Trade Shows

[Mattsbagger]

I started leatherwork a couple months ago. Wife and I are looking at going to either Prescott AZ or Sheridan WY to a trade show. As a hobbiest are these good or are they geared to the full time business person? 

[bruce johnson]

There are classes at both shows, and in the past, a lot of the classes at Prescott were also offered at Sheridan. The classes offered range from entry level hobbyist to mid and upper range workers. Sheridan is the longest running trade show and bigger with more classes and vendors. The Prescott show was originally held in Wickenburg and a few years ago was moved to Prescott. At Wickenburg classes were spread out all over town, trade show was at the community center, and there was really no central R&R location. The move to Prescott seems to be a real shot in the arm - one location, good classes, nice cross section of vendors, common socializing areas, and a really nice facility all under one roof. There's advantages to both and it kind of comes down to which one might fit your schedule the best. 

[JLSleather]

I haven't been to anything like that in years.  And I haven't been to those specific ones ever, so can't really say anything about those.  But I do know people who have been there - some repeatedly - and it appears to me much like any other "show"... bunch of booths and people lined up to sell you something else ...

12 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

and bigger with more classes and vendors

 

[Mattsbagger]

Thanks. Being in Colorado Springs Sheridan is about 9 hrs and Prescott is 11hrs or so by car. So will check out both and see which one works best for us. It will be a "vacation" because I don't do sitting around on a beach or tourist kinda stuff.

[bruce johnson]

     I started off doing leatherwork as a hobby and it turned into a small business then a bigger business. I have been to Sheridan at least 4 times and the western shows in Ventura, Reno a few times, Wickenburg at least twice, and this coming year will be the third at Prescott,. I took classes all but one of these shows, and can say without hesitation I got something out of all of them. Some were half day specific technique and some were 4 day all day classes. When I was doing serious leatherworking these classes were a definite draw for me at the shows. The class line up for the Prescott show should be coming out soon if it isn't already. It is true that there are a bunch of booths and vendors. For me that was a good thing at the time. You can find suppliers you didn't know about. You can pick up a stamp from Barry King, Bob Beard, Clay Miller or whoever and try it out. You can compare sizes that is harder to do from a website picture. You can compare between makers. Pretty much most of the major tool makers are at both shows. There are different sources of leather and supplies you may not have known about. If you can balance out taking a class or a few along with some time spent in the trade show, id think it could step your game up just as it did mine. Meeting at the social get-togethers and friendships I have made are a bonus.  

     

[OLDNSLOW]

Bruce, what is held in Ventura and what time of year is it held, I was thinking of trying to go to Prescott in February, we have a need to make it work with a trip on into L. A. anyway.   So maybe Ventura would work better for us, depending again on time of year and what the venue has to offer.  I always found that the trade shows and conventions are worth while.  When I was in photography we made it a point to attend the major shows and some of the classes offered, leather has to be somewhat along the same lines.  To bad there isn't more to be had out on the east end of the country!

[bruce johnson]

      The LCSJ has sponsored most all of these shows. Ones I have been to - Several years ago they tried Ventura - didn't work because of little foot traffic and interest at the time. They tried a few in Reno. One year at the Grand Sierra (or whatever it was called then) they had a decent enough show, but the next year at the Silver Legacy it didn't fly. They had one in Phoenix we missed. They moved it to Wickenburg in Feb and that show was good. Good foot traffic and class attendance. Next year ditto. The biggest problem was the trade show was at the community center, classes were spread out at the VFW, motel north of town, saddle classes were south of town, etc. The social one year was at an old restored mine site that was maybe 15 miles out of town. There was no one place to sit and BS with other folks at the show. The move to Prescott from Wickenburg was met with some resistance because the class enrollments and the trade show was the best it had been in CA, NV, or AZ. The advantage of Prescott was everything under one roof with plenty of rooms and options off site as well. We didn't get away to go the first Prescott show. All the people I knew that did shared the common theme of "ya shoulda been here". We have set up as vendors the last two years. Good show and in my opinion well managed, good facility, central lounge area, close by dining/lodging for all budgets if you don't stay there. I can't say for sure that all of the classes offered in Prescott were also on tap for Sheridan, but it was close for sure. Some people took classes at Prescott so they could take others in Sheridan that would have conflicted. The tradeshow in Prescott is a Friday-Sunday deal.  Thursday night there is a get acquainted social in the central lounging area. 

[OLDNSLOW]

Thanks for the info so far we are making plans to go to Prescott in Feb although there are some if's in there so all I can do at this point is pray about it.  But in the event we can make hopefully we can say Hi, I'll be the old guy looking like a kid in a candy store.

[stelmackr]

http://www.pendletonleathershow.com/