It's a Party!

[Bruce Barlow]

Keene, New Hampshire holds its "Art in the Park" festival September 5 and 6 in Ashuelot Park next to Starbucks, across from Panera, and near Elm City Bagels. I'm participating for the first time (overcoming sloth and indolence!). Already rented one of those groovy 10x10 white tents. First coat of finish is on the display stands I made.

I hope to make it a party! I'm going to set up Baby Wista, Norma (with her 5x7 back) and Alice (my Richard Ritter 8x10) for folks see the world upside-down, and bring holders for portraits, maybe.

Orange and grapefruit juice with bagels in the mornings, soft drinks and cookies after lunch.

I'll also hold an Inventory Reduction Sale with Brooks Jensen pricing. Got over 100 prints so far, 5x7s and 8x10s, with a few 4x5 contacts. Twenny bucks, bagged but most not window-matted.

Still printing some of the Maine pix from last fall. Maybe I'll finish. Maybe not.

Come visit! I intend to have fun!

[photographs42]

WOW!!! This is a VERY ambitious plan for your first Art Fair outing. Although I have never attended this particular show, I have done shows in the Midwest for over 25 years and would like to offer a little advice.
1. Setting up a LF camera is something I have thought of doing but have never done. Setting up 3 is way over the top. You don’t mention if you will have an assistant or not but, if not, I would be concerned about security (things seam to disappear at some shows plus kids don’t always behave as one would expect).
2. As for the food, will it be self serve or will you or your assistant hand it out? Again, because of the child problem I would strongly recommend an assistant. Food and drink in the booth can be a problem anyway so make sure you have ample clean-up equipment handy. In the mid 90’s I set up my the brand new desk I made with integral browse bins and 30 minutes into the show a woman was distracted and poured her beer into one of the browse bins!

None of that will happen to you, but it could. Anyway, I hope you have a good time and a successful show. Wish I could be there.
Jerome

[John Bowen]

WARNING: inside joke follows...

I'll bet Buck & Ike may be available to serve as security guards ;-)

Sounds lilke fun, Bruce, wish I could be there. Have Fun!

[Bill Kumpf]

Good luck, Bruce.

Your art AND food..............

I wish NH was closer

[Bill_1856]

Forget selling your prints -- just sell your cookies and give the prints as prizes (like crackerjacks).

[Jordan]

Bruce,
That sounds great! People are always fascinated by the big cameras. Perhaps I may even come to see your prints and check out the rest of the happenings as well. Good luck.

[Bruce Barlow]

Jerome and Bill, thanks for the good advice and underlying kind thoughts.

To explain Mr. Bowen's inside joke, Buck and Ike are two 3,000 pound oxen that figure prominently in my life. Go to YouTube and search "Buck Ike Ox." I'm partial to "Leprechauns" myself. But that makes me a dirty old man. True enough, I guess. Buck and Ike's understudies, Star and Bright, are spending the summer mowing 75% of my 4-acre lawn. They're only about 1,000 pounds apiece, at the moment.

[John Bowen]

Bruce,

"And now for the rest of the story...."

So how did it go?

[Bruce Barlow]

It went great! The cameras were a huge hit ("do you really USE those?"), lots of people, sold enough to break even on booth and tent rental, weather was fabulous, nice people.

Three cameras were right in front of me, so no security concerns (who wants to carry them anyway??).

Didn't win any prizes, but:

http://www.keenesentinel.com/content/articles/2009/09/11/news/local/free/id_3712244.jpg

Moses and I are stars!

[Tori Nelson]

Hi Bruce,

If you broke even then you did well! Any chance you could post a picture of the print stands you made? It looks like a great design from the picture.
Thanks, Tori

[John Bowen]

Somehow I can hear Moses...."buy a print, buy a print.....come on sweetie, buy a print."

[Bruce Barlow]

Hi Bruce,

If you broke even then you did well! Any chance you could post a picture of the print stands you made? It looks like a great design from the picture.
Thanks, Tori

Um, yeah. They're knock-down, and at the moment knocked down in my basement. Basically 1/4" plywwod, 11" x 8 feet, with a 1x3 glued and screwed along the bottom. Mounted 24" apart onto 6' long squares from milling a 2x4 in half. Uprights held together with small hinges at the top. 1" drywall screws hold it all together. Yeah, a picture or three is worth many more words. These are thrid-generation, but I think I'm happy with them.

I wanted them for our workshops anyway, so it was a good project. Even sanded and finished them.

[Bruce Barlow]

Somehow I can hear Moses...."buy a print, buy a print.....come on sweetie, buy a print."

Don't I wish. More interest in him than the photographs.

[Alan Butcher]

Are you going to have a print sale to the large format forum so that you do not have to store all the extra print through the year to next years event?

--
Alan

[Nathan Potter]

Hey Bruce, you look heavier than when I saw you two years ago with Ted and Richard.
Get those sedentary cameras moving on your back. Maybe you need to build a heavier print stand - CCA treated southern yellow pine makes a real sturdy setup. :D :D

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Bruce Barlow]

Are you going to have a print sale to the large format forum so that you do not have to store all the extra print through the year to next years event?

--
Alan

Nope. Shipping is waaay too much work and hassle. I don't want people returning prints cuz they decided they don't like them, etc.

If you come here, sure. No shipping, no sales tax, Less work, more fun talking to folks.

Nathan: thank you for your such kind words. Actually lighter than then, and birch plywood and white pine 2x4s are just fine.