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Club representation at art fairs

We did at the local fair for 2 years but the fair stays open 10 hours a day for 10 days. It was simply too hard to get enough volunteers to do that anymore.
I have done a local streetfair here but it's more to support the fair and the community. It does bring a little awareness to woodturning and may help people get to know me but it hasn't made any money and we haven't gotten any new members.
 
Our club sets up a booth a various regional festivals. We usually ask for a volunteer to head up each event. We typically have 3-5 individuals demonstrating on their mini-lathes. There is a table set up with finished pieces and brochures about the club. They have been fairly successful for our club. I watched 4 or 5 such events prior to purchasing a lathe and joining the club.
 
I've probably been involved in a couple of dozen of these with the Chesapeake woodturners in Maryland and local clubs here in Fla.

If you have 1 or two folks willing to cover all time slots it can work well.
A sign-up sheet with time blocks works great
You then know where to plug in the 1 or 2 willing to cover the open slots.
2-4 hour shifts 2-3 people per shift and a lathe to make chips.
a table to display work, club promotion material. The AAW will send you a packet to set out. We use the folding foam board display with photos from classes, demos and a few printed pages. You can use this over an over.

What we have done for the Tampa Woodworking Shows is to involve three clubs. One club could not support the three day commitment with three clubs we have at least 4 folks in the booth at all times and frequently have 6.
But many of the time slots have no one from a particular club.

This has a side benefit that we get to know people in the other clubs.

In my experience
The Woodworking shows are the top place to find new members and the audience is interested in technique
State and county Fairs - mostly folks just want to be entertained
Craft shows- a lathe attracts folks and usually you get good sales.

have fun,
Al
 
fl clubs

While I lived in south Florida this was common practice..In order to get into the local art shows we were non-competitive for any prize money..All expenses were borne by the participants and 10 percent of gross sales went to the club..For that, the clubs actually had all the tents/lathes and even a trailer to haul the equipment to the venues..Great fun for all and the rookies had an opportunity to sell and maybe make a few bucks...

Can't seem to get it organized here in PA though...Not as much interest..
 
One of the clubs I'm in is invited to do demos at the Craft fair. The club is paid to do the demos and we are not allowed to sell anything. I think things like that should be discussed up front when you agree to do a demo. It can cause a lot of hard feelings among the artists especially if they paid a high booth fee just to get into the show.
I usually make it a point to visit the other turners in the show. First off I want to meet them but also to compare my prices and quality of work. When someone ask if I can sell the pieces on display I tell them no but they buy work from guy I must met. In a lot of cases it might be a friend anyway since I know a lot of the woodturners all over my area or possibly met the turner in past shows.
 
One member of our club has volunteered to be our 'community outreach' coordinator. We do an art festival and a craft show in the area through his efforts. Since we're a local organization and provide turning demonstrations, there's no fee. We've gained almost a dozen members through them, with a little shared effort by many.
 
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