Convention Preparation - Health

This too could be you if you don't take care of your health!!! Photo credit David Mills https://instagram.com/dmills1979/

 Stay hydrated and don't eat junk food. (Unless, of course, you normally subsist on it.)
Wendy Martin www.wendymartinillustration.com

This is what you'll end up looking like if you eat too much junk food!!

Something which is not often thought about until after the convention is health. As artists we are always in such a rush to have the work prepared in time that we often forget this very important aspect. Conventions can be hotbed for germs and getting "concrud" will be inevitable unless you take some precautions. Here's some advice from some professional artists;

Health tips!! WATER. Hydrate like it's going out of style. Vitamins vitamins vitamins. Eat well (have snacks in case you can't get away for meals), try to eat as little junk as you can, try to eat healthful, SLEEP WELL. Pass up on 4 am partying if you're tired.

Tawny Fritz www.tawnyfritz.com

Make sure you have everything you need on hand. 

 The best tip I've ever received was to bring a "MacGyver kit" filled with tape, packing tape, duct tape, pencils, pens, scissors, safety pins, paper clips, Aspirin, band-aids, etc.

Kelley McMorris www.kmcmorris.blogspot.com

Get yourself "kitted out"....

And now this is one for the ladies, so if you're a guy reading this be prepared for some girl talk...

If you’re a lady and it’s close to that time of month make sure you have what you need - tampons, pads, pain killers... I found out the hard way getting caught out with an unexpected period and no tampons or pain killers, I had to ask if someone had a tampon in the public toilets (there were no sanitary dispensers in the convention toilets and the nearest pharamacy was too far away to get to in a hurry) thankfully someone was able to help me out :) 

Belinda Morris www.belindaillustrates.com

Not the kind of protection that will help at that time of month... though at least the cloak is red...

 

Convention Preparation - Booth Presentation

A good thing to remember when designing your booth display is to make sure it looks inviting, fun and has a cohesive theme to it - keeping in mind your brand.

I really wanted to emphasize booth design this year, something that I hadn't really played with before. I grabbed a bunch of fake reptile skin of natural colors to really go with the whole dragon theme of my booth and I also found three small decorative chests that were rustic looking and covered in thick (fake) crocodile skin. I found some red velvet on clearance at a fabric store and placed it in the chests over some fluffy cotton to display all of my prints and a few originals. We draped the remainder of the red velvet throughout my booth and had many people come back just to see the "eye candy" that was my booth, according to them. My sales were through the roof this year with that set up and it reinforced my brand as an artist.

Crystal Sully www.crystalsully.com

And lighting might be a good factor to keep in mind too. 

led lights to light up all of the art on my table drew customers to the booth like moths to a light. I'm never going to exhibit anywhere without using lights to properly display my art. For the giant 6' Dragon print I had behind my table the light really brought the piece to life and helped sell the massive print.

Crystal Sully www.crystalsully.com

 The placement of your prints can assist with better sales according to Afton Kern.

After getting my table set up I removed most of the stuff in front of the prints, leaving the portfolio open so that people who stopped by could look through it. People were highly interested in the sketchbooks, and I sold all of them. I noticed that this was the case for other artists as well, books are very popular! 

Afton Kern www.aftonkern.wordpress.com/about
 

  

In order to use your space to the maximum advantage create a series of levels to show off your work.

For Spectrum this year I tried using a table top sign and borrowed some Pro Panels. The sign worked ok but I discovered I needed to create tiers, sort of terrace all the stuff on the table and give the sign some height. Loved having the panels.

Christine Mitzuk www.christinemitzuk.com

 

Christine offers some more tips for her Gen Con experience here www.christinemitzuk.com/gen-con-2014-art-show-in-review

 

 

Here's another example of staggered tiers by Kiri Leonard www.kirileonard.com which amazingly enough she manages to fit into a large suitcase!

 Another way to display your work is the use of panels as shown in Elizabeth Leggett's space...

 

www.archwayportico.com

I just bought some metal panels (Graphic Display Systems) and they're amazing for shows you're driving to. I ended up ordering the table 'feet' as well so I can set up a half panel on a table top. I got the two-piece panels so I can fit them in my car, and I plan on bringing them to Spectrum this year so I can have a display behind my table.

Brenda Lyons www.falconmoon.com

Places where you can get some of these panels; 

Pro panels - http://www.propanels.com/
Armstrong Panels - http://www.armstrongproducts.com/ 
Metal screen panels - http://www.graphicdisplaysystems.com/panels.htm

Convention Preparation - Prints, Paintings and Displaying Your Work

Having small matted prints are great to sell to attendees according to Kirsten;

“This is because many attendees are traveling by air and want something sturdy they can pack in a suitcase.” 

(NOTE: she’s in America where they have great conventions all year all over America… sigh). She continues ;

“…mat the mini prints in precut 8" x 10" matts. Tell your buyers it's an easy size to find a cheap frame for. You can even use a postcard service for the printing, though make sure the quality is good.”

 

“We have done matted prints, loose prints and backed prints at our various shows. For us the loose print on backing board in a clear bag is the best.”

Vicki Williams (wife of Allen Williams) www.ijustdraw.com

"I have a flipbook of available prints and keep the copies under the table, bagged in crystal clear sleeves ready to go. I organize them with sticky note tabs popping out so I can just flip through."

Christine Mitzuk www.christinemitzuk.com

 Consider matting, framing and hanging your originals for display. “To show people how awesome they would look in their house.”
 

Vicki Williams (wife of Allen Williams) www.ijustdraw.com

But when choosing what and how much you bring to the convention be careful that you don’t overstock. According to Kirsten Zirngib Facebook feedback doesn’t necessarily equate sales.

“I considered Facebook a test for how my 3D printed jewelry was received, and all the positive feedback made me think I might sell out. So I put a lot of time/money into making a bunch. ...And I sold only a very small fraction at the actual show. I didn't even see some of the people who said they'd come buy one. Point is, start with small runs, likes/comments don't translate well.”  

Kirsten Zirngibl www.kirstenzirngibl.com

Convention Preparation (and Survival) For Artists

Ok so originally I was going to cover everything you needed to know in order to run a booth or a table as an artist at a convention within this one blog post. I asked a couple of friends if they'd like to offer any helpful advice or tips they could give towards this post... The response was HUGE!

So instead of tackling everything today, I shall be splitting up the posts to cover such topics as Booth Design, Print/Sales/Stock Preparation, Con Etiquette, Artwork Presentation, Health, Business stuff... It will be fun - I promise you! In the meantime if you need more information NOW than I recommend you check out the artist Kiri Østergaard Leonard's blog she did a whole category on convention tips.  And now I give you some of the highlights I have come across so far...


Presentation Of Artwork:

“many artists like to keep all their originals in a portfolio, we (Allen and Vicki Williams) like to have some matted and framed up on the wall to show people how awesome they would look in their house.”  

Vicki Williams (wife of Allen Williams) www.ijustdraw.com

Booth Presentation:

“led lights to light up all of the art on my table drew customers to the booth like moths to a light. I'm never going to exhibit anywhere without using lights to properly display my art. For the giant 6' Dragon print I had behind my table the light really brought the piece to life and helped sell the massive print.” 

Crystal Sully www.crystalsully.com

Health:

“Stay hydrated and don't eat junk food. (Unless, of course, you normally subsist on it.)”
 

Wendy Martin www.wendymartinillustration.com

Etiquette:

"the absolute most important thing as far as both making sales and having a good time? Talk to people. Cheerfully talking to people, even if you're not feeling super cheerful, greeting people when they make eye contact, and never pushing sales on them, has been the biggest thing for me."

Rebecca Flaum www.studiocatawampus.com 

Artwork/Prints/Sales/Stock:

“I considered facebook a test for how my 3D printed jewelry was received, and all the positive feedback made me think I might sell out. So I put a lot of time/money into making a bunch. ...And I sold only a very small fraction at the actual show. I didn't even see some of the people who said they'd come buy one. Point is, start with small runs, likes/comments don't translate well.” 

Kirsten Zirngibl www.kirstenzirngibl.com 

Business:

“And inventory! can we talk about inventory?! Have a starting inventory then take an ending inventory, that way you do know what has sold. Keeping count throughout the show is never perfectly accurate”
 

Vicki Williams (wife of Allen Williams) www.ijustdraw.com

Stay tuned for more to come!...