[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] I’m just a day back from doing the Peters Valley Craft Fair in New Jersey. It’s sponsored by the PV Craft Center, and is held in the Sussex County Fairgrounds, up in the hills of NW New Jersey, just a hop and skip from the Delaware Water Gap. It’s mighty scenic country, and pretty rural, not what you’d think of when you picture New Jersey. The folks who run it are quite nice, and the proceeds go to a good cause, namely keeping the doors open at Peters Valley, which is getting harder and harder every year as funding is cut back. Last year they had record crowds, but this year was a different story. While people did come out, the threat of rain and tropical storms, along with the uncertainty created by the financial crisis, seemed to take a toll. The area is distant from NYC, but the target audience for the show is NYC and environs, and I heard a lot of talk about people and places in trouble during the show. My sales were down significantly, and most of the other exhibitors I talked to fared about the same. I didn’t have high expectations going in, so I wasn’t surprised, but still, it is a blow when one’s work languishes on the shelves. People did come, and look, but I guess one group’s interaction with me kind of summed up the weekend. These were people who have been good customers of mine in the past, and I know the really wanted to buy, as they spent quite a while in the booth caressing pieces and talking, but in the end, one of them said, “we’re not going to buy anything today…none of us know whether we’ll have jobs by the end of next week.” I guess some serious belt tightening will be in order, but as a potter who’s been at it for some time, I do know that I can go a couple more notches without really hurting that much. Hard times are sadly not a stranger to most craft artists. It is going to be an interesting ride for the near future.
I’ve attached several photos of my booth setup during the show, for anyone interested.
Now I’m going to take some time to rest and clean up before fixing up a nice dinner at home. All of the show food gets old.