So if you are alive and online and any part of the art licensing community, you know about SURTEX. 🙂  I thought that instead of the usual “it was a great show” (which is was) I’d throw out some numbers to consider…
SURTEX BY THE NUMBERS
Number of exhibiting companies: Â 270
Number of artists represented by those companies: Â 1200+
Square footage of art at the show: 30,000+
Attendance of manufacturers and retailers over last year: up 10%!
Number of days the show was open: 3
Number of days the show was on my mind – either following up from one or preparing for the next: 362 🙂
Cost of a booth: $46.50 / sq foot
- 10 x 10: $4650
- 8Â x 15: $5580
- 10 x 15: $6975
- 8 x 10 (limited quantity): $3720
Cost of a hotel in NYC: $1,000 – $2,000 for 4-5 nights, depending on where you stay
Transportation: Â that depends on where you come from.
- I fly – about $400 round trip.
- Some drive – cost of gas plus parking – scared to even look up the cost of parking in the city!
- My sister takes the train from New Jersey – $40 round trip! Â Oh… plus parking…
Then there are other variables that are too hard to estimate because they will vary drastically from artist to artist – food, booth expenses other than the cost of the booth (banners, art, accessories), marketing, websites and more.
Art licensing is a business and it costs money. Â Period.
Personally, I spend about $8-9,000 every year to exhibit at SURTEX.  It is the biggest marketing event of the year for my business.  Being an artist that makes a living isn’t free.  You have to invest in your business – in time, money and sweat equity.  I also invest a lot in my education and personal development – I attend events, take online and in person courses and hire coaches when it feels like a fit for where I am at the moment.
If you don’t believe enough in yourself and your work to invest in it, why should anyone else?
Think about it…
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
I want to thank you for sharing your info. I like the idea of Surtex, but as someone brand new to the idea of Licensing, it feels like my work could easily get lost in the crowd of booths. It feels like a long shot, a very expensive long shot, for a first time person.