Cottonwood Art Festival (Spring) Reviews.

Medium: Photography
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show:
2015
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Price Range of your Work: $25 - $400
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
3-5 times
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: Forever...
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 5
Location: 5
Facilities: 5
Ease of Participating: 5
Sales: 1
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
Amenities, quality of the art, attendance, booth sitters, care of artists, size of booth

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
sales

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Be patient, load-in and out is always congested and takes time!

See my blog on ArtFairInsiders.com for additional commentary on this Show:
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/another-one-bites-the-dust-1?xg_source=activity

Posted by: Brian Berkun | 05/13/2015 at 11:23 PM

Show Name: Cottonwood Arts Festival - Fall 2013
City and State: Richardson, TX
Your Medium: Jewelry
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2013
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
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: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: Great artists and savvy buyers. Loyal buyers! Perfect weather on Sun really brought people out.

This show is organized and communicates really well with artists. They clearly value the artists and treat us really well, artist's kickoff party, free tshirt and lots of helpful volunteers.

The park location with mature trees is a nice setting.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
Texas weather can be a problem. Be prepared for Hot, Cold, Rain, Wind, whatever and have a positive attitude.

Set up can involve dollying over terrain. Don't leave your dolly at home! They have a great group of Boy scouts that help for donations. Worth every penny!

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
This is a long haul for me. This time I could have done it as a solo show and been fine, but I still recommend finding another show to combo with.

I really enjoy this show and plan on being back.

Posted by: Kay Cummins | 11/07/2013 at 08:55 PM

Show Name: Cottonwood Arts Festival
City and State: Richardson, TX
Your Medium: Photography
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2013
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) 5 (great)
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 5 (great)
Ease of Participating: 5 (great)
Sales: 2
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Poor
Estimated Attendance: 501-10,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: Nice location in the Dallas metroplex. People know about this show because of its long run. Amenities, including an artists dinner, booth sitters, help with set-up/tear-down, logistics, etc are top notch. Artist shuttle to and from the parking lot although the walk is not that far. Set up the day before the show.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: Location, access to the show grounds are limited necessitating long waits in long lines to get into the park, dollying in your work or waiting for a parking space outside the park.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: The weather can be variable. Most of the time rain can be expected. If you are not the patient kind don't do this show, see notes above.

Posted by: S. Brian Berkun | 05/19/2013 at 09:56 AM

Show Name: Cottonwood Arts Festival Spring 2013
City and State: Richardson, TX
Your Medium: Jewelry
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2013
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 2-3 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 5 (great)
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 5 (great)
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair: This setting is in a pretty park with mature trees *real* trees and filled with great artists and attended by a smart audience with the ability to buy. The city does a great job promoting the event and customers are loyal to it. Artists dinner includes *real* food and live music on Friday night - a great way to meet your artists friends and meet new ones. The weather was perfect this year. Affordable hotel rates, great food (more than just corn dogs and pizza) and even a free Tshirt! This one is a favorite.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: TX weather can be cruel from scorching to freezing, but the patrons still seem to come out. Set up requires dollying in and out so be prepared for that. They have boy scouts to help, but watch them with anything fragile.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: Consider your commute to the show. Apply with your best images, it is a competitive show with about 250 artists.

Posted by: Kay Cummins | 05/12/2013 at 09:25 PM

Show Name: Cottonwood Art Festival - Fall
City and State: Richardson, TX
Your Medium: Jewelry
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: 2-3 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: I love this show! It's probably my favorite, great artists, great PR and advertising, friendly visible staff, a great kickoff party. Patrons, Patron, Patrons!

Bad Things about this Art Fair: The weather was unusually cold and it rained in the afternoon of the last day, not anyone's fault but I felt it impacted sales. Ugh load in is always hot and you have to dolly. Load out was wet and cold with dollying. Thank God for the boy scouts! It still isn't easy but I sure appreciate their help.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: Evaluate how far you have to travel and apply.

Posted by: Kay Cummins | 10/26/2012 at 06:15 PM

Show Name: Cottonwood Art Festival
City and State: Richardson, TX
Your Medium: 3D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2012
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: Rather not say
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: 5 (great)
Ease of Participating: 5 (great)
Sales: 5 (great)
Overall: 5 (great)
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Great
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: This show has always been good to Jin and I. Its run well with emphases on the artist,and there work. I consider this probably one of the best run, safest,and enjoyable shows in the Nation. Serri Ayers and her staff, along with the city of Richardson for years now, have made this show, in my opinion a Texas Jewel.

Posted by: John Powell | 10/14/2012 at 08:45 PM

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