What I learned at the…

Jubilee Festival of Arts!

I participated in the 2025 Jubilee Festival of Arts in Daphne, Alabama, over the weekend. My setup time was scheduled for 4 pm on Friday. Perfect! Richard and I loaded up the car and headed south that morning. After a stop for lunch and an Airbnb check-in, we made it just in time. With the show set and security scheduled to patrol through the night, I didn’t have to take anything down and rehang the next morning. The Jubilee does know how to put on a festival!

It was another great, if not extremely profitable, event for me. I can say that I at least covered the booth fee. I did not, however, cover our meals, so I guess we are eating them twice, along with the lodging, gas, and mileage. But I’m continuing to call this an investment, and so it doesn’t smart so bad. It’s like my graduate school funding, because what I am doing right now is learning. I’ve got quite a few years to catch up on, so I’m giving myself a crash course, and the Jubilee Festival of Arts provided me with some essential lessons.

Selling 101:

I suck at it. When I shop at a market, festival, or any retail environment, I absolutely deplore a clerk hovering over me asking questions, making suggestions, and pushing me to buy. I don’t want to do that to anyone. Richard has encouraged me to “work my audience”, but when I try, I feel uncomfortable and I sound inauthentic, because that’s what I’m being. I’m okay with a “Good morning,“ or some such greeting, but that’s about it. I assume, like me, people want to be left alone to look.

Later that day, a guy walked by the booth wearing a hilarious t-shirt. I made a comment about how it made me laugh. He came into the booth and we talked about his shirt. Before you know it, he’d purchased one of my prints, Keepsies. I didn’t think too much of it, and the day went on.

Booth Setup:

I met a lot of really cool people. One of them, Belle Prosser, stopped by my booth. She was looking at my art, and we started talking. I’ve been struggling with how best to set up. I change it around several times with each festival, and I’m never completely satisfied. I need to be inside the space, but I feel like I’m in the way. I asked her how she has hers set. She told me about how she employs a T configuration so she can sit behind a table at the back of her booth and split the space down the middle with a table set perpendicular to the back table. That way, viewers can come in, and she’s not in their space, but is still right there and available. I told her I wanted to come see.

When I finally made it to Belle’s booth, she had some folks visiting, so I hung back while they looked. I perused her prints out in front of the booth while I waited. One of her customers came over to me and commented on how cool her cloud paintings were, and I agreed. Another customer looked at me and said, “I recognize you. You have a booth too, right? I saw your work.” I told her I did, and we chatted a little about Belle’s work and mine as well. I checked out Belle’s configuration, and it does seem like a great solution for me.

Know your Audience:

I met another fellow artist, Rebecca Caudill, who had some really fun and whimsical pieces that caught my eye. She and her husband offered offered lots of insights on festival selling. “Some shows,” she said, “like the Jubilee, are where you sell your smaller pieces.” I had misinterpreted the Jubilee to be the opposite. Luckily, I always have my note cards and prints, but I had featured my big canvases. They also offered the lowdown on a few other shows in the area, and Rebecca suggested I check out Sunshine Artist Magazine. This publication is full of helpful information and artists’ opportunities, and I have already subscribed!

Selling 201:

It was almost the end of the festival, and I was beginning to pack up what I could when those very same women I’d met in Belle’s booth came into mine. The woman who had said she recognized me came in and bought one of my larger giclée prints, Sea Gazing.

It would be later in that evening, while two very tuckered-out old folks drove back to Hoover, that the light bulb came on. I’m not a pushy selling type of person. I’m a friendly and interested person. It was the act of communicating authentically with another individual that instigated a couple of sales. Now that is something I enjoy and can do well: get to know people. And that’s what art purchasers want, art and an artist they can relate to.

What I have found in the four artists' markets I've participated in this year is that my fellow sellers are kind and helpful people. I'm learning not only from my experiences, but also from the great folks I've had the privilege to meet, and I feel truly rich today when I think about it all.

Here’s to 2026. I’m ready for you!