Doing Surtex: An Artist's Experience

Sharyn Sowell Reports on her Experience of Doing Surtex

What a whirlwind! The show was a stellar success, with almost every exhibitor giving it rave reviews. My booth was so busy that I had trouble talking with everyone. In one case a company came by 8 times before I was able to talk with them. The GLM team seems to have made a real effort to overcome many of the problems we've had in the past and we all sensed a much improved attitude and greater commitment to teamwork.

Here are some photos of set up:


Blank booth & lots of energy (Sharyn's Booth)




Looking at Walls
This one may not look interesting but it's a good point of information. Before you set up it's a good plan to look over your walls and document any damage. I had scratches which I didn't want to be billed for if the management thought I'd done it. Take a shot from far away like this and then from close up. Note things like scratches and duct tape (as you can see in this photo)





Here's Jane Shasky and Alicia Dauber (Licensing Liason agent) setting up Jane's booth





Most people don't cover their walls but I wanted to this year. Here I am midway. Another tip to offer: there is not ventilation during set up so you must dress for a warm day of work.





A few fun booths:

These photos illustrate how great it is when artists set up their booths to look like themselves and their artwork, instead of imitating others.

Here you see how different the booths show the artwork to it's best advantage instead of trying to do a booth that will look like anyone else.

I'd love to have to share that with anyone who might plan to show later because I think it's a big part of successfully capturing the eyes of potential partners.



Caroline Simas of Multiple Blessings





Megan Halsey in her booth




Jane Shasky & Alicia Dauber in Jane's booth



Thanks to Sharyn for this information and photos:
Sharyn Sowell
Art. Design. Inspiration.
http://sharynsowellartblog.blogspot.com/
Tel. 360-424-5846

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the great post!

I look at booths as falling into two categories (not including the textile-print only "sell" group of exhibitors): Building an "experience" vs. going "traditional". I made note of my favorites in each category this year. It seems to me that agents(with many artists) seem to favor booths that have the more traditional set up (which makes sense since man agents have artists with very different aesthetics), while independent artists often build the "experience" (whether successful or somewhat successful). But they do not always go for the "building the experience" route, and in many cases it seems like such a missed opportunity. What better way to show your aesthetic, visually tell a story about your brand, and show how flexible you are to potential clients than to build an "experience" for your "audience"?

Of course there are MANY other factors that come into play as to why an independent artist will or won't be up for the challenge of creating the "experience" booth, and to each his/her own. These are just my feelings/ramblings overall on the subject.

Thank you for the great post!! Some good info to keep in the back pocket for future reference.

patsi hughes said...

I am glad to see these photos.
I am doing the Licensing show with 3 other people in Vegas,in June, and this is great to know.
Patsi Hughes
patsihughesfrogs.com