We had a terrific weekend of Markets, with Erlanger, River and Chattanooga all posting strong reports. For the interested, here are the various segments with 2022 vs 2023 change:
| 2022 | 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Services | $27614 | $26857 | -2.7% |
| Concessions | $59,568 | $76,236 | 28.0% |
| Farms | $120,259 | $142,971 | 18.9% |
| Home | $63,518 | $79,770 | 25.6% |
| Personal | $70,250 | $85,926 | 22.3% |
| $341,209 | $411,761 | 20.7% |
That’s a very strong improvement, although the well-discussed recessionary fears are starting to form small cracks in the economic performance of our artists in particular. People need to eat frequently, but discretionary items (such as wall art) are quick to suffer during a downturn. I’m not sure that we are there yet, but some of our regular artists saw lighter sales than they normally report.
Here is a more details per-category sales summary from the weekend:
| Vendor: Vendor Category ↑ | Sum of Gross Sales | Average Gross Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork | $17,562.56 | $566.53 |
| Body Care Products | $13,010.71 | $813.17 |
| Books | $1,815.00 | $453.75 |
| Candles | $15,906.03 | $723.00 |
| Clothing | $19,400.85 | $923.85 |
| Service | $1,710.00 | $570.00 |
| Farm - Fresh Produce | $26,214.36 | $2,184.53 |
| Farm - Garden & Nursery | $6,380.66 | $797.58 |
| Farm - Herbal Products | $7,374.59 | $1,053.51 |
| Farm - Protein | $9,632.98 | $1,376.14 |
| Fiber Arts | $8,199.10 | $409.96 |
| Floral | $3,882.00 | $970.50 |
| Food & Beverage | $76,236.42 | $1,438.42 |
| Food Products | $89,056.54 | $1,012.01 |
| Glass | $3,104.63 | $517.44 |
| Jewelry | $38,045.85 | $704.55 |
| Leather | $4,784.00 | $956.80 |
| Metal | $9,375.00 | $937.50 |
| Mixed Media | $6,862.77 | $343.14 |
| Paper Products | $3,085.00 | $771.25 |
| Pet Products | $4,835.00 | $805.83 |
| Photography | $3,937.00 | $437.44 |
| Pottery | $3,738.00 | $623.00 |
| Recycled Art | $700.00 | $350.00 |
| Toys | $950.00 | $475.00 |
| Wood | $10,385.18 | $610.89 |
| Total | $411,761.23 | $931.59 |
Important: signups for June markets are now online, please be sure to register if you desire to attend an event.