Lemonade Art Fair 2022
I’ll be there this Thursday! Booth 401. Stop by and say hi!
Jun 23, 11:00 AM – 8:30 PM
St Cloud State University
720 4th Ave S, St Cloud, MN
I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI. Every summer there was an art fair. Over the years it got bigger and bigger. More fairs within fairs, lol. It was awesome. There was lots of art, bands, food vendors, and street performers everywhere. It was so fun to not only look at all the artists work but it was a great place to people watch. It was always really hot and we always crossed our fingers we wouldn’t get stuck in a storm. There were a few places that we went to year after year. Buying something special from the fair. I look back at those times so fondly.
Where I live now is close to Saint Cloud State University and they put on the Lemonade Art Fair! It’s the kick off to our towns, Granite City Days. I found out there was a deadline for art vendors to apply and it was the next day! So, I got everything ready and submitted, just in the nick of time. Full disclosure, I had no idea what I was doing. I had to pick out three pieces of work that would be for sale at the fair and a picture of my booth set up. Since I had no booth set up pictures, my husband helped me set it all up in my back yard. Whatever works right? A few days went by and I didn’t hear anything so I assumed that I didn’t get in. I was a little bummed but totally understood and I thought about maybe planning to enter next year.
Then on the Sunday night before the show on Thursday, I got an email with my booth number! I was so excited followed by immediate anxiety. All of my insecurities took over. Suddenly what if my work isn’t good enough? I have nothing new out of the kiln. I have a whole bunch of awesome work to be fired. I would’ve loved to have those ready for this show. I suppose I’ll always want what’s waiting in the wings, LOL.
At the end of the day, I hope I sell a few things to cover the cost of the booth but I’m just really excited for my work to be seen. It sounds silly but it’s really fun to see what people pick up and what people are just drawn to. For me, I’m not a production potter. I don’t make work to sell it. An example of a production potter; they will have 6-10 items and just a stock of those items as they sell. No two are the same but they are the same 6-10 items. I’m not poo pooing that either. I’m sure that potters do shows often and they know what sells and what doesn’t. I just want to make what makes me happy and if someone wants to buy it, score! My insecurity is that my booth will look silly because it’s like a mixed bag of items. After thinking about it though, that’s just totally me so I’m good with it. I have it set up so things are grouped together so it does look professional.
I’m sure I’ll have a ridiculous amounts of panic attacks leading up to the show but luckily, I just suffer with the anticipation. Once I’m there I’m good to go. Wish me luck and send me some chill vibes! We start setting up at 7AM. I’ll post on how it went after I recover from a very exciting and very long day.
