Tuesday, September 15, 2009

REVEIW OF WAUKESHA ART FEST 2009

CLICK on the above link to find out more about the Almont Gallery

This past Saturday, September 12th, I was an exhibitor in the 20th Annual WAUKESHA ART FEST, which was held in its new location in downtown Waukesha.  The show, since I 've been in it, was always held in Cutler Park by the library so when I heard that it was being moved to West Main Street in downtown Waukesha I was a bit disappointed.  I thought the park with the trees and bandstand, etc. was a nice place for an art show.


I must say both my sister and I were pleasantly surprised with the new location. 

We thought the new location provided a much more lively atmosphere, and it was laid out nicely on two closed off sections of W. Main Street, with artists' booths on both sides of the street. There wer several bands, and plenty of restaurants!

 All exhibiting artists could drive right up to their spot for unloading and loading.  How great is that!!  No hauling heavy gridwall, canopy and other materials! 

My spot was perfect, which happened to be right next to the ALMONT GALLERY, owned and operated by Lynn Gaffey. 
This gave me the opportunity to take a peek inside and take some photos of this very eclectic gallery.  There were stunning clothes, painted glass items, jewelry, paintings, photography, gorgeous ceramic creations and so much more!  The gallery has a very uplifting atmosphere and a lot of "eye candy", so if you are ever in the Waukesha area, be sure to stop in and visit the Almont Gallery.  There are many more unique shops, restaurants and galleries in downtown Waukesha.  Even though I only live 15 minutes away, I haven't really been in downtown Waukesha for a long time, and was surprised at how much everything had changed.
The people running the show were very helpful, and things went quite smoothly.  I heard from customers and artists alike, that they thought the new location was great.  In fact, many liked it better than the old spot in the park....including me!
While the attendance was good....from what I could see of the people walking around there weren't that many "purchases" going by.  I do believe the economy is still affecting sales.  My sales were a bit down from last year at this show, but were a lot better than several other bigger shows I've done this year.  I'll be looking forward to doing the show again next year!

Sections of my displays at the show
The weather was so beautiful we didn't have to bother with putting up the sides.  What a time saver that was!!

One of my bride fairies enjoying the breeze!

My last art show of the season will be the Winter Art Festival in Madison, WI on November 14th and 15th.

1 comment:

Bonzai Beadwear said...

sounds like a great show!!