Aimee, I had a response all typed out and clicked some doofy button and whoosh! It was gone. So... I'm just gonna hit the high points this time around.
First - I'm sorry you didn't have more/any sales. I know how painful that is... and how frustrating.
I'm glad you're taking it as a learning experience, and not some sort of sign from the Cosmos :-)
As to people coming into your booth and not making eye contact: Yes. That's gonna happen. A lot. The more shows you do, the more you will see it. That's just the way some folks are. Be glad they're coming into your booth, whether or not they chat you up. Oft times, it's the quiet ones that will make the biggest purchases.
Sometimes folks come in just to see what you have. They don't want conversation, they don't want to 'make contact' with you, because they don't want to feel beholden to you. Contact for them equals guilt if they don't buy something.
Sometimes, you'll be chatting with someone though, and a quiet one will sidle up and listen... and THEN go and repeat your story, anecdote, etc. to their companion, word for word. Those are some of my favorites. "Herbert, come here. this is a puddle in her DRIVEWAY! See? the asphalt at the top and the bottom? (fill in the rest of the story here, verbatim)..."
Try to follow the body language of your booth folks... if they want to talk, then oblige them as well as you can. If they want silence, oblige them in that, as well - and don't take it personally. Some people are shy. Some are in a bad mood. Some are waiting for their chatty-kathy husband in the next booth to move his a** along and are killing time looking at pretty images in your booth.
I went shoe shopping a few weeks ago, and the store manager 'bout drove me nuts. "If you tell me what you're looking for, maybe I can help you" type of thing. Buddy... I'm SHOPPING. I don't KNOW what I'm looking for. And if I tell you one style, then I might miss another I'd like even better. I have eyes... it's a self-serve store... Ultimately, after the THIRD time he asked if I needed anything in a span of 7 minutes (no, the shop was NOT busy - there were 2 other sales associates there, as well as the manager, and there was only one other customer), I finally sighed out loud, and fixed a somewhat aggrieved smile on my face and said, "Honestly - I PROMISE you - if I need your help with something, I will COME FIND YOU."
He offered me a job.
:-)
Onward and upward, Aimee... keep learning,and keep smiling, and keep making beautiful art.
Light and laughter,
Deb Booth
Different Light Studio
http://www.differentlightstudio.com
See your world in a 'Different Light' - 4 Videos on YouTube - Meditation/Relaxation/Calgon-Take-Me-Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwdEp8m7TPY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iSyQcnbDaY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxQT1wEnePg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwgVL4Hh2MI
To: artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com
From: aimeerochard@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:40:07 +0000
Subject: [artshow_photo] My First Show.
Hey All,
Thanks again for the encouragement/advice before. My first show was this past weekend and it was both good and not-so-good. The latter being partly my own fault, but still. I sold nothing, but did have a good number of folks coming through my booth who had a lot of good things to say about my landscape photography.
I am taking the positiveness of the compliments and the interest (one guy brought his wife back to see a piece he may have bought, but didn't in the end) to heart to further realize that yes, my art is sellable.
I am taking the irritating side of not selling anything as a lesson to: a)Seek out cheaper festivals b)Try a different formula for selling my photos, and c)Seek out other means of selling for profit
I enjoyed being outside all day, it was nice to talk to so many strangers, have friends drop by, meet other artists, etc, but at the same time I don't know if it's for me entirely. We shall see. In your experience, is it typical that people enter your booth and don't even look at you or say hello? I just found it annoying that most of them came in and wouldn't even make eye contact, though they had things to say to each other about the photograph.
ANYWAY... :)
Overall I am taking the good, the bad and the ugly and running with it. We'll see where things go.
Cheers!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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