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Article for Art Business Today ... January 2010 A friend once told me that seeing me at work as a professional artist was rather like watching a plate-spinning stage show. I seemed to have so many live projects on the go. At the moment I am preparing to exhibit again at the Spring Fair [NEC Birmingham 7-11 February]. I am also organising several other exhibitions, including Artists Open Houses here in Brighton, and work for publishers wanting images for posters and cards, and new software development for our office administration, plus my website, blog, and online forums, and preparation to do a talk at a Guild branch meeting, to be followed by me giving a seminar at the Spring Fair. So when Annabelle Ruston, our worthy ABT editor, suggested that I write something for this magazine, typically I jumped at the chance. Here it is then. Today’s topic is ‘The Spring Fair’. I first exhibited at the Spring Fair way back in the early 70’s when it was held in Blackpool. Our stand was in a converted multi-story car park. Even so the cost for aspiring artists was astronomical. I shared a minimum 10’x10’ stand with a couple of other hopefuls. We stayed in a B&B and ate cheap Blackpool fish and chips every night. In those dim dark ages, before giclee printing made self-publishing possible, we could only show original paintings. We had heaps of framed canvases. Our target markets were furniture, kitchen and gift shops as well as art galleries. The first time we exhibited we broke even, but made a profit within a month by hiring a van and driving round the UK delivering and following up leads. The second time we exhibited [1974] was the occasion of the ‘three day week’ industrial action. It was poorly attended because of doom laden press reports and ‘the emergency’. We had risked all our resources to exhibit. There was no heating, everyone wore outdoor winter coats. We were not allowed to have lights on our stand. The show was illuminated by a few dim bulbs in the aisles. We had a big torch to show paintings to potential buyers. Late in the cold dark afternoon on the last day, an unknown Japanese man in a fur coat, suddenly and surprisingly bought every original on the stand. We delivered to a London warehouse a couple of days later and got paid in cash. That triumph has kept my optimism levels high for thirty-six years. The Queen opened the NEC in February 1976.The Spring Fair was the first show, and it took all the halls. I was there. Nowadays there is an Artist’s Quarter where new artists can take small affordable individual booths. However I still share space with two other artists, Kate Osborne and Mike Embden. We choose the main section of the hall where it is less congested. If you come to the Spring Fair in 2010, and you definitely should, you can find us at Artreo B39 Hall 3. Please drop by and say hello. Colin Ruffell, December 2009 |
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