Thank You, Tucson, for a Great Season!

I may have packed my booth things away until the fall, but I'm still unpacking an sorting through all that my five art fair experiences have taught me.

The first big takeaway is just how welcoming Tucson is for artists. Granted, as a part-time resident and frequent visitor since the late 90s and a full-time resident for the past fourteen years, I already knew this in a general sense. But it hits a little differently when you're officially "hanging up your shingle" for the first time. I truly had no idea what to expect, and I really enjoyed all the interactions the greater Tucson metro area gave me. Everything from the polite drive-by comments from folks using the fair more as a means to catch up with friends while lightly browsing, to the quarter of an hour or longer chats with visitors who found something in my booth that resonated and wanted to share that with me.

Sure, I would've loved to have more of all those moments to translate into a sale (bills gotta get paid somehow, etc), but I knew heading into this season that it wasn't all about the money. I had so much to learn, so much to absorb, so much to experience. And Tucson gave me that in a friendly, encouraging way. Also, I appreciated the folks that paid me with genuine compliments, whether they opened their wallets or not. Part of being brand-new to all of this is that I don't have a lot of feedback to my name. So, yes, please do Buy All the Art from me; my stupidly expensive accounting software thanks you; but my artist soul is just as hungry for all the words of praise.

Another big lesson was how many people wanted earrings and cards. I had thoughts about the cards already (and plans for them for next season), but earrings caught me by surprise. The jewelry I make is entirely for fun, a way to use fluid art excess that didn't make it onto a canvas but was too cool to just pitch. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to sell earrings or rings on their own instead of in sets, but the last two shows in particular probably could've brought in quite a bit more money for me if I just sold earrings. So I will be devoting some of my summer to that.

I figured out a lot about the logistics of a booth as well. I am fortunate to have friends who can lend us a pickup truck as well as the family I often strong arm into helping out with setup and take-down. I've gotten things better organized in terms of both storage and booth layout with each fest. Everything has become more and more streamlined. I know my own moods and needs for these events better as well, and that's definitely a factor to plan for right alongside "how can I get things more efficiently packed this time".

One of the most important lessons I learned was that I vastly prefer a northern-facing space. All it took was one spot facing south to teach me that. Even temps in the 90s can be managed if the sun is fully behind all the great tent shades. But when the sun is halfway into your booth space for the whole day? Ouch. Just drained all of my energy and my ability to interact with folks.

In addition to great visits with all my customers and fair attendees, I also enjoyed getting to know my fellow artisans. Jewelers, ceramic artists, woodworkers, apothecaries, perfumers, chocolatiers, candle-makers...the list goes on. In addition to wanting my own sales to be phenomenal, I wanted to buy so many things from my fellow artisans. Honestly, it's a good thing that I am busy running my own booth during these fairs so I don't spend way more than I could possibly make. 

This is not to say that I didn't have negative experiences. There was one person who absolutely fell in love with one of my pieces and spent a full ten minutes with me just absorbing all my art, asking me all kinds of questions, and gushing over one piece. They said they had to go check in with their "Other Half" before purchasing but thought it would be an easy decision. When they came back a while later, the Other Half shut it down and they left my booth quickly. It was a quiet experience: I didn't hear anything as the choices were made. But something about the whole exchange left me uneasy. I later saw the Other Half act extremely brusquely a few booths away, to the point where half-formed thoughts of intervention bubbled around me until another customer captured my attention.

I also ran afoul of a Negative Nelly or two, those people who are just not having a good moment/day/week/etc and bleed that experience out on whoever they are near. For the most part, these folks didn't succeed in spreading that particular contagion to me. But it's never fun to have that energy around you, even if it's only a brief moment.

However, those minor bumps were rare and easy to flow past to the greater experience, and so many customers, guests, and fellow vendors were just eager to share, to help, to connect. 

I'll continue to noodle over the various lessons learned from each show, ruminating (professionally) over what worked and what didn't. I probably won't be back in booth action until October, so I've got all kinds of time to plan and prep and make.

Thank you, Tucson, for giving me so much this season.