Trying new things is always exciting and fun! This month I had an opportunity to do a live painting demonstration and set up a pop up shop for my artwork in the old library building during the Fox Valley Arts Ramble. The Fox Valley Arts Ramble is a large event spanning many cities along the Fox River and it was a great opportunity. I was nervous but it turned out to be really fun. I loved meeting all the people who came around to look at our art! The foot traffic was not overwhelming which was nice for a first time.
We have been traveling a lot the last two months and I was not as prepared as I thought I would be. I have compiled a few lessons I learned.
- Be prepared to take credit cards! I did not take the time to set up my Square account before the show and of course the first customer I had wanted to pay with a credit card. It had crossed my mind that this would come up yet I did not follow through on my intuition. Fortunately, I did take action before the day was over and it turns out that a square account only take a few minutes to set up and you can instantly accept payments!!
- Don’t forget you business cards! Whoops I made this mistake too. You feel like a dope when someone asks for one and they are at home!
- Collect names and emails! Don’t forget pens!
- Make sure all the work your selling is photographed in good light in case you want to make reproductions or use it in future promotional materials.
Other than that I think I did pretty good. But I would like to invest in a more attractive professional display area. And some promotional material – a sign. Maybe some brochures that tell about my artwork.
Overall I felt like the art show was a definite win. I sold some paintings. Meet some great people. Had fun! I will definitely be doing this again!
