Summertime in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti marks the occasion of a number of arts and crafts fairs. There is, of course, the massive four-day, citywide Ann Arbor Art Fair, which features more than 100 artists from the local area plus hundreds more out-of-town artists. Smaller fairs like Ypsilanti’s Shadow Art Fair and the relatively new DIYpsi indie fair support dozens more local area artists and artisans.

The Ann Arbor Art Fair was hit by a massive heat wave this year, with temperatures spiking to 100 degrees. According to local artists interviewed, the heat definitely impacted sales, though the amount of the effect varied.

Bad, rainy weather in the summer of 2010 decreased Ann Arbor jewelry artist Idelle Hammond-Sass’ sales by 40 percent that year, but “this year was better, even with the heat. Sales were slightly up by 10 percent,” she says. Despite doing slightly better than last year, “The heat was very hard on the artists. I was exhausted for a week after the show and couldn’t really get any work done.”

Jennifer Thomson, an Ann Arbor-based member of the Michigan Silversmiths Guild, says sales “were down” and “most people I talked with were also having slow sales and were discouraged,” she said. The heat was hard on artists and patrons alike. “Overall, the fair was slower and more grueling than the past 5 years. Traffic was way down and the people who were out were too hot to think.”

On the other hand, Mary Valerie Richter, the president of the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild, says it could have been worse. “In 2010, we had several booth closures due to tornado warnings and torrential rain,” she remembers. This year, the hot weather impacted the guild’s sales, “but in a positive way,” she says. “When we’ve had good weather, which is not too often, buyers tend to window shop. However, when the weather is not ideal, the serious shoppers come out.”

The Shadow Art Fair, a day-long art and music event held at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti each summer, features 40 artists and vendors from the local area and beyond.

Painter and 2-D artist Helen Gotlib thinks “most people were happy with their sales,” at this summer’s Shadow Art Fair. “It was not quite as packed with people as some years, but traffic was good the whole day. Honestly, I think people look more when they don’t feel so claustrophobic,” she says. “I would recommend applying to be vendor to other artists and artisans because I had a positive experience. I always love seeing different artists at Shadow and being part of this awesome community event.”

Matt Posky and Vinnie Massimino, who collaborate on art and comedy together under the name VOSKY, participated in the Shadow Art Fair for the first time this summer. “We did fairly well,” Posky says. “We weren’t really looking to turn a profit, we just wanted to get our work out there, get weird, and have some fun,” he explains.

“I cannot speak for other vendors,” but “looking around it seemed like the sales were moderate. Most people would rather look than buy,” he says.

DIYpsi is a new biannual sale that debuted last winter. The event co-organizers told annarbor.com they hope to create a “shopping spree” that will help support artists and independent artisans financially, and strengthen the creative economy. Co-organizer Marcy Davy, who sold her screen prints at DIYpsi under the title All Things Grow, thinks “vendors did pretty good. We saw people leaving with all kinds of things in their hands.” She reports her own sales were “excellent.”

At events like DIYpsi, getting exposure is just as important as selling a lot of works, according to Davy. Although “there were plenty of people that came in just to check it out without buying anything, from our standpoint as organizers, that’s super important. Some people come to art fairs just to look, but many buy later,” she says. For example, many of the artists and artisans at DIYpsi have Etsy web pages or sell their work through other websites. “I always hand out a million business cards, which totally comes back to me in awesome ways,” she explains.