Blade Show West. Any thoughts on the anoucment there will be a new Blade Show West

You beat me to posting this. I say no better time than now, the economy is at an all time high. With it's proximity to the Airport, and being on the I-5 corridor, I think it's great location as well.
I for one will be there with a table.
 
I don't know. Past history has shown everything north of Eugene to be a failure for knife shows. Not sure why. So how many makers/buyers intend to fly into PDX for the show?
 
A good convention center feeds the area and businesses around it with its traffic. Is the Cobb big enough? Sure. Sort of. But it’s also impossible to navigate to and from, food choices are iffy, nothing is within walking distance (hell, walking is nothing short of terrifying - I have to cross six hundred lanes of Atlanta Insanity Traffic just to get from my hotel to the show!), and this doesn’t take into consideration that it’s just slightly hotter than the surface of the sun, there.

A family is only going to be entertained for a short duration at Blade. It’s a foregone conclusion that the significant other and/or children will get bored, and want to do other things. There’s nothing for them, here. A good venue takes these factors into account - if the family is having a good time, the primary Blade Show participant can remain, and remaining is how they spend money.

These aren’t original thoughts, but I just know from the few experiences I’ve had there that introspection is sorely lacking with this choice of venue.
 
maybe not original thoughts, Matt, but well articulated. We loved the Seattle Show because, well 'Lisch' and 'Seattle'- to make a long story short.

Portland is an interesting place and an actual, thriving community. The only sense of community I felt at Blade in Atlanta was through exhibitors and attendees, otherwise the region itself felt largely bereft of anything resembling a place where people are living and hanging out because they want to be there. I'm not saying Blade would be better served located somewhere else, but that shows which incorporate the considerations you've laid out are also more appealing to me.
 
Don't expect much within walking distance of the Portland convention center. Plenty of interesting eats over on Hawthorn, East Burnside and down town but you will need to drive or take a cab. Not sure what they have planned but I assume this show will only fill a small side room of the convention center.
 
With the addition of a Baseball Stadium across from the Waverly/Cobb Galleria, and the fact there is a game the weekend of Blade, it’ll be worse than usual...y’all have a great time in Hotlanta and Portland.

The California Custom Knife Show is 2 weeks later in the month of October....
 
It's sure a good thing that Nordic's Invitational show in Solvang, Ca is in late April and will conflict with nothing...

(and only a one hr drive)
 
Well, boys and girls I've read the very last few posts with great interest, and find them very illuminating.

Lo, these many years I've been attending Blade in Atlanta, I always thought I had the time of my life. I tend to brush aside, or ignore completely those deficiencies mentioned above although I do find the heretofore unknown new baseball stadium and a game that same weekend a little off-putting with regard to traffic and crowds. ( But surely they won't play the game inside the Galleria show room, Huh?)........So once I'm inside, among hundreds of friends I only get to see once a year, (and although its sucks, at my age there may not be a "next year")....so all in all it's pretty good don't ya think?

Now I admit , leaving the free covered parking after the show each day is a bit of a challenge for the nervous system, but it does give me a chance to meditate and practice my Yoga while I wait, and wait and wait, but then I'm retired so I have all the time in the world. (acknowledging the time limit set by GOD)

So I'm willing.............NO! I'm anxious to load up the truck and pick up John Horrigan (my primary chauffeur) and let him drive me to and from Atlanta, and get to spend a few days with the best friends in the world. And ....in the process see a few nice knives.

That's my story and I'm stickn' to it.

Paul
 
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I wish I could physically make the trip to Atlanta. I lived there once. The center of Atlanta is a wonderful place, but the Cobb Galleria is a pain to get in and out of. Be that as it may, I would give anything in the world to physically be able to fly to Atlanta for the show, but alas, those days are over because of physical considerations. But I am with you, Paul. I loved seeing everyone, certainly the best part of the Best of Blade.
 
Paul, I entirely understand your position - don’t get me wrong, I make the trip for precisely the same reason! However, neither of us are dragging our family to the event, and neither of us are there as CUSTOMERS. The premise of the show is not for we, as makers, to get together and have a good time. It’s suposed to be about generating traffic for those that buy our wares. We need to make THEM happy. My observations regarding personal discomfort aren’t intended to be taken as Yours Truly whining about the oppressive heat and the danger of obscenely heavy traffic (although that certainly is my whine ;)), it’s about getting Joe Knifebuyer to stay in that convention center as long as humanly possible so that all their money is properly extracted. If his wife and kids are bitching about having to stay in the hotel because there’s nothing for them to do, and they’re just as fed up with having to handle traffic jams in the eight or ten lanes of traffic immediately outside the convention center, surrounded entirely by strip mall after strip mall of chain stores, how do we give him the tools needed to disarm her argument to leave? Not that I would ever suggest this town, but look at Las Vegas. Does anyone really believe the attractions there are intended as revenue generators, by themselves, or are they geared to give the family a good excuse to spend money why you keep pulling the slot handle?

I didn't always make knives. In my previous life, the Art of the Trade Show was far more refined and understood than what I see at Blade, that’s all. Make the family happy, and the collector is happy, which means the knifemakers make money.
 
Matt, you are absolutely right, as you wrote it., and mine was a rather selfish view of what I like. I'll own that and give you a big hug in the process.

NOW....give me your idea of a more perfect venue that actually exists (fairly centrally located in the US, Airport facilities, hotels, restaurants, and family entertainment, and a room big enough to handle Blade at it's current size or even larger. There are some great venues to consider but most fall short on one or more for the features I mentioned. You'll notice I didn't even mention climate...too hot/cold.

Then there is the ambiguous factor of habit. A lot of the collectors, money spenders are "used to" Atlanta and "used to" getting there and back.
For instance I quit Little Rock for one, no two reasons. 1. They changed the venue and took me out of my comfort zone and 2. John White won't be there.

Once again I understand your position, but I'd hate to be put in charge of finding a new venue and making it as good as it was/is. I bet you would too.

Paul
 
Paul, both the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis and the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver would grossly overqualify for a show like Blade, offer hotels and restaurants from whatever price range you wish to experience, and also have all of the attractions of major cities, many within walking distance.

They are also vastly larger venues than Cobb, which would mean not turning people who wish to have tables away because there’s no space. Someone had to point out to me last year that the gentlemen in the foyer were display table holders that had been ‘squeezed out’ of their normal locations in the hall due to lack of room...
 
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there's some good riding around Denver...
 
You guys complain about crossing the street do know that there is a pedestrian bridge that crosses US 41 from the convention center to the mall parking lot, right? ;) But seriously, the problems with the Cobb Galleria are traffic and parking. Same problem as the rest of Atlanta. Lack of dining options, etc in the area has never been an issue, even before the stadium went in. The worst case scenario is that the baseball game will cause more parking issue, but mostly for the baseball fans as the knifey people will have taken up all of the parking spaces long before the game starts, even if it is an early day game.
 
If the Blade Show people felt that they needed a larger venue, there are a number of them in the Atlanta area, like the Georgia World Congress Center. which is downtown and has MARTA heavy rail access. But doesn't the Blade show already have over twice as many exhibitors as the next biggest knife shows that we have ever seen in the US, the early 90's Guild shows in Orlando?
Matthew Gregory said:
Paul, both the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis and the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver would grossly overqualify for a show like Blade, offer hotels and restaurants from whatever price range you wish to experience, and also have all of the attractions of major cities, many within walking distance.

They are also vastly larger venues than Cobb, which would mean not turning people who wish to have tables away because there’s no space. Someone had to point out to me last year that the gentlemen in the foyer were display table holders that had been ‘squeezed out’ of their normal locations in the hall due to lack of room...
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