Chicago Show

Murry,
It was great to meet you at the Chicago show. You did an excellent job with your report and thank you for the kind words.
Jack Jones
 
As always, I had a great show. Even if my total was lower than other years, it was a complete success.

I am also collaborating to write and chronicle the Tactical Invitational with Duane Weikum for Tactical Knives magazine. I shot a number of portfolio shots, and Duane did a great job in the show for table shots and event shots.

Jack, meeting you and enjoying your work was also a nice highpoint. :D

Coop
 
Murray, thank you for the excellent review. I was there for the Friday show, which it seems the majority of your pics are from. I sure didn't see alot of what you posted, so it seems that sales must have been good. I got there a couple of hours at most after it opened. Apart from my yearly gripe of this show... too dang warm in the room!, at least until the AC finally caught up.

I was most looking forward to seeing Kyle Royer's knives up close, and I was not disappointed. He is a very impressive young man and maker with a very bright future. Roger P., you would have left a large puddle of drool at his table!;) As usual, Don Hanson's table impressed. His two subhilts were incredible. I also enjoyed Dan Crott's table. He had a gorgeous kitchen set and a rather nice upswept skinner that Danbo snagged.

As usual, I forgot to win the Mega-Millions lottery and/or rob a bank on my way there... so all I could do was drool and dream big. I did poke through a table of fine wood blocks and slabs and got me a nice set of Maple Burl slabs for some future project. www.woodlab.biz is the people behind that. I can post more info when I get home and look at their card.

As far as next year.... not sure if I will make it. I REALLY like the location of this show. I do know that several of the table holders were a little grumbly about the change of venue for next year. I guess we'll have to see how it turns out.

edited to add Woodlab info: Name of company is Woodlab
Michael J. Balaskovitz, MSA
PO Box 222
Hudsonville Mi 49426
(616) 322-5846
michael@woodlab.biz
Ebay ID: wood_lab
 
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Don Hanson III said:
Super review, Murray and Phyllis! Documenting these shows is Very good for the Custom knife world.

A.T., my take on this show; First and foremost (No ivory for sale)

I've been doing it for 5 years and have watched it change into a show with more of a Tactical and upscale folder flair/theme. Not many forged guys there on either side of the tables. I did OK with sales but not great and there were a lot of knives that went home with many makers (a few makers did very well). Seems like more dealers each year and less makers, (30+) now that's a lot of dealers for a small show:eek: Attendance seemed to be down this year also. This show will lose more makers next year, with the move to down town Chicago and I don't feel it's a good move but I could be wrong.

With that said, I had a wonderful time, most fun of any previous Chicago show! Thanks Rob! :D
Click to expand...

Don,

It was great to meet you, you and Rob need to arrange to have tables back to back at every show.:D I'm still kicking myself for not getting that automatic of yours that DeSantis had but I am warming up to the Strider knives. Hope to see you at future shows.


Murray,

That was a great review and it was a great help when my wife asked how the show went.

Micah
 
Murray, good to see you and your wife again...........I am still in Nashville but will take a good look at your review when I get home tommorrow.
Please drive carefully, until next time, TM
 
Wow. What a treat this show has been for the eyes; and even though I was there, it's still as enjoyable.

Thanks, Rob. Just super captures. You're good! :thumbup:
 
i like the move downtown. as a chicago native who now lives far away i have zero desire to go to arlington heights.

the sheraton is close to the magnificent mile, great shopping/ restaurants as well as the museums and millennium park

the L provides easy and safe transportation to both airports. don't forget to do one of the boat tours. they are a lot of fun

i can see how folks who drive and/or dont have an interest in seeing the city might not want to put up with the hassle of driving/parking downtown. however it was always easier to take the metra downtown from the burbs than to drive. it is also easier to get downtown in a lot of cases by train than it is to drive to from one suburb to another.




for those who noted business was down

how much do you think the remnants of ike played a role?
did the tactical invitational make the main show less attractive? especially since it was a day earlier?
do you think having an auction helps or hurts table holders?
 
Bandaidman -- you mention you know the Chicago area. others that don't would not be very comfortable either driving or using the L to get around such a huge city. For us having our conversion van puts most hotels out of the question as they just don't have the indoor parking height to allow us to park and heaven's the cost of hotel and parking is just a lot more than I feel comfortable with.

Chicago got hit full force with Ike as far as rain goes and I'm sure that had an effect. Some collectors bought knives at the TI but I would imagine that most of the purchases were made by dealers looking for the quick flip. Collectors looking for the same were not always successful.

I don't think the auction had any effect. Those buying there also seemed mostly to be dealers and I'm sure they still bought at the show. The major pieces attracted the money from those that could afford them and likely did not affect any buying in the hall.

If anything for some of us the roller coaster ride and the loss of many $ these past few weeks might have presented a financial problem although personally, I didn't see anything that said "take me home" except for the Kyle Royer piece that I did purchase.

All in all it was a fun show and we were pleased to be able to put up the photos into CKCA's site for all to see and get a flavor of the show that Ed puts on.
 
The Chicago Custom Knife show was my first knife show as a maker. My handmade traditional folders were shown in public for the first time. As a new company, and being in a new market, it is always difficult to know what to expect.

Reality turned out to be much better than our expectations. We were received by the custom makers well with friendly admiration and, when offered, some very good ideas and suggestions. We were not criticized or outcast because our handmades are limited edition runs instead of one-of-a-kind knives. In fact, there was praise and some good-natured ribbing by the other makers. With these makers at such a high skill level, any good comment from them means alot to me. Their suggestions and ideas are also being taken seriously.

The comment most often made was that the quality level of our handmades was excellent, and the price was very fair. This came most often from the other makers. To be honest, it was just really good to hear. Starting this company has been a roller coaster ride. It's really good to hear that the market we are targeting, is the one we are hitting.

We sold a great many knives. It was an excellent and profitable show. We met sooooo many good people, and were able to start some terrific new relationships. It was well worth the driving time, the effort and all the work. I was badly jet-lagged, having returned from Japan on Sunday and then turning around and driving to Chicago (6 hours for me) on Thursday. THIS show was very hard on me both physically and mentally. All worth it.

I do want to say thank you to the other makers who had tables at the show. I was very glad to meet you and I hope to see all of you again. You are a very fine group of people.

I personally have no clue if the move downtown will work for, or against, the show. All I do know, is that I'll be there to find out!

Keep Care,

Pappy
Amherst Cutlery
 
Even with the storms(which closed the highways) I thought the show was a
success. I think the move downtown will be excellent and can't wait until next
year. I will definitely recommend this show to other makers.
 
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