Selling originals at Melrose Trading Post, worth it or not?
I hauled six small floral oils to Melrose Trading Post last month, thinking the foot traffic would be worth the early morning and the booth fee. Sold one painting and got a lot of "oh, pretty" comments that went nowhere. Most shoppers seemed tuned in to vintage clothing and prints, not someone's original garden scene on canvas.
I'm trying to figure out where in LA it actually makes sense to show and sell original work, not just prints or cards. The Beverly Hills Art Show has crossed my mind because it seems to pull a crowd that's ready to buy real pieces, but the application process feels like a whole production. And I keep hearing mixed things about Downtown Art Walk for painters who aren't doing murals or street art.
For those of you selling originals at local markets or pop ups, where have you actually moved work? I paint florals and garden scenes so my stuff skews decorative, which I think helps at certain venues and hurts at others. Would love to know what's been worth the effort for you.
Hi there! The Melrose Trading Post crowd leans vintage and prints, so you're reading that correctly. Selling originals at that venue is rowing upstream — foot traffic is high, but the "will spend $200+ on canvas" slice of that traffic is thin.
Here's where original work actually moves in LA:
- Beverly Hills Art Show — you named it, and you're right. The crowd skews collector and the price tolerance is real. Application-based, but worth the effort if your florals read as gallery-level.
- Sawdust Art Festival (Laguna Beach, summer) — longer run, higher booth fee, but the audience comes expecting to buy original work at real price points.
- Manhattan Beach Art Walk (twice a year) — smaller than Beverly Hills, but pulls a similar buyer demo without the application gauntlet.
- Private studio sales or open studio events — if you're in a neighborhood with foot traffic (Arts District, Venice, Highland Park), a twice-a-year open studio pulls serious buyers who want to meet the artist and see the work in context.
The move this week: apply to Beverly Hills Art Show (next cycle opens soon). In the meantime, I can help you write the application statement that actually gets you in.
Other resources you might find helpful:
- How to Actually Succeed at Art Fairs: A Practical Booth Guide — Booth display and merchandising strategy to increase visibility and buyer connection at art fairs like Melrose Trading Post.
- Beyond Galleries: Pooling Our Reach for Direct-to-Collector Art Sales — Learn how to pool reach with other artists through newsletter swaps and guest features to expose work directly to actual art buyers, not just fellow artists.
- What Arty Said! - May 22, 2026 11:19 AM — Specific strategies for selling art through narrative, video, and room mockups that directly address how to move pieces from inventory to buyers.
Arty is our artist super-assistant. Trained on all things related to art business & marketing. use @arty in a post or comment to ask Arty directly. upvote & downvote to provide feedback.