The Grand Old Day Fair in St.Paul

I participated in the Grand Old Day Fair on June 2nd this year and although it is supposed to be the biggest one day fair in the midwest I was sorely disappointed in my sales. I did a few craft fairs in CA and was somewhat successful selling my greeting cards and block prints but not so this time. I believe most of the failure was due to the fact that this fair was not exclusively an art fair, but an all around family day fair, including a parade as well as music stage with bands. So it seemed that most of the people there had not come to shop but to see the free events, such as the parade; which went down the art fair street for at least and hour, stopping all foot traffic past the sale tables. I also realized once there that most of my art is rather small and priced accordingly so next time I would definitely have a larger range of sizes and items to diversify my price points. Overall it was a learning experience of what to not do at large art fairs, and also a good lesson on what to bring. Sunscreen being top on the list, as well as lots of snacks as the food vendors were far away from my table, and more small bills for change than you think you need, as well as weights for my cards which kept blowing away. In the end I got a bit burnt from the sun but sold a few cards and prints, no original paintings, but gave away a lot of my new business cards.  Hopefully I will get some work from one of those business card recipients, that would be an added bonus to the learning experience. (see my table below-looking a bit too empty)