The Artist’s Magazine – October 2019

ArtistsNetwork.com 91

location. Estimate
your necessary
sales to recover
this base cost.
Additional costs
may include
renting a booth
and one or more
tables from
the organizers.
Renting this kind
of equipment
is a good choice
until you begin
regularly partic-
ipating in fairs. At that point you’ll
want to select your preferred setup—
keeping in mind that you’ll be the one
responsible for transporting it from
place to place.
Whether you rent or buy your table
or booth, you may wish to invest
in display easels, cases or plinths.
You’ll need packing materials such
as bubble wrap and tape, both for
transporting goods to and from the
fair and for packaging your work for
buying customers. A sturdy plastic
container keeps prints and fragile
items secure during transport. The
distance between the parking lot and
the display area may be long enough
to make a handcart beneficial.
Also consider the subsidiary needs,
such as your meals and drinks, as well
as the cost of transport and a poten-
tial overnight stay. These may be less
relevant if the fair is situated locally
since you can pack a picnic and snacks
and sleep at home. If, however, you’re
traveling more than an hour each way
for a multiday fair, your end-of-day

exhaustion may deserve an easy-to-

reach rest location. Even for local fairs,

you may need a truck or moving van

to transport large-scale works. Track

all these costs so you can adjust your

expense estimates for future events.

INVALUABLE SUPPORT

A day at a fair is commonly eight

hours or longer so having an extra

person available is helpful—especially

if the fair lasts more than one day.

A companion can help pass the time

during slow hours, chat with people

in the booth while you’re explaining

your work to a potential client, and

keep an eye on your artwork while

you take a break or roam the fair to

learn about the other sellers.

Whether or not you’re paying your

companion, be clear about your needs

and expectations. You don’t want to

mar a friendship because the friend

couldn’t or wouldn’t do what you pre-

sumed was an obvious task. At the

very least, cover meals and ad hoc

expenses as a thank you. If you hire

an assistant, prepare that person with

knowledge about your work, including

titles, costs and information about

your practice.

Make sure everyone understands

that a fair includes packing the work,

loading it for transport, unloading it

at the fair, setting it all up, interacting

with passersby, repacking and reload-

ing at the end of the fair and unloading

everything back at the studio. Those

tasks add many hours to the time you

spend while the fair is open, and every-

one involved should plan for that.

“A COMPANION CAN HELP PASS THE TIME

DURING SLOW HOURS, CHAT WITH PEOPLE IN THE

BOOTH WHILE YOU’RE EXPLAINING YOUR WORK

TO A POTENTIAL CLIENT, AND KEEP AN EYE ON

YOUR ARTWORK WHILE YOU TAKE A BREAK OR ROAM

THE FAIR TO LEARN ABOUT THE OTHER SELLERS.”

LETTING THE

WORLD KNOW

Once you’ve committed to a fair, let

your network know. Send an email

blast, post on social media and ask your

friends to spread the word. The fair may

give you opportunities to advertise.

If it’s in your budget, consider it; a

color display or box in the program

may help attract attention. Many

first-time participants don’t adver-

tise, instead using the experience to

learn first-hand about the fair and its

attendees’ preferences in order to better

target advertising for the next fair. If

you want to make a big splash, then you

may wish to plan an activity, display or

talk to attract attendees to your table or

booth. Mentioning these “extras” in an

advertisement makes the draw stronger

and more specific. You can measure

the impact to determine whether to

repeat your efforts in the future.

The process of finding the right

fairs for selling your work takes time

and effort. Your first events will prob-

ably include both successes and

failures. Keep notes on what works as

well as what doesn’t. Maintain a list

of your expenses, needs and tools to

make planning easier. Most impor-

tantly, find some small way to

recognize your courage and effort in

presentingyourarttotheworld.

C.J. Kent is a freelance writer and editor

as well as a professor at Montclair State

University. She founded Script and Type

(scriptandtype.com), which helps people

express themselves eff ectively in writing

and in person.