How I would improve a woodworking show

Re: How I would improve a woodworking show

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>My understanding is that this is already being done every year at Williamsburg. The cost of attending plus transportation keeps many people from attending.

Re: How I would improve a woodworking show

Charles Self

>Why would you have to eliminate the current shows to offer something entirely different?

Um. Rob. Better think twice about

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

>turn it into a full week and bring wifey/girlfriend/kids

taking your wife and girlfriend at the same time. Might want to leave the kids at home too. If you get caught, a big fight could break out and you wouldn't want the kids to see that...

Just kidding. Sorry.

Joe

You forgot a few things

Mark Goodall - ATL - tooljunkie

>First, you have GOT to have free hotdogs and donuts. You just gotta have that. And then... the whole event has to be free.

Frankly if it's going to be in one of those places (Florida,Hawaii,etc) as much as I love woodworking, I'm not going to waste my time at a show. I'd rather be there playing with my wife and my kids. Just the thought of them being out on the beach while I'm in a show, not matter how much I love woodworking, makes me want to cry...... uh, oh... sniff, sniff

Okay, so forget that last comment.... I might be alone in that sentiment.

So, back to the more realistic requirements: free hotdogs, free donuts and the whole thing has got to be free.

If I have to pay to go to a show that will affect my ability to save up for a family trip to Florida ;)

Happy Woodworking!

Who's going to pay for all of this?

Steve Antonucci

>I think it's funny that the general public doesn't understand how these things come off.

Having exhibited at a bunch of technical trade shows (not wood related), I am amazed at the number of attendees that view these things as "their shows, about them." For the $8 entry fee, I'd guess you could maybe hire the concessions folks to feed attendees, and maybe on janitor if you got a couple of hundred people to attend.

But what would they see and what venue would host it? Oh, yeah, that's what the sponsors pay for...

When you walk the floor, all of these vendors "pitching stuff" at you have given you the show. It's their spot that made it possible, not your $8. Our trade show buy-ins ranged from $5,000 -$20,000, and we weren't the biggest at most of our shows. It killed me when someone complained about having to talk to a vendor. I paid for the speakers who you've been learning from. I paid for the free breakfast, lunches, and dinner you've been eating. I paid for the freebies that are being handed out.

The least someone can do is listen to why a vendor thinks you might be interested in what they have to offer. You'd be surprised, since the vendors often know more than the average person. They live and breathe this stuff every day. If vendors don't get a lot of activity, guess what they don't do? They take their marketing dollars elsewhere and the show dies.

When I go to the Woodworking Shows, I view it as an opportunity to look at things I may not have been thinking about, put my hands on things I may be thinking about, and buy things I want. I am what every vendor wants- a chance to make back their ante...

Sorry for the rant, but trade show season approaches...

Steve

Don't get me wrong.....

Mark Goodall - ATL - tooljunkie

>I have no problem with a show trying to sell me stuff (heck, I like it), just don't change me an admission price to come and be a customer.

Or, if it's going to be a conference (teaching/learning), not a huge sales event, then I understand charging an fee is completely necessary.

If you make it a big event where you want to sell me stuff, that's fine, I'll even buy stuff. But don't charge me a fee to enter.

Happy Woodworking!

Here are my ideas....

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

>I haven't been to a show in years. Lost interest. But I might be tempted to go back if the following changes were made:

Door prizes of LN Planes every 10 minutes, Unisaws every hour, Pickup trucks twice daily.

Food vendors: Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, Dominos and some place that sells a darn good Chicago style hotdog.

Vendor booths manned by "Tool Calendar Girls" and for the Lady Woodworkers "Tool Calendar Guys". Frankly the curmudgeons that currently man the booths do nothing for me (or my wife).

Three words: Belt Sander Races

Team build-offs...a smack-down of 4 man teams each building a Goddard Townsend secretary in one day. Steel cages might make it even better.

A message area where weary woodworkers can get a 15 minute rolfing.

A Saw Stop demonstration area where the vendor actually shoves their fingers into a spinning blade instead of a hot dog. (spare the hot dogs for the food area!)

A shop dog obedience training demonstration where we can learn to keep our mutts from under foot in the shop. And maybe how to fetch tools. "here boy...fetch that LN smoother for me...no...not the jack plane...I said the SMOOTHER!....good boy!"

And last but not least...chainsaw jugglers.

Yep, make those changes and I'd be there!

Tommy...open to other suggestions.

Woodworking conference, already!!! *LINK*

Earl Kelly

>RobV and everyone else, already a conference with attributes similar to what Robv stated. Furniture Society puts on a conference every yr with seminars, tools, some furniture displayed and all around good fun. Granted it's a heck of alot more than $8 to register, but how else would you put something like this on. You don't have to be a member to attend.

INfo is on the Furniture Society web site. I know this isn't for everyone, but some will benefit from it.


Furniture Society

Re: Don't get me wrong.....

Gary Bindel

>I agree with you Mark. I like the shows, but it has always rubbed me the wrong way that they charge you to park and charge you again to walk in the door in order to sell you stuff. To me, that is the same as if HD or Lowes would charge an entrance fee.

Re: Who's going to pay for all of this?

Brint K in Atlanta

>Thanks, Steve. I've only been to one so far (IWF in Atlanta), and I appreciate the other comments on this post (well, okay, SOME of them... -g-) but it's good to hear a perspective from someone "behind the tables," as it were.

Re: Don't get me wrong.....

Rob Stokes in North Vancouver

>Mark:

I don't disagree with your premise, but an admission charge tends to act as a filter to prevent the place from clogging up with looky-loo's. I don't have a problem with that.

The show out here (Vancouver) has a few major problems - the largest being that the people who put the show on accept vendors that have nothing to do with woodworking. We have booths that sell nuts, booths that sell mops, booths that sell embroidered bathroom mats - it's really a mish-mash that has absolutely nothing to do with woodworking. I have a major problem paying admission to see that sort of stuff behind the scenes. As a matter of fact the complaint letters rolled in to the show management last year so it'll be interesting to see how things fare this year.

Often times you can snuggle up to a major vendor at a show and they'll have free admission tix - may be worth a try.

Rob

How about the $8 is costs to park you car?

Mike Farinella

>

I go to one show and one show only.

Dave Bair

>It's offered by a local hardwood lumber supplier, Johnson's Lumber Company. There is no admission fee, parking is free and it's 100% woodworking. They offer specials on lumber and tools and they go overboard with customer service. There are demos of just about everything from Shaker box-making to Freud's latest and greatest blades. It runs for 2 days (with Scott Philips on Saturday for the past several years). You have to pay for food and drink, but it's not at stadium prices and is run by a local group, not the company. The only draw-back is that the mill keeps on running during the show but you can conduct yourself on the tour of a working mill. Most of it is outdoors, so there's no hall rent, but they have the whole thing under big tents in case it rains. I love it, especially after attending a few shows that charge parking and admission and from which I got far less benefit.

Eaton Rapids, MI

I like this idea!

awh

>> The big question is who can we get to spearhead this effort?

The Handyman Club of America? ;)

> what other professions have been doing for years and years.

Yep, look at what PBS has been doing for 30+ years:

https://secure.connect.pbs.org/conferences/technology/2007/

Tony Haukap

Home Page - http://www.cyberspace.org/~awh/

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Re: How I would improve a woodworking show

Ernie Miller

>I allways get in trouble when I take the wife and girl friend on a trip together. the problems are endless. Where you idea sounds like a good idea how do you propose to pay for the event? the promoters make there mone for the hall of the venders and the people comming thru the door. People go there hoping to get a good deal of tools and supplies. Ours is comming up in Feburary in KC 60 miles away. I don't know if I will actually go to the show or not but I will make the drive to have breakfast with a bunch of people from here ans SawMill Creek. Nothing beats breakfast with friends fondeling tools telling stories and having fun. What you want to do is go to the breakfast or one of the picknics that are held but people here on the board. they have demo food and good clean family fum. Sophie's can be a 2-3 day affair and bills 1-2 if you camp out Indy fest is a one day thing. but you can make a week at any of these places by taking in the local sites and hanging out with the local woodworkers they are all willing to spend some extra 1 on 1 time if work permits.

Re: Don't get me wrong.....

ScottS

>"I have no problem with a show trying to sell me stuff (heck, I like it), just don't change me an admission price to come and be a customer."

You're not paying to be a customer: you're paying for the convenience of having many vendors together in one location. Don't know about you, but gas in my area is close to $3/gallon. If I drive to Woodcraft (25mi round-trip) and Rockler (80mi round-trip) to shop, I spend more in gas than it costs me to get into the local woodworking show. And lets not forget that I see more products at the show and there are lots of free educational seminars as well.

To be honest, I think they need to raise the price of admission! At $8/day, The Woodworking Show is the cheapest event of its type that I attend. Garden shows, home improvement shows, car shows, motorcycle shows, etc. all have entry fees that are at least 2-3X more per day. Granted, if I'm paying $18-20/day to get in I'd like to see more vendors and better educational seminars. Most importantly, I'd like to have more hands-on involvement. Watching some guy do a demo is nice, but why not let me do it myself? Sure that tablesaw looks pretty sitting the booth, but so does everyone elses. Put a blade on it, plug it in and let's see if it'll pass the nickel test or cut through 12/4 maple without bogging down!

Re: I go to one show and one show only.

Larry in NW Ohio

>Dave When do they put on this show? Thank you Larry in NW Ohio

Re: Check out the Furniture Society Conference

Ted Wong

>

Re: I go to one show and one show only.

Dave Bair

>Larry, the local show (Charlotte, MI) is in early September. It's the original business with the active sawmill. They also have stores (and seperate shows and dates) in South Bend, IN and Grand Rapids, MI. For this year's schedule, try their website: www.theworkbench.com It lists the shows but I don't know when they update the show dates on the site.

Eaton Rapids, MI