OK ~ here’s my other news I mentioned in my last post…  I have made a monumental decision.  Monumental because it is expensive more than anything.  I am going to exhibit at the Licensing & Design section of the Atlanta AmericasMart show in January.

This will be the second year for this Surtex-like show.  I didn’t jump right in this year even though I felt that the venue and timing would be great because, well, I never have been an early -adapter :-)  I, like many others, wanted to wait and see how it went.

The show in January this year was unimpressive in size and location, and while I only passed through there twice, it didn’t seem terribly busy.   I started a discussion on LinkedIn asking who was seriously considering exhibiting at this show in 2010.  Jim Marcotte, from Two Town Studios posted the following:

Wouldn’t miss it. We exhibited last year at the License and Design section debut and had a great show – measurable results and a number of new clients – we have already reserved our space for 2010.

Another artist posted basically the same thoughts I had about this year’s show and Jim had this to say in response (shared here with his permission):

A couple of valid points, let me offer some explanation:



The License and Design section was small last year because it was year one and many potential exhibitors decided to wait and see how it turned out. This show is on track to grow quickly, the timing and exposure is just too great to pass up. 



We are out of the main temp areas for two reasons. First, the January Market is a massive sales and product debut event and for the most part our customers are the wholesalers in the showrooms, not the retail attendees. (There are of course many exceptions to this – larger retailers who may license or review designs directly, licensees w/o showrooms and other entities such as direct or broadcast sales – they are all there walking the show). Secondly, we wanted a three day show, shorter than the other temps, and could not break down early and leave a hole on the show floors. The Bldg 2 third floor location (formerly Pampered Pets), while not on a main “thoroughfare”, actually turned out to be a nice oasis where licensees could sit down and review designs without interruption – quite a change from the usual Atlanta market chaos.



Like any new venture, this section will have some growing pains but many of us believe that it will become a premier venue for license and design.

Ordinarily such endorsements wouldn’t be enough to convince me to jump on board and plunk down the cash & time necessary to exhibit, but something in my gut is telling me that I need to do this show.

So, for good or bad, I have sent off my deposit and already started worrying about what the heck I am going to do with my booth and how am I ever going to find time to create enough new work by January?!  Nothing like a deadline to light a fire under the nether regions…

If you’d like more information about this show, here is a link with all the particulars.

Also, if you’re an artist fairly new to art licensing, this article, written by Jim Marcotte is an excellent realistic view of this business.

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