How the 57th Street Art fair went .

The 2011 57^th St. Art Fair

I was a little nervous before my first art fair of the year.  57^th has a morning load-in too which is hard on us- unloading, setting up and then selling all day (one hopes).I had rented a cargo van for this fair as it is not far but can get very crowded and I don’t want to try to maneuver a trailer through there. As it turned out, it was much easier than last year since we were on the street.

Everything went remarkable smoothly but the humidity (it didn’t really feel very hot) was enervating.

Enervating is defined as: “Causing one to feel drained of energy or vitality.”

So that is a perfect word to describe what happened to us.

We kept thinking it was our age or that we were out of shape because the winter had gone on forever but when the humidity lifted (just before a downpour) my energy returned.

About 3:30 pm word spread and the volunteers also alerted everyone that a storm was coming- the unknown and important element was wind. Would there be wind? As a potter, wind is your worst enemy.  Rain is not really a problem. I had taken down a lot of pots in the fear that wind would shake the tent but water doesn’t hurt my product at all.

Next to me was a booth with wonderful leather bags and books. (She almost sold out!) Her tent sprang several leaks so she had to pack up and end her day there early. But although everyone zipped up and closed down, most of the artists reopened after the storm passed and people came back.  I had some more sales.

 

Sunday was as perfect a day as you can get for an art fair. No humidity, no heat, no rain.

I had a great day on Sunday and an easy pack up and load out too.  Many customers from last year came back to buy again this year and it was great to see them.

All in all a very satisfying fair.