It always seems like it would be easier to do a show in my own area, but the week of Stampaway USA in Cincinnati (aka “The I Get to Sleep in My Own Bed Show”) is always one of the most grueling of the year. I know that part of it has to do with only being 40 minutes from the convention center – if you forget something, you feel obligated to go back and get it. At most shows that are several hundred miles from home, we work with what we brought. It could also have something to do with the Stamping Gala in our store all week long, but I was only in the store three times all week – the rest of the time I was in the mail center or in Cincinnati.
That said, what follows is a pictorial review of the week as I observed it, starting with the costumes . . .
These were ours – mine was a rerun (which seemed fitting) from the M*A*S*H theme in 2006, Sally Lynn MacDonald from Gel Press was doing Beauty School Dropout from Grease, but I told her that she looked like a distant relative of Beldar from Remulak (for the youngsters, think Coneheads), and the Marco’s Creative Crew (Donna, Lisa and Chris) probably looked the most like 50s of all.
Vendor shots. Seems like only a couple of years ago that Margaret’s son Billy (top row, second from left) was just a little boy running around at shows. Same with Ted’s daughter Katie (bottom row, second from left). Ted seems to be channeling his inner Mafia don (bottom row, third from left). And most of you may not know her – or may “know” her but haven’t seen her, but over the past couple of years Suzanne Dowst has become the behind-the-scenes glue that holds all of this together.
And some shots of the shoppers – I think the Coca-Cola twins at top left won, but I wasn’t out in the lobby for the judging.
I made Chocolate Mint Cookies and brought them along to share with the vendors during the three days we were at the convention center. Ended up using some of them to tempt/tease Rick Holland from Our Daily Bread Designs, who was in Arizona getting special treatment for his best friend, Murph.
Even got Phil Krebs from Art Impressions and Rick’s wife Kelley to play along . . .
Marco’s Creative Crew drawing a crowd at the demo table both Friday night and Saturday . . .
So was the Beauty School Dropout. I titled the picture at right “Demo artist from Connecticut using weeds from Ohio to make art for the world” – she actually went out in the parking lot during the show and pulled some greenery to create backgrounds.
Youngest attendee I saw . . .
A couple of looks at our classroom at the store from the two mornings that I was able to get there – along with the lady who was there and waiting 30 minutes before the first make and take project started each day . . .
Last but not least, the highlight of my weekend . . . I was passing out flyers Saturday morning before the show and this nice lady told me that she had something for me that she thought I would like . . . wow, was she right. The faces on the card she created are my parents. I have shared a lot of my family through our company blog, and when Mom had lymphoma you were all so supportive. You still are . . .
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