Beaches Art Fest

This was my first Jacksonville area show and I was excited when I learned I'd made the cut.  The Beaches Art Fest is produced by Holiday Art Shows and they they do a fabulous job from beginning to end.  Following is their mission statement, taken from their website, holidayartshows.com.

Our mission statement: Holiday Art Shows exist to bring talented, individual artists together with people who appreciate and support their creative endeavors. The person you meet in the booth is the visionary behind the work before you. When you make a purchase from one of our exhibitors you are buying the highest quality art from real working artists. Holiday Art Shows never knowingly allows exhibitors with less than genuine work nor do we accept those buying and selling imported production or manufactured items meant to be perceived as genuine art.

 Beaches is in its 4th year so it's a very young show.  Two blocks long, every booth is filled with jaw dropping works of art and some of the nicest artists you could ever hope to meet.

The biggest challenge I had was setting up my booth before we ran out of daylight.  I didn't get as far as I usually do so I was a little stressed the next morning when I returned at the allowed time of 7:00 am to finish.  The show opened at 10:00 and I didn't put the frosting on until about 10:15.  As always, there are early birds who want to beat the crowd which is why I always try to be completely set up at least an hour before the advertised opening.

Sales started immediately and were steady though out the day. The only complaint I had was with the weather.  We experienced extreme heat, especially for mid October, with high humidity adding to our suffering.  Rain was predicted but held off save for one tiny sprinkling that lasted all of 20 seconds. 

Sales on Sunday came at a much slower pace, but I still managed to have a really good day.

Best sellers mirrored my last show and I sold all but one pair of my Making Waves/Beached Scallop earrings.  The matching pendants were hit hard as well and I did sell out of the smaller wired pendant style.  I also sold a Chauncey's Gift and a Leaves Me Breathless.  Many Hollow Beaches left my booth, both in packages and around necks.  I always love it when a customer wears their purchase right away.

During the day on Sunday, I drank 80 ounces of cold water knowing I would have to break the booth down and would need to be hydrated.  I will say it's a good thing I was located so close to the bathroom, which is indoors and thankfully, air conditioned. 

Breakdown was problem free and the artists on either side of me we done and gone way before I was so there was plenty of room for me move things around while packing.

This is one of two first time shows for me this fall.  It was even better than I had hoped it would be and I'll definitely apply again next year.