Success at Juried Shows

© by Jasmine Bonner; all rights reserved

I've participated in some juried shows, as well as many others that were not juried. I'm still apprehensive about even applying to events that have what I consider to be high booth fees.

Right now, my booth fee threshold is about $350. Over that, and I get way too antsy. Of course, three years ago, you would have heard me fretting about whether to apply to a show with a $90 booth fee. I am working on raising my threshold for booth fees, and am slowly applying to higher end shows with higher fees. As a general rule, a show that can justify such high booth fees probably has the customer base to support it.

There must be either a very high number of attendees, or a very high-quality shopper base, to justify a large booth fee. A good way to tell whether a show is worth its fee is to find out what percentage of vendors will return from the previous year.

A general rule of thumb is that you should expect about 10x your booth fee in sales. That is not always the case, however, and there are no guarantees of how much you'll earn. Sometimes your sales will be much higher, and other times much, much lower.

Juried shows have a panel of "jurors" who approve or reject the vendors' applications based on the quality and uniqueness of the products, the booths, and the vendors themselves.

Juried shows tend to have higher fees, but they also tend to be more profitable for artists - due to the jurors' screening process, how the show is advertised, and the customers they tend to attract.

There are a few keys to being accepted into juried shows. The first thing is obvious - submit excellent photos of your jewelry and of your booth.

But beyond that, you need a story; something about your product that makes it different from all the other jewelry applicants. Maybe you make the lampwork beads you use in your designs, or maybe you cut your own stones, or maybe you fabricate your own findings and settings. Don't be afraid to brag about the details that set you apart.

If you have a funky style, it will show in your merchandise photos, but take the opportunity to TELL the jurors why your style is so awesome, and why it stands out from the rest! I have an Artist Statement and a Bio that I send with all applications, whether they request them or not. It's just a bit of extra info about me that helps show the jury how I am "different" from all the other jewelry applications they see.

If you have the option of including samples of your work, by all means, DO; there's nothing that makes a more defintive statement about the quality and beauty of your work. You know how hard it is to capture the sparkle and inuendo of jewelry in a photo, so definitely send a few sample items along with your application, if you have the opportunity.

Once you make it to the show, you will probably discover that there are TONS of jewelry vendors there.

While I'm a proponent of capitalism and free trade, and I agree that there is a very wide variety in peoples' jewelry tastes, I do not feel it is beneficial to have a large percentage of any one kind of vendor at a show. The problem with having a show that's 35-40% jewelry is that customers get burned out very quickly and eventually just ignore ALL the jewelry, not even stopping in your booth to see how awesome or different your stuff is.

I'm also running into a lot of events that say they accept vendors with handcrafted items only, but when I get there, the venue is full of vendors from nationally recognized commercial buy/sell companies.

Show attendees have become used to that too. You would not believe the number of shocked expressions when I tell someone I actually made all the jewelry in my booth! They just assume that it's imported like all the rest.

I have a very attractive and visually pleasing booth setup and display scheme. This helps to draw people in. Once they are in my booth, I just do what comes naturally and it keeps their attention.

I chat with them, am very open and friendly, answer their questions, and they begin to comprehend, and sometimes even empathize, with the passion I have for my work. Then they get excited about buying a piece of art jewelry directly from the artist, and the cookie cutter stuff down the row fades into a distant memory.

Before I pony up the money to apply to a show, I try to get following information:

1. How many vendors will be at this show?

2. What percentage/how many will be jewelry vendors?

3. How many years has this show existed? How many years at this venue?

4. What percentage of vendors are expected to return from the previous year?

5. Is the jury process enforced? i.e. if a vendor shows up with items that are not the same quality/category as their submitted photos, will they be allowed to stay?

6. What are the attendance numbers for this show?

7. Has the attendance increased or decreased over the past few years?

8. How much and what kind of advertising will be done for this show?

9. If it is an outdoor show, also inquire about their policy on rainouts / rescheduling for rain, and refund policy for inclement weather.

For more research on the show's potential customers, you can check area demographics at http://realestate.yahoo.com/Neighborhoods - it's a helpful resource!

Even with the answers to all of these questions, the thing about shows is that you just never know what to expect. You may have an unbelievably great day, or it may totally bomb. You can do your research and think the demographics for the area are fantastic, but that's not the only thing to consider.

The worst show I ever did was a wine festival in New Braunfels, TX last year.

Why?

I figured it would be a fantastic venue, but as the festival went on and I heard comments from shoppers, I realized that the local jewelry artists already had a corner on the jewelry market.

There was an "art gallery" on the same street where my booth was located. They were open for business, and almost all of their gallery was dedicated to jewelry...by local artists.

There is also a fantastic glass store there that teaches bead making, so shoppers were pretty savvy about lampwork, jewelry design, etc. That is usually a very good audience for my designs because I focus on the higher end of the spectrum. You have to gain the respect and trust of the educated customer before they're willing to let go of the big bucks.

However, local shoppers already had alliances with local artists and didn't seem open to purchasing from an "outsider." People who had traveled there for the festival didn't want to buy jewelry from a vendor who had traveled there to sell; they wanted to buy jewelry made by local artists!

The booth fee was $125 - that plus travel expenses added up to about $400, and I sold a whopping $125 worth of stuff.

My very best show last year was in Graham, TX of all places!

Why?

It is a small no-name town whose only claim to fame is that it's close to a popular lake. Oh, and it also boasts the highest number of millionaires per capita in the state of Texas.

I didn't expect a lot from the show when I went because it was a small outdoor venue only in its third or fourth year, and the weather was HOT!

The shoppers, however, came with their pocketbooks open. They wanted quality, and they wanted to know exactly what they were buying. Because I knew about the stones in my jewelry, because I could educate customers about lampwork and fusing, and because I was willing to tell them about my design processes and share my passion with them, they bought!

Apparently they liked my jewelry too, but what these customers really wanted was the the art purchasing experience, and they wanted a story to tell when people admired their piece. Most of my items have a name, and they loved that, especially when they could see the hidden meaning or reasoning behind the name.

Also, the promoters of this show are very, very strict about their jurying process and they enforce the rules. If a vendor gets there with cheap buy/sell stuff or wares not on par with the photos submitted, they will be asked to leave. They also choose really good quality, unusual stuff for the show and try not to have too many of the same vendor types in attendance. They accept only a few jewelry vendors, a few mosaic artists, a few hot glass artists, a few potters, etc. so there is a good mix.

The show is only about five years old, but it is gaining some fame and I plan to do it again next year!

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