FEATURED SHOW REVIEW
May 2007
NEW YORK
February 3, Winterfest Craft Fair, Saratoga Springs. Contact: Ann Wolpert, 11 Madison Ave., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866; phone 518-587-7244. E-mail: annwolpert@saratogacraft.org. Web site: www.saratogacraft.org. Space fee: $90-$140. 100% indoors.
By Anna Foley
New York Reporter
E-mail: gemsoftime@aol.com
Medium: Jewelry
The tenth annual Winterfest Craft Fair was held in Canfield Casino in Saratoga Spring's Congress Park. The gorgeous gambling casino dates to 1870 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Even if I had no sales, I might pay $100 for the privilege of sitting inside this beautiful building all day.
There were a lot of activities going on in town this weekend. The overall Winterfest event ran from Friday through Sunday, drawing lots of people to the area. The Craft Fair portion, which was a nice, small show consisting of 42 craftspeople, took place just on Saturday and was well advertised and well attended. Admission was free for customers, and the Skidmore Jazz Ensemble and local chamber groups provided pleasant background music.
It was a balmy 28 degrees on Saturday, and we enjoyed large crowds all day at the indoor event. At no other time of the year would I consider leaving the house at 4 a.m. and driving two-and-a-half hours to set up for a show, but by mid-winter in Upstate New York, most people are looking for a reason to get out and do something.
Exhibitors are carefully selected, and I've never seen any buy/sell here. The show is promoted by the Saratoga Center for the Family, which also puts on the Thanksgiving weekend show at the Saratoga City Center. Show director Ann Wolpert is friendly, efficient and always available.
This was my fifth year exhibiting here. My jewelry sales for this six-and-a-half-hour event are usually in the $600-$800 range, but this year they were only $500. Oddly, the lower sales didn't bother me, as $500 is still a mighty tasty day in the dead of winter here.
Although attendance was very good, all the exhibitors I spoke with said their sales were down a bit from previous years. Another jeweler said her sales were only $200, half of what she had sold last year. However, one artist, new to the show circuit, was thrilled to have picked up a new wholesale account from a local shopkeeper. It was great for all of us to just get out and mingle with other artists after being cooped up for months. I would definitely do this again.
