The high overhead of doing 30 shows a year exhausting you? What if you only did 20? or 10? When I first started my websites I thought if I only I could earn an extra $500 a month that would be great. Now nearly 15 years later I'm no longer putting up a tent and traveling to events. Social media, learning its ins and outs, made the difference for me…

The premise: As a "new" artist attempting to earn a living at the nation's art fairs I often think about the business side of things. People are suprised that I even attempt the notion of doing it full time... without a pension! We speak with art fair artists who actually pay the bills and make a living, BUT they do so without a pension or some oth…

The fastest way to earn money with your art is to participate in art fairs. The buyer enters your booth, loves the work, hands you the payment and your work has found a new home. It's not always that easy of course, but it has worked for years for thousands of artists. Many artists have multiple streams of income including gallery representation, s…

(If this show does not play, please click this link: http://mygoldenwords.com/interview-with-connie-mettler-of-art-fair-insiders/) Mckenna Hallett, a professional trainer and consultant for small business, shares strategic tips from her 25 year career that has covers the entire spectrum of earning a living as an artist: developing a jewelry line, s…

The guests: Scott Fox, author and e-biz strategist who focuses on online marketing, e- commerce, using the Internet to build businesses and finally doing the work you were born to do. His popular books include Click Millionaires, Work Less, Live More with an Internet Business You Love. Larry Berman is the recognized authority on "all things photogr…

It is application season! Anyone active in the art fair business is deep into preparing applications for jurying into the nation's art fairs. What are the odds you'll make the cut and get into your most desired festival? Our guests are long time professionals from the business including Cindy Lerick, executive director of the Saint Louis Art Fair, …

The interested parties have come to your party: that Art Festival you have been planning and marketing for 364 days. How do you make sure they love the show, bring their friends, buy art, spread the word about what they found there and can't wait for next year? Sharon McAllister, Executive Director of ArtFest Fort Myers (FL) and Jenny Wright, Festi…

Our guest will be graphic artist Carroll Swayze. Carroll has a great story about how working smarter, not harder, has put more money in her pocket and enabled her to do more of the things she loves besides creating her work. A lifelong artist, after much trial and error she has found that balance we all crave. Carroll is a great storyteller with ma…

How do I get into the good art fairs and how do I make money when I get there? These are the universal questions that need to be answered for earning a living in the fine art and fine craft show business. Our expert guests Larry Berman and Bruce Baker lead the way. Larry Berman lends his expertise on creating great images that will "wow" they jury …

How does an art festival market their event to the public without big name entertainers, wine tasting areas, children's stages, interactive activities for fairgoers? In other words, strictly an art fair. Sharon McAllister, Executive Director of ArtFest Fort Myers (FL) joins Sara Shambarger, Director of Art Fairs, at the Krasl Art Center, including …

In the beginning art fairs were created and artists and art buyers flocked to attend. You were one of them. Your mother and your friends thought your work was wonderful and maybe they were right, so off you went to the marketplace. How did it go? Was it a triumph or a humbling experience? A panel of beginner and experienced artists from various med…

As the new interim executive director took on the reins at the Bayou City Art Festival in Houston late last year, it became apparent to Susan Fowler that the organization was stretched beyond financial viability. This is a festival that depends on an admission charge that had been negatively impacted by the weather. Four festivals back to back with…

Did you ever see such a business for high overhead as the art fair business? Travel expenses, booth fees, employees, tents, studio space, art supplies, credit card fees, etc. We talk to two artists with bookkeeping experience and we'll learn how they adapted this information for art fair bookkeeping. Our experts are: Alison Thomas worked with her h…

Our guest is Sheryl Kosovski, a certified Financial Recovery Coach who specializes in business development for creative people, helping artists and designers grow their businesses, make more money and learn how to hold onto that income. How do you handle your money? We'll discuss how to create a spending plan to reflect where you want your resource…

Our guests are potters Jan Richardson and Robert Briscoe, well known in the artist community not only for their fine work but their generosity in developing opportunities for other artists. Living in rural Maryland Jan developed the Valley Craft Network in 1982, a tour that continues to bring buyers from nearby Baltimore and Washington, DC, into th…

What can an art fair do to bring serious buyers to attend their events to buy art? Our guests today are from two of the top rated shows in the country. Tne La Quinta Arts Festival is a large festival held in an affluent area in California. Art on the Square is in Belleville, Illinois, a small town near St. Louis with nearly the opposite demographic…

Art fairs not working for you? Not getting into the shows where you know you can sell your work? Tired of being on the road? Looking for a new adventure? Meet two painters who can say both yes and no to the questions above. Yes, the art fairs work but they wanted to try some new ideas for marketing their work. Where did they turn? Social media! In …

Carolyn Bird and Alice Moulton, longtime organizers of the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in Winter Park, FL, join Connie Mettler of ArtFairInsiders.com to talk about one of the best shows in the business and to draw the names of the winners of the rest of the prizes for the Birthday Party Pledge Drive. Want to hear a little insider information …

Most artists have made their peace with the digital upload systems, www.Zapplication.org, www.JuriedArtServices.com and www.EntryThingy.com. If you want to participate in the better shows you sign up and upload your images for the jury. But how did this get started and what is the relationship of the individual artist or individual art fair with th…

New art fairs are necessary for the evolution of the art fair business because artists need new markets and even reliable shows sometimes don't continue to thrive. We speak with 4 show directors who are developing events for their communities: Rae Marie Schneider and Kim House, St. John's River Festival of the Arts in Sanford, FL, had solid communi…

Everything an Artist Needs to Know about Insurance Art fairs can be a dangerous business fraught with problems of high winds, theft, traveling with artwork, liability issues, damages to equipment and accidents of all kinds. Valerie Bjarnson, Director of Online Programs for Veracity Insurance Solutions whose innovative insurance programs have made r…

In a business full of taking chances the first big challenge an artist has is to make the jury cut at the shows. After all, if you can't get into the show you aren't in business. I'll be speaking with Mo Riley, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair: Mo came to the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair (the original one) about 3 years ago from the…

Who gets into almost all of the top shows and can win Best of Show? Meet Jody dePew McLeane (pastel drawings) and Ted Gall (sculptor), involved in the art fair business for over 30 years and consistently exhibiting at the "dream shows." The essence of this show will be: how to build a long term career selling at art fairs sustaining a body of work …

Barney Davey, brings his expertise as an art marketing consultant to help artists bridge the gap between making art and making a living. As a sales and marketing executive for Decor magazine and Decor Expo tradeshows, Barney has consulted with hundreds of the industry’s leading art publishers and self-published artists regarding their art marketing…

Guest Scott Fox, author of Click Milliionaires, gets down to the most strategic, smart and inexpensive ways you can: get a website up and running for little money why you need it quick and easy ways to implement it as a marketing tool how to use it to promote yourself ways to make it make money for you using Facebook as a marketing tool Get great t…

Any weekend, anywhere in the U.S., there are hundreds of art fairs filled with artists and the people who love attending the shows. Who is that person who is examining your work and maybe taking it home? Today's episode is a discussion with three people who passionately attend the shows, enjoy the camaraderie with the artists and are continually ad…

Connie Mettler will be speaking with Kathrine Allen-Coleman, a painter from Georgia who participated in Coconut Grove, Reston, Old Town, Columbus, Des Moines, Ann Arbor Street Art Fair and moreAndrew Shea, a glass blower from Minnesota who was in Belleville, Old Town, Des Moines, Madison, Uptown, Port Clinton, Saint Louis and moreBruce Reinfeld, a …

Connie Mettler talks with Cindy Lerick, director of the Saint Louis Art Fair and Stephen King, director of the Des Moines Arts Festival. Their background Mission of their events What is a non-profit and where does the money go? How do they decide on a booth fee? Jury information How they pick jurors What the jurors are asked to do How about that bo…

Host Connie Mettler talks with artists Barbara Poole (fiber), Caroline Kwas (painting) and Michelle Wermuth (photography), new to the art fair business in the last few years, to discuss their biggest disappointments biggest surprises best advice for other newbies and their 2012 plans.Af Art Fairs

Host Connie Mettler talks with four artists who are new to the art fair business, having started in 2009 or 2010 and are members of ArtFairInsiders.com. They include Michelle Wermuth, a photographer from Florence, KY; Caroline Kwas, a painter from Spring Hill, FL; Carol Miller, who does fiber and leather from Hillsdale, NJ and Barbara Poole, wearab…

The ArtFairInsiders.com and ArtFairCalendar.com art fair web sites are dedicated to helping you increase attendance at your local art events, make more money as an art show artist, and supporting the fine artists who are the lifeblood of the art fair industry. This show covers the history, strategy, and mission behind the founding of ArtFairCalenda…