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Show Review Archives > 2008 > DECEMBER
 

September 4-7, Yellow Daisy Festival, Stone Mountain, GA

September 4-7, Yellow Daisy Festival, Stone Mountain. Contact: Jeanine Battle, Stone Mountain Park Special Events Department, PO Box 778, Stone Mountain, GA 30086;
Phone 770-498-5633.
E-mail: jmcdonald@stonemountainpark.com.
Web site: www.stonemountainpark.com.
Application fee: $40. Space fee: $525-$1,100.
Space size: 10x20 to 20x20.
Exhibitors: 500.
100% outdoors.
Attendance: 200,000 (staff estimate).
Admission: $10 park entrance fee.

By Cameron Meier
SA Editor
Compiled from FastAudit reports

Yellow Daisy has been rated the top-selling craft show on the circuit for a record six years, so, not surprisingly, artists and crafters were eager to see how the 2008 Festival performed in a bad economy. Although we haven't received as much feedback on the event as in the past, it is pretty clear that the Daisy took its lumps this year along with almost all other shows.

Sales were down for most high-end artists we heard from. For low- to medium-end crafters, opnions were split. Many were off, but many said business was just as good as last year. All other aspects of the show appeared just as strong as ever, though, including attendance, advertising and management. While the majority of our auditors were disappointed that their numbers did not meet their high expectations, a lot seemed to agree with a fabric artist ($4,000 total sales/$15 average item sold) who said, "It is a really good show even in the bad years."¯

As of press time, SA had received 31 FastAudits, with the average auditor making $5,071. That's actually up slightly from 2007, when the average auditor take was $4,648. However, we received more audits last year, so that year-to-year comparison is meant to provide simply a sales snapshot, not a statistically accurate analysis. The average sale at the 2008 show was $30, compared to $89 last year, which would indicate that buyers were looking for cheaper items than in 2007. Sales received a rating of between six and seven (out of 10), and despite some complaints about buy/sell and poor-quality work, quality received a healthy seven. For those auditors who listed their income, the high totals were $19,100 from a maker of personalized pillowcases, $17,500 from a glass artist and $12,500 from an exhibitor of holiday dolls and ornaments. The low totals were $350 from a maker of "soft art/stuffed art"¯ and $750 from a wood artist. Twenty-four of our 31 auditors said they would return.

Location is crucial here and can affect the ease of your load-in/-out. The show is held in the Special Events Meadow and surrounding woods in Stone Mountain Park, a popular tourist destination east of Atlanta. As SA has reported extensively in the past, the Festival features five separate sections, or loops, and exhibitors who are new to the show often find themselves on the D or E loops. (The A loop is considered the best, but some layout tweaking in 2007 coaxed show-goers into walking more of the show.)

With a show this big, it's virtually impossible for all spaces to be good, but artists did have some suggestions. The aforementioned fabric artist advised, "It would be nice if they would make another entrance to the show by the delivery entrance and encourage customers to use it. This would get more people to the E loop instead of everyone entering [at the] A loop."¯

A photographer ($2,300/$20) had similar advice: "Overall, [it was a] good show for [my] first time, [but they] need to make foot traffic better flowing. Newcomer artists stuck in the left-hand loops [D and E] got only afternoon traffic. People came in [the] main gate, and all went to the right. Left loops had children's area activities but [were] confusing for patrons to get to. Left loops had six portalets on uneven ground tucked in [the] forest. Right loops each had 20+ [porta-potties] with [a] full-time person to service them."¯

Festival Director Jeanine Battle said attendance was once again around 200,000 and that many artists did better than last year while many did worse. Regarding the sales decrease that many exhibitors experienced, she said, "Most people said [the decrease] was pretty consistent with the rest of their shows."¯ Battle said she observed the same uncertainly and anxiety in the art market four years ago, right before the last presidential election, and she pointed out that, in lean times, purchasing art and crafts is not a necessity. "If it's not a necessity, you hold back,"¯ she said.

It appears that Yellow Daisy is still one of the kings of the craft-show circuit, even in an off year.