CHA Summer 2006

This story actually starts the Wednesday before the show.  We had a narrow line of severe thunderstorms that had come through Illinois Wednesday afternoon, downing trees and washing out roads, with at least one report of a tornado nearby.  Our power got knocked out about 3pm, and didn’t come back on until some time between 8 and 9pm.  I ended up assembling my portfolio by lamp light.  (Margo used the flash so the picture is brighter than it actually was, but the lamp gave enough light to work by):

We hadn’t had any dinner, and so I pulled out the Sterno canned fuel.  Now, I’ve never had to cook with Sterno before, so I really didn’t know what I was doing.  I put one can of fuel under a small frying pan, thinking I’d make us some bacon and eggs.  But 10 minutes later, the pan was barely warm.  So I added a second can of fuel.  Here I’m holding the flashlight with one hand and turning bacon with the other:

30 minutes later, the bacon really isn’t crispy yet.  So we headed out to McDonalds and run some errands.  The power was back on by the time we got home, so all was well.  However, the next morning, a repeat performance in the weather caused our power to go out again, from 8am to 1pm.  This was more critical in time for me, because I was now hours behind in my preparation, and had to pack my suitcases and baggage by candle light, flashlight, and the little oil lamp.  Here’s a picture of my bed with the clothes set out, with the lamp and a candle on Allen’s nightstand:

We left for Chicago that evening, with Jael Thorp following us.  A fairly easy drive, but thank God for cellphones – otherwise we’d have lost each other a couple of times.  We made it up to our motel about 10 that evening and promptly crashed. Early the next morning, it’s down to the convention center.  Here’s Jael and I at the Amaco booth (yes, Margo has a sense of humor and loves candid shots!):

We met old and new friends at the show.  Unfortunately, a bunch of the pictures didn’t come out, and some of these are quite blurry – my apologies.  I’d wanted to save disc space and set the resolution down to 1megapixel.  I learned alot about that.  The pics taken with the 3mp were much better.  I wish I’d realized it would make that much of a difference, or I’d have kept the resolution as high as it would go!  So the next event will have much better shots. 

This first shot is at the Amaco reception on Friday.  From the left:  Marla Frankenberg, Myself, Patty Barnes, Sue Lee, Ellie Hitchcock, and Jael Thorp.

A better shot of all of us, but Jael had wandered off:

Imagine my surprise – I won a prize in the Amaco Bitty Book Designer’s Challenge!  I had entered but hadn’t expected to win.  This was the first book I’ve ever made.  It has a dimensional caneworked cover, and the pages are all clay pattern sheets made with canework:

I was thrilled to stand for a photo with Ellie, who was a winner of one of the other 4 prizes.  We’re here with Lisa Pavelka and William Reed, President of F+W Publications.  We each won a certificate that we’re holding, and $250 worth of Amaco products which William is holding:

A group of us went to the Hyatt next door after the show, and sat in the lobby to visit and have some supper.  We had pizza and it was such a great time!  There were about 7 of us who went, Jael, Margo and I and some of the gals from the Indianapolis guild, and then Patty Barnes came down and joined us, then Lisa Pavelka and Anne Igou stopped in on their way to their rooms.  Unfortunately most of the pictures from that night didn’t come out, and these two pics are pretty blurry – but it’s how I spent the evening – laughing my head off at LeeAnn Anderson’s antics! 

Jael, Margo and I left the hotel about 8:30pm, and got lost a couple of times.  Fortunately Sue and Gale Lee drove up and gave us a ride to our car, and then we followed them to their hotel for a bit.  That was so fun, just sitting and talking shop for awhile.  Then it was back to our place for a good night’s sleep.

The next morning, Jael called to see if I wanted to get some breakfast.  We did, and needed to make a stop at a store to pick up something for my daughter.  I thought I’d seen a Target nearby the convention center, so after breakfast we went in search of it.  We were at a stoplight trying to decide whether to go left or right, when a car pulled up next to us and the driver rolled down her window… come to find out, she was at the same show, and was looking for the same Target!  We decided to follow her, and turn left.  But about a mile down the road, I’m thinking it’s back the other way.  So Jael speeds up so we can come alongside her, and I wave my hands to get her attention.  We roll down the windows and I yell into the air hoping she’ll hear me.  She does, and pulls in behind us.  At the next stop, I jump out of the car and run over to give her my business card.  Then back into Jael’s car, like a wacky one-man chinese fire drill.  We make a u-turn, and back through the intersection where we started, and two blocks later – voila!  The Target!  We find out that she’s Terri, a greeting card artist.  (Terri – email me, if you read this!)   

The rest of the day was a busy one for me, and we didn’t do much socializing or taking pictures.  Alot of possibilities were discussed with publishers, editors, and designer consultants, and it ended up being a very fruitful show with many opportunities ahead.  We left the show right as it ended – in fact, they were turning the lights out on us and we were still talking with one of the publishers who is going to work with us. 

I really enjoyed my first CHA trade show, and want to thank Dawn Sandoe and Lisa Pavelka for the opportunities they provided to make it possible for us to attend.