and not by underselling or doing anything cheesy. He said his sales were down from last year, probably due to the weather, but still he was happy. All but one of his sales were made to folks from his mailing list. And that's the important point to remember. He lives in Vermont, but has a daughter in Northern Virginia and has done many shows in this region, and therefore he has a base of fans there.

So now I have to decide ... do I want to make the effort to build up a mailing list in Virginia? Knowing that I'll have to get through some more so-so shows in order to accomplish that? I'm inclined to say yes, it would be worth it. 

But not in Fairfax. Again, I think the show has good potential for sales and I enjoyed its location (Fairfax Corner). But commuting to and from the show from Maryland was really annoying. It didn't matter the day or time, I-66 was backed up. Personally I think this is one of the most wasteful and brain-cell-killing ways to spend one's time, stuck in traffic. And the clutch pedal on my old Subaru can't handle it. So yes I would like to do more shows in Virginia, as long as I can avoid I-66. (If anyone can explain why the right-most lane is off limits except during rush hour, when the remaining lanes are not adequate for the non-rush hours, and causing all the merging traffic at the interchanges to merge twice, I would like to hear it.) Paragon also has a new show in Leesburg, and there are long-established and high-quality shows in Alexandria and Reston too. None of these would involve getting on I-66. Or I-95 southbound, I hate that road too. As you might know by now, I consider lots of criteria before applying to any show. And now when a show is in Virginia, I will also consider the "commuting hassle" factor. 

Just as a side note ... this October is packed with work, two art festivals, three wholesale deadlines, and a wood-firing. But it's really hard to concentrate on work when the Orioles are in the playoffs! To the Orioles ... you have had loyal fans all along, and we are on cloud nine. Let's go Os!!
5 Comments
Jim
10/9/2012 03:17:16 am

Love the Orioles support!

Reply
Amy H link
10/9/2012 06:32:45 am

And that is why my family and I will never, ever move to that area, despite almost all of my husband's family living there. It's crazy!

Reply
Vicki link
10/9/2012 12:53:31 pm

I feel your pain, we lived in Fairfax for a year and I-66 was the bane of my existence!

Reply
Debbie Weiss
10/9/2012 02:26:06 pm

Chaos theory in motion on those roads. I lived for a decade around Falls Church, Fairfax and Chantilly. As a Florida native a truely enjoyed the magic in the springs and fall. But the trafffic( babies) was the down fall and now back in FL I am.

It is worth while to build you clientle ; demographically the area lots of disposible income and big mc mansion to fill with your beautiful work.

Have you tought of a tour in FL over the Jan Feb Mar Months? Nice vacation and I would love to host you and maybe have a workshop!! Howard Allen has alot of great shows here... me dreaming

Debbie in Coral Springs..

Reply
Clayton link
10/10/2012 07:48:10 am

Hi, Mea. I don't comment here much, so taking the opportunity to say hello online and sympathize with balancing cultural destination with trial of getting there (and back). I used to go to the Kennedy Center from central Maryland several times a year mainly for the opera, but the trip was "killing brain cells", as you say, and I often was too tired and stressed out to enjoy the reason for going once I got there. (Sometimes, I left early or didn't even go and wasted my ticket money.) Thankfully, there is great music and art in and around Baltimore, so I make that my cultural center. So glad one of my favorite potters appeared for the first time in Columbia this year, too!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    author

    Mea Rhee (mee-uh ree),
    ​the potter behind
    ​Good Elephant Pottery


    upcoming shows

    July 14-17
    Central Pennsylvania
    ​Festival of the Arts
     
    State College, PA

    join the herd

    Receive email notices about upcoming shows/events, and/or the online school.


    Follow me on
    ​Facebook and
    Instagram

    RSS Feed


    categories

    All
    Classes
    In The Studio
    Running A Business
    Shows
    The Art Festival Plan
    The Hourly Earnings Project

    archives

    May 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.