art market vlog ✨ was it worth it? (set up, booth tour & thoughts) 

This is actually really encouraging as a small business owner! Sometimes it's not your product, it's the event!

It’s really cool that you traveled there, arranging the logistics must have been pretty difficult ❤ please film any other markets you do, I’d love to see 😊

Hi Katie!! It was so fun meeting you at the craft market! I’m sorry it wasn’t what you were hoping it would be. Personally, I got quite a few ads for it on Instagram, but didn’t actively choose to go until I saw you would have a booth! I also had never really heard of Renegade before, so hopefully they can build an audience in Texas. Because of SXSW, there were so many events going on around the city and a lot of local markets happening simultaneously. I’m sure having it at a hotel downtown didn’t help either. All that said, I was really happy to meet you and buy art from you, and I hope you still had fun in Austin 😊

Hi from philly! As someone that does local markets it's so helpful to see how another artist sets-up and I feeeeel you on the breaking even/making profit struggle of going places to vend.

Wow, I think we can all agree that was a subpar experience you went through. But what I'm most impressed about is your perseverance and your overall outlook. It was so refreshing to hear how you were still able to see and highlight the possitive things that happened during the art market. I hope your next one is more successful. Keep up the great work, Katie, we're all cheering you on.

Katie!!! I'm sorry it wasn't the best experience. Super admire you planning all of the traveling and shipping items - I am so intimidated by the thought of it. Come back to NYC!! Also omg your table set up is so incredible. You would never guess you've only done this twice!

I have recently applied to probably over 20 events all around NC and none of them have been quite that expensive for a table. Even very big ones! I am surprised! The one thing I would suggest trying for outside events that are more like festivals they seem to do well.

it was so great meeting you and getting some of your work! I’ve received so many compliments on the tote bag already! 😍

Really appreciate the after thoughts portion of the video, your honest insight and feedback is great to hear. Definitely take it as a learning lesson, could've been worst as you heard from fellow vendors. But yeah seems like a few factors like you said weather, first year/less marketing, weird venue location. Plus as a piggy back event to the SXSW music event, if I were an attendee who paid so much to buy tickets for the concerts, drinks, and band merch, I probably wouldn't have much left over to buy cool art unfortunately. I think the stand alone renegade fairs & other type of events are much better because it's the main focus and more energy is put into just the art fair from the promoters side. But good to learn a ton on just your second major art fair. You're the wiser for it and you came out on the other side still in the green & had a great experience/family trip. Good luck on your continued art journey.

Much as it sucks to have an event flop like this, it's good to have it happen once, so you become a bit more cautious about which events to book in the future. That's definitely a lesson I've learned over the years as well, not every event is gonna be worth it :''D I agree with a different commenter that anime cons would work well for you! The artist alley scene there has come really far over the years, definitely not just fanart anymore. I've done loads of them and have been trying to get into art markets, but there just don't seem to be any around here :< Good luck with your next markets! Your stuff is great, I'm sure you'll do amazing!

Thank you for letting me be part of your vlog! It was so nice meeting you and I was so happy to be able to buy one of the new shirts❤ I’m working on my own small business myself and seeing everyone there and mostly you haha just fuels me up to keep going and growing as an artist. Thank you for being so nice!

Wow 😮 with those booth fees - I have seen much bigger crowds at renegades in San Fran and Seattle - I’m here in Texas and the support for creatives in other states/cities are really enviable 😢😊😊

As someone who’s been doing art markets for only about a year, the unfortunate reality is yes not every show is gonna be a hit and it really blows especially when you invest so much money such as yourself. My very first show was really successful (which can be quite rare) and every show after that just couldn’t compare but you just have to keep going and experiment too. This show seemed to have checked a lot of boxes like good location and a great selection of artists but my guess is they perhaps didn’t advertise very well and were greedy with expenses based on their attitude. It’s important to research and get other artists’ input about shows too as you learn which are really worth the time and money even if it requires travel. Covid also impacted the quality of a lot of shows as well and some momentums may have changed. But I’m glad you’re sharing what a lot of artists go through haha it’s very informative and inspiring. Good luck to everyone on this path 👍 may we continue to grow and thrive :)

I love this video! Your art style is absolutely adorable!!! Do you print yourself, if not, then where do you get your art printed?

Love the way you documented this, loved the vid as always katie! Thank u for giving ur candid thoughts, so helpful and interesting! ✨✨✨

so happy i got to see you!!! i love your art so much and seeing it in person was so cool :3

I absolutely love your display!

man it always sucks when things dont work out the way you envisioned, especially when you've put so much effort, time and money it to something, it can be quite disappointing but its perfectly okay to be disappointed. At least you're optimistic about your visit and networked and found cool new artists! im sorry everything didnt live up to the expectations and at least you know youre not the only one who had problems with the venue but everthings a learning experience i guess! hopefully your next art market is better

It was so nice to meet you! I’m so happy I was able to purchase some of your products. It’s unfortunate you didn’t have the experience you were hoping for and I didn’t even hear about renegade crafts until you posted about it. Anyway I hope that you have better experiences with art markets in the future and I really enjoyed meeting you! Thank you!

There's an art market coming this summer in the town I live. I've never been to one so I'm super excited to go and see how lively it is.

So sad I didn't get to make the trip out to Austin :( I am eyeing a t-shirt, tote bag and your new glass cups!! Can't wait for shop to reopen!! 😍😍

Ugh, I’m so sorry this Renegade wasn’t what you were hoping for. Idk if they’ve been doing it consecutively since then, but I did the first Austin Renegade in 2015 (if memory serves), and everything you’ve said about your experience was exactly what happened back then. It doesn’t sound like much has changed :/ Hopefully you’ll have better markets from here on out!

love your vlogs ❤😍

Thank you for sharing, I have been looking forward to your take on traveling to an out of town renegade event. You are so lovely and generous, I am enthralled by your style!

Heyy! It was so good to meet you and also pick up some goodies from you! I’ve been really loving my new tshirt! Too bad you didn’t have the best experience at this market. I heard similar stories from other artists but it’s still nice to have the chance to meet you and I hope your next markets and fairs go much better! ❤

Lamentablemente no entiendo el ingles, pero me encanta lo que haces, tu energía y lo unida que eres a tu familia 😊. un cálido abrazo desde Caracas, Venezuela🤗

Yes I agree my first market was so great and successful and my second market wasn't nearly as successful lol it happens :( Glad you still got to gain experience!

Ya lots added up to make it not the best, I've been vending at big and small shows for 11 years and I agree with you that all those factors for sure didn't help with the event. Always a risk with a first time show too. But ya that's a high booth fee for just a table. I really like your new displays! And wow how cool that they are easy to set up and take down. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the event and nice to see that your spinning it to be something positive for sure :)

great work

I’d heard of Renegade prior to your experience and it’s become my dream market to vendor at because of your video. Luckily there’s a Seattle one which is close enough to drive to but it’s still a little out of my budget. So hopefully I can get there next year! But besides that! I’m also new to art markets and my first one was such a positive experience but every one since has been a flop 😅 Each one is so different between location, weather, time of year and who’s running the event. It’s been such a learning curve but I feel like I have some really good markets on my roster for the next few months. I hope your next one is a banger!!

Your handwriting is pretty lovely 🥰

Love your setup! Where do you get those collapsible baskets? Also, when people purchase your shirts do you package them in anything, or just give them the shirt?

I love how open and detailed you were about the experience. Definitely gives us other small creatives things to think about. That is very unfortunate about the turn out 😕 Just by your video of the entry way going into the hotel they should have had more signage outside, because like you said why would someone go into a hotel if they didn't have a room there (and didn't know about the event).

aw man, sorry it wasn't what you imagined Katie. I've heard from other artists that this market was a big flop for some of the reasons you mentioned. Upstairs in a hotel ballroom just doesn't seem like the vibe, but your table was still so cute and this video was fun regardless!

some markets just dont work out the way you wished, and some markets that you think will do horribly sometimes make a lot of money. but def if there wasnt enough marketing for the event or were it was set up, thats on the people in charge

YEEHAW!!!

Hey Katie!! Just curious, when you travel for an art market, do you have to apply for new sales tax ID for your business in that state? Thanks!

Oh wow $450 for a booth?!?! that's super whoa intense..... that's an international art market for me already but then again, I wouldn't know the booth rates in the US. so im not sure if that's the usual rate or not either. so sorry to hear the marketing was a bit blah, that's super frustrating huhu it really makes a huge impact to the foot traffic of the event so yeaa regardless of where we from the feels are the sameee and felt!

Maybe this is a sign to apply squarespace 😮❤

Opinions on square space vs Etsy ?

any clue the brand of the clothing rack on amazon? been looking for one myself 5:13

That was really informative and inspiring. Yes, definitely a learning experience. Since it was an inaugural event, their booth fees should have been lower, for sure. Shame on them. You all got to be their guinea pigs. They learned a lot and got their fees from you anyway. In my opinion, SXSW is an oversaturated event. There's so much going on already, people aren't going to go out of their way to do yet another event. I think again it was a bit of hubris on Renegade's side relying on their reputation. Glad you did better than break even!

This sounds hella expensive. Charging $40 for Wi-Fi? In 2023? And it doesn’t even work?? Plus the booth rate of $450? Really made me think twice before signing up for this one. Appreciate your honesty and transparency. Really good video. Sorry it didn’t go well.

I’d suggest trying to vend at an anime convention. You don’t have to have fan art to vend at most (double check the rules) and I think your products would fit nicely for that demographic.

Born and raised and in texas lol but the one misconception is that we say yehaw alot we barely do buuut we do Yall alot all the time 😂 just incase you wanted a new word in ur vocabulary plus we make fun of it too when its country country time or jokes lol

You want to come to Canada?

I'm a new artist too but way further behind than you

Renegade craft cair is super overrated. I stopped vending at them 5ish years ago.

Could you please reply my email? Thanks.