Two weekends ago, on September 17 and 18, 2014, I had the pleasure of participating in a great arts festival here in El Paso, called Art in the Park. It takes place twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. Since I had participated in the fall festival and had sold quite a bit, I was eager to do the spring show . . . and was not disappointed. Many thanks to Julian Tarango and Brenda Romero of the El Paso Parks and Rec for planning and executing such an excellent show!
A Western Oriole was singing in my back yard early Saturday morning of the show. What an auspicious way to start the day!
Since I do quite a few shows, I often get requests from people to share photos of my booth. I actually took my camera to take pics this time. Just so you know, each set up is different, depending on where I am located and if I am doing a show with Rose of DesertJewels (www.desert_jewels.artfire.com), a dichroic glass artist friend here who I collaborate with on some designs. We love to be side-by-side and know enough about each other's work that we can answer questions and sell each other's pieces. Besides, it's nice to have someone right there when a potty break is needed.
This photo shows both Rose's and my tents right before the show started Saturday morning. We had to work around the magnificent tree that gave much needed shade on a hot weekend. This is actually the BEST spot in the park! My tent is on the right, Rose's tent is on the left and a collaborative table is in the middle. Even though we have our own "spaces", our jewelry is scattered through both tents. Our color combinations are mirror images: mine is a mellow yellow fitted tablecloths with black fabric drapes and Rose's is black with mellow yellow drapes. The table in the middle has a light taupe fitted tablecloth. We're thinking about changing the black to a medium blue for something a bit different if we can find the fabric.
This is a somewhat close up shot of my tent set up, which consists of two 5 foot tables along the side and a 6 foot table along the back. I love a U-shape set up because I feel it draws people in and is more personable than being behind tables. Am wanting a "boutique" feel. I usually have more height to my display by stacking wooden risers by husband made me, but since it was supposed to get pretty windy during the afternoons (lots of ratchets and weights to keep the tent stable!), I kept things lower than normal. I did fix my banner so it hung straight (:
I LOVE these nifty, wrought iron folding shelves that I feel draw people in. They are gear-tied to the far right and far left front tent posts. A nicely framed informative sign and business cards go on one shelf and the other shelves hold necklaces that I want to highlight. LOTS of sales have come off of these shelves. When it gets windy, the busts are tied to the shelving (which did happen that weekend).
I use a lot of glass block in two different sizes, something substantial but also airy looking and the glass glows when the light hits it right. My jewelry busts come in two different colors, black and linen, and are different sizes to draw the eye along. Some jewelry just looks better on black and some looks better on a more neutral color, such as this tree pendant necklace which would get lost on black. I do need to order some bigger linen busts.
Not the best display for our collaborative pieces (needed more busts), but having the table set just outside of our tents really makes the dichroic glass glow. Lots of people were drawn to this table first and then it was easy to invite them in for a look around the two tents. Plus the table also hid our tent ratchets and weights so people wouldn't trip over them.
To tell the truth, this display does take a long time to set up. But it is definitely worth it the time and effort. Quite a few people commented on our display and more than a few said it was the best of the show. Rose and I LOVE to hear that!
Oh, and when I got home later that evening, the Western Oriole was singing away on top of his favorite tree again. Love the look of him against our brilliant blue Southwestern sky.
I hope you enjoyed a bit of my weekend as a vendor at Art in the Park. And maybe took away a few ideas. I'm always getting new ideas from artist friends and am sure my next display will incorporate some of them.
Thanks for stopping by. Any comments and promotion is always gladly accepted.
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