What's a good show?

[Frank Kobilsek]

I exhibited at my first juried art show last weekend. 80 miles from home so outside the everybody knows me range. Things went well. Sold mostly smaller pieces and stoppers. My wife even enjoyed the day. It was nice that some CIW club members stopped in to see me.

So here's my question. My sales were 6.5 times the entry fee or the entry fee was 15% of sales. Is that a good ratio? How do people measure the results of a show.

Sorry the Engineering manager with an MBA in me is trying to develop a metric to judge future shows.

Booth pict for proof.

Frank

[Stan Cook]

Sounds like a success, but be sure to factor in all expenses (materials, overhead, travel, fees, etc.) and all hours involved in production, set up, show, tear down and travel. Then check your hourly wage to see if it was successful.

For your next venture, you may want to consider adding lights - and lots of them- to your display to really highlight the grain and finish. Also, try varying the heights of your items and create lines that demand a customer's attention.

[Paul Engle]

sounds good, my guess from an engr sawdust maker is if the margin is > 40% on all products sold , you made money, if say your tot is 200$ , cog is about 110 to 120$ , space at 15% of gross is 30$ , tot net cos is 150
$ .... not so much, gas , incidentals etc another 10 to 13% and LOYL expenses another 10 to 15 % of Tot tot sale and you broke even. recomment you move margin up to 100% , leave LOYL home, eat pb&j drink water, and drive 55 :eek: , do not visit other spaces ....now you're smokin!!!!:D

[Frank Kobilsek]

Thanks Guys, I guess my financial goals related to turning are not really business focused but rather funding more tools and toys. Profit and loss will be terms only loosely connected to thier meaning in the business world. For example; Saturday I decided before I started I'd be happy if I raised enough cash to buy a vac chuck system. My sales would certainly cover that cost. (Doesn't mean I ordered it yet.)

I hope to see first hand what people respond to at the shows. My dyed pieces got a lot of oohs and aahs but they all came home with me. Nobody even noticed cork stoppers yet I sold 10 stainless units. Inlay got attention and splating drew questions.

I have 5 sales events picked out between now and October. Just trying to come up with a way to compare one show to the other.

Frank

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Frank.....You exhibited quite a variety of turnings! I'm somewhat surprised that you didn't sell more, especially the dyed turnings. It maybe that those will sell more to the "artsy" crowd and less to the craft show crowd?
Still, quite a variety you have there. Nicely done!

[Reed Gray]

I can do a better job of predicting the weather than I can of predicting sales. For me, general rule of thumb is less than $1500 isn't too good, $2,000 is fair, and $3,000 plus is good. I do expect to get more business from call backs, and after doing a show for a few years, you do get regulars. One source you could check is www.artfairsourcebook.com. It is a guide/review of the best shows sales wise across the US. The review covers what sells, applications, dates, average sales, fees, site conditions, etc. It has been instrumental in helping me figure out where I want to go. The guy who puts it together gets his info from the vendor/artists, not the show managers. I am a satisfied customer.
robo hippy

[Rich Stewart]

THREE THOUSAND???!!!!! Jeez louise.

[George Tokarev]

Location, as they say. What sells and for how much depends on the buyers more than what you have or what price you set. You can sell utility most anywhere, but it fetches a lower price than "art" turnings. I try to have a mix. My brother and sister have taken my stuff into other markets and made large bucks, so it's not really the goods themselves, but the availability of money where you're selling that determines the asking price.

[Jonathon Spafford]

Sounds to me like you did a good show... like you said your aren't doing it for a job; so I would say if you made a bit of profit and enjoyed yourself then you did a good show!!!

[Doug M Jones]

If I can get to the craftmanship level to actually sell some items to partially pay for my addiction, I'll be one happy camper. The wife raises and shows Mini Rex rabbits. Won several classes and took reserve in the best of breed competition and walked away with $3.00 in prize money. The entry fee was $2.50. :(

Enjoy the chuck.