Saint James Court Art Show Reviews -

Move in was a nightmare. This is essentially an alley and it was dirty. My neighbor artist had to pick up a giant old turd and as I was setting up a local who was drunk or high at 3:30 almost barfed in front of my tent. There was zero room behind my tent and it left no room to offload. Giant trucks and trailers come within inches of your booth. I was fortunate that my neighbor was a little late otherwise I would have been trying to raise a tent over all of my stuff. it was incredibly stressful. Also,no help was offered that first day after registration. I know they won't listen but it is not that hard to stagger move in times to cut down on traffic and stress. And, perhaps a street cleaner? I can't tell you how gross my tent was after.

Pros: The alley transformed into a lovely street fair. My sales were amazing. The shear number of people that passed was staggering. Good, kind crowds. They were ready buy before you opened first thing on Friday. Sunday sales were pretty low, however. I think most people were more motivated Friday and Saturday. Cop presence was impressive. People came by with lunch, which was simple but a nice touch.
Cons: DO NOT walk around this area at dark. My husband treated us to the Bourbon inn (really lovely) which was just a short distance to my booth. At about 7;30 the first night we decided to walk to the Rite Aid 2 blocks away. Turns out, the Rite Aid doesn't exist. It got pretty scary and we had some threatening things shouted at us. According to Reddit, you don't walk around in Old Louisville at night and it is a 13 minute drive for groceries. But, during the day, it was completely safe. The volunteers were very present during the show and at teardown. Teardown was a disaster but mostly because it rained.

Would I do the show again? Not on Magnolia. I wish sales had been better on Sunday to seal the deal but I probably will.

Posted by: Amanda | 10/09/2019 at 10:20 AM

Hi,

I am a woodworker who makes bowls and log décor and I have been invited to do St. James Court (Belgravia section). I have heard nothing but praise for this festival from artists, but I am wondering whether the Belgravia section gets the same traffic and results as the other sections. Has anybody done Belgravia or spoken with someone who has. I have also been invited to do another festival (Fallfest in Candler Park) which is much cheaper a which I have heard good things about.

Posted by: Jeff Long | 07/13/2019 at 02:12 PM

St. James Court - 4th St.
Medium: Fiber
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2016
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501 - $2,000
Price Range of your Work: $34 - $650
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
1st time
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall:
5-10 years
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 5
Location: 5
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Okay
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
Staff is helpful. Can park near booth for unload. Huge crowds. Seem to walk more than buy.

Artist's work is good, well juried, & varied in types of artwork. Parking is free; but you better get there EARLY.

I loved the hot dog vendor when setting up! Friday lunch delivered to your booth is very nice.

What could this Art Fair have done better?:
Load up can be very difficult. Considering the crowds they have to disperse & the narrow streets; I don't think there is much to be done. The police clear the area @ closing. I understand that is new & seems to work. More booth sitters.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Be prepared for rain. Bring shims. Don't plan on closing and leaving in a hurry, too many people.

Posted by: Barbara Scraggs | 02/07/2017 at 10:52 PM

Medium: Fiber
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2016
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Price Range of your Work: $55 - $235.00
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
3-5 times
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: 3-5 years
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
St. James Court Art Fair was in their 60th year this year. It is essentially a "fund raiser" for the Court area in Old Louisville. There are 5 shows held at the same time; much like Ann Arbor in the summer.

The total number of artists in the 5 shows is close to 700 with a small percentage of questionable and the majority very good art.

Load in is done by established times. This year was very easy. Load out is done by obtaining passes. Years past it was chaos getting in the load. For some reason, this year was a breeze.

This is a destination show and the crowds come rain or shine which it did both this weekend. Sales were brisk for me on Friday and were sustained over the weekend. I did a little over 7X booth fee. For me, that is above average.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
This can be a "hit or miss" show. It is large and buyers can lose their way back to your tent. It is an expensive show to do, but the organizers are top notch, there are volunteers aplenty and it is overall a good show.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
This show is worth putting on your radar. Know going in that it is a big show and can be expensive to do but profitable for the right price range.

Posted by: Jeri Vitello | 10/15/2016 at 05:35 PM

Medium: Jewelry
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show:
2015
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Price Range of your Work: $50-$400
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 1st time
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: Forever...
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 2
Overall: 3
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
Well established show, of which there are 5 to choose from.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
Over 700 artists and crafters competing for customer's money.

Huge social event now, not just an art show.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Consider which show is best for your medium. I sold gold jewelry, most women wanted silver jewelry.

Batavia Court, you have to dolly everything in, parking can be expensive if you can't be on a street.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
The weather has been uneven the past few years which can affect attendance and sales.

Posted by: Joe Taylor | 11/01/2015 at 10:30 PM

Medium: 3D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show:
2015
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Price Range of your Work: 10-250
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
1st time
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: 5-10 years
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 3
Location: 5
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 5
Overall: 5
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Great
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
The staff and neighbors were delightful. Everyone went out of their way to welcome me. The other artists were super friendly.

This is a show that is so well known that they closed area schools on Friday so that families can attend.

The judges made a point of introducing themselves to me and commenting on my application. The 4th street coordinator stopped by my booth daily, many volunteers came by with goodies, water, and lunch.

Great communication before the show so that I knew what to expect once I arrived.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
Set up and tear down is trying. There are still folks who jamb up the process by parking so that no one can move. Parking seems to be a huge issue.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
This is a sweet show and I hope to be invited back next year.

Weather can be an issue - it rained and got down to 52 Friday and Saturday of this year, but people still came out to shop. Sunday it was sunny and crept up towards 80. Be prepared for anything as far as weather goes. I was wishing I had gloves on Saturday then wore sandals and shorts on Sunday.

Get to know your neighbors as they can make this show so much easier.

Realize that load in and out may take much longer than you thought, just follow the directions you are given and all will go much more smoothly.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
My two neighbors who had done the show for years did not have a good show. Both were painters and usually sell several large paintings in the past. Not so this year. They were bemoaning the competition from so many artists (there are over 600) and lack of people attending.

I sold across the board, but my most expensive piece is $250.

What prompted you to submit a review today?
I really liked the show and wanted to let others know.

Posted by: Tina Kelsey | 10/29/2015 at 10:56 PM

Medium: Fiber
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show:
2015
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Price Range of your Work: 75-435
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
2-3 times
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: 3-5 years
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 3
Location: 4
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 3
Sales: 3
Overall: 3
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Okay
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
This show is large. It promotes over 700 artist in the 6 separate shows.

I was in the Court section for the second year. This year I was located facing the street as opposed to the inner court.

Old Louisville is a beautiful area with residents that appreciate the event and the artists.

The committee is well organized. They communicate with the artists before and during the show with an abundance of volunteers that are present during the show.

For many patrons, this is a destination event. They look forward every year to attending this show. Most bring their wallets.

A good majority of the artists are high quality. I feel honored to be amongst so many great and venerable artists. A good majority of those I spoke to did well at that show and have for many years.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
This year I noticed 2 booths that just didn't fit with the criteria of "art". One was a soap/body cream "vendor". Looking at their website, they have over 100 retail outlets. The other "vendor" was hard not to consider them as a buy/sell vendor. However, these two are NOT indicative of what is overall high quality art.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
If you do this show be patient. Load out can be tough. Get to know your neighbors and cooperate. You will feel less stress.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
You never know what weather you will have the weekend of the show. This year it was 2 days of rain and 1 day of beautiful weather. Although people will bring their umbrellas it did seem to reduce attendance this year.

Posted by: Jeri Vitello | 10/07/2015 at 10:28 PM

This was the first year for me in Louisville (2012). I was in the Belgravia Ct section. You have never met nicer people, both the hosts of the event, and the shoppers at the event. it was like a conveyor belt of people in front of the booth at times, you just hoped the people who liked your work stepped off the belt, otherwise they were swept on down the row and would have to make a full circle to get back to your booth..
The slopes they talk about on Belgravia court are for real, i wish i had been better prepared, i just read "uneven pavement", not 3 foot drop in the front of the booth from the back of the booth! it was a great show financially for me and I had three good size reorders..i was invited back and plan on being there!

Posted by: liza jane norman | 02/04/2013 at 10:33 PM

Show Name: St. James Court Art Show
City and State: Louisville
Your Medium: Printmaking
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2012
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 5-10 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 2
Ease of Participating: 3
Sales: 3
Overall: 3
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: Not really sure.

Good Things about this Art Fair: Location. I love this old beautiful place. Very kind people. Loyal patrons, they return every year. Pretty well organized load in/set up.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: Very difficult load out/tear down. Quality of art was much better earlier, it is going down. Same about sales.

Additional Commentary on this Show: City replants trees in the court pretty often. Booth fee could be a surprice because of that. They took down a tree near my space, and show asked for $280 more, on the top of regular $500 booth fee. (pay or loose the space).

Posted by: Marina Teauds | 10/23/2012 at 08:00 PM

Show Name: St. James Court
City and State: Louisville, KY
Your Medium: 3D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2011
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 10+ times!
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 2
Ease of Participating: 2
Sales: 1 (poor)
Overall: 2
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair: Beautiful section of Louisville. It's nice to know that your booth fees are going to help maintain this area.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: Too many booths, too high booth fees to sales ratio. Artists park far away and pay to park. Not an easy show to do.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: This was once a "jewel". Our best show for many years in a row. It's just too big. Serious shoppers don't come out because it's difficult to park. Quality on the court has been sliding.

Additional Commentary on this Show (or about this form): Show director was very helpful and visible during set up.

Posted by: Cappi Phillips | 12/11/2011 at 08:04 PM

This was our first year at the show. The sales were above $500 and below $2,000. Acrylic paintings on canvas.
It was an amazing weekend. It was such an honor to be a part of the St James Court Art Show. The hosts were friendly, helpful and gracious.
We met wonderful people who were hosting the show and so many wonderful families who were also participating in the show.
We would do this show again, just for the experience of being a part of it . . . although, financially we barely met expenses. I think if you believe in yourself and your product, the finances will eventually take care of themselves. Fortunately we do not depend on any income from the shows. If we did, we would not be able to participate in this show.

Posted by: Robin Craig for Lorne Smith | 11/28/2011 at 10:34 PM

Show Name: St James Court
City and State: Louisville KY
Your Medium: Photography
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2011
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 1st time
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 2
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 1 (poor)
Overall: 3
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair: It's very well publicized. Relatively easy load in and out. Booth sitters and volunteers were very easy to find. A section captain roams all day to make sure you don't need anything.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: Too big. Also the new artists are placed in the Inner Court for less of a crowd.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: Be prepared for lots of people! It is overwhelming the crowd size.

For more of my commentary on this show please click on my name below to visit my blog on ArtFairInsiders.com.

Posted by: Michelle Wermuth | 10/10/2011 at 10:28 PM

Show Name: St. James Court Art Show
City and State: Louisville, KY
Your Medium: Jewelry
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2010
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $10,000+
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 3-5 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 5 (great)
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 5 (great)
Overall: 5 (great)
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Great
Estimated Attendance: 100,000+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
The folks who come to this show appreciate arts and crafts and are ready to buy. We have had customers who have come from as far away as Chicago and Wisconsin who travel to Louisville just for the opportunity to come to St. James. We now have loyal customers who come looking for us and and have purchased every year.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
Set up is fairly much a nightmare mostly because its so huge. However, everyone remains in pretty good spirits and we have always managed to get in and out safely and fairly efficiently.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
In recent years it seems that shoppers are looking for lower priced items. We are not in the "Court" area, and have had people tell us they don't even go there because everything is so expensive. You'll just have to take that for what its worth.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
As long as we are accepted, we will return to Louisville. It has been our best show of the year for the last three years.

For more of my commentary on this show please click on my name below to visit my blog on ArtFairInsiders.com."

Posted by: Jane Forkum | 04/15/2011 at 10:21 PM

Show Name: Saint James Court Art Show - Saint James section
City and State: Louisville, KY
Your Medium: Jewelry
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2010
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $7501-10,000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 2-3 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-25,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
Well juried. Beautiful, prestigious show. Great communication from director in advance. Street jurying by peer jurors. Artists' breakfast. Beautiful setting.

Unbelievably enthusiastic and friendly crowds, many of whom come from great distances and save up all year for this show. They also come back the next day because they come to town for the whole weekend.

Well-organized load-in and load-out *considering* the challenge of setting up in an urban neighborhood.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
No real bathrooms anywhere; port-a-jons only (although there are a lot of them). Food options not very good (although there are plenty of them!). No electricity--and show is in a shady neighborhood.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Have good jury slides. Consider using a boat battery to operate some lights (generators are not allowed, which is a good thing, since they are noisy).

If your booth is in the outer part of the show, consider using railroad ties to build a step up to your booth, because some of the curbs are a bit high.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
We definitely did better once we got a booth on the street. However, the year that we were in the inner court, we had a corner towards the end of one of the grassy "islands" and did better than some other people did in the other parts of the inner court. We actually did better in the inner court of this show than we did on 4th street the year before. I think it depends on your price point. If you have a higher price point, I think it's worth it to consider the main show even if you do get a booth on the inner court.

Doing this show is a real experience. It might take a while to build a following here but it is worth it.

Posted by: Emily Sims | 04/08/2011 at 11:04 PM

Functional Pottery
Did St. James Court for 3 years after 4 years on Third Street. Sales down - lots of potters and average sale was about $40. I really love this show although it's no longer a money maker for me.

Posted by: sandi finney | 03/30/2011 at 01:45 PM

Photography
Well. First off this is one of those shows you have to experience before you retire from the circuit.The neighborhood is one that everyone might dream to live in.

The organization is so well done, it almost runs itself.The Southern politeness is witnessed everywhere. Load in and load out takes patience, but it just plain works.

I had asked a few vets what to expect. First, they said, you will end up on the inner court.Just the way it is, gotta pay your dues. Don't expect big sales, you will see less than half the traffic the outer parts receive.Well sports fans, the sages were correct on all accounts.

Sunday, well hope springs eternal but the cold temps and no sun didn't help things much, and we ended up a bit less than $2500 for a three day show. One medium sized piece, the rest all small stuff.Damn.This covers show expense, food, the room but no profit. Translates into a lost weekend from a financial perspective.

I have to say, before this comes off as overly negative, I loved the town, respect the show promoters and adore the people (just wish they'd open the purse strings up a bit).

(Read the rest of this review at ArtFairInsiders.com)

Posted by: Mark Zurek | 10/28/2010 at 10:07 PM

Photography
My space is on the court, you don't want to be on the inner court of St. James. You are better off applying to the 3rd and 4th Street shows. The inner court loses about 40 per cent of the crowd that never makes it down that way.

I have done it for 15 years, and this year, for the first time, I made less money than when I was on the inner court in 1995.
This show is more like a social event. I meet and vibe with more artists at this show then anywhere else on the planet.Besides our show, there are at least four other shows in the same vicinity.

It is a giant fund-raiser for the SJ Court area. The heads of all the shows coordinate together, they have an orderly setup and teardown package that really works. They have great volunteers who man booths on breaks, guide vans in, and do a wealth of other duties.
Many people had killer sales at this show. I know at least two photographers who did better than $10K. Ellen had one of her best shows ever, here. Sold two big originals, If she had sold a third, we would have had to cancel Houston next week. My neighbor with wooden spoons killed them all weekend. But, for most of us, sales were definitely down by 25%.
This has become a low-end selling show. It is hard to move high-end pieces here. They buy cliches here. It is hard to sell original "art from the heart" here. You can twenty-dollar them to death here, if they choose to buy.

All in all, this was not the best of years there, but hell yes, I would come back here.

(Read the rest of this review at ArtFairInsiders.com)

Posted by: Nels Johnson | 10/28/2010 at 05:56 PM

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