- Joined
- Jan 19, 1999
- Messages
- 248
Several changes have been announced for the 2004 Knifemakers Guild Show. We will be trying several new things. If they do not work, we will be trying something else. Among the things Guild members can look forward this year:
THE PRESIDENT'S GALA
This is a party for the honorary members with ALL Past-Presidents of the Knifemakers Guild serving as the special hosts. The Gala will be Thursday night of the Guild show weekend, and will feature a complimentary bar and live music. Coat and ties for the men and evening apparel for the ladies is requested but not required.
For the knife side of the Gala, each Guild member who is an exhibitor in the Knifemakers Guild show will have the option of bringing ONE knife to be exhibited on a table at the Gala. The fee to display this knife is $25.00, and the rules are that the knife cannot have been exhibited previously. A card describing the knife and the price will accompany the knife. A small box will be placed behind each knife, in which anyone wishing to purchase the knife may place their name. At a pre-determined time the winning name will be drawn from the box.
Naturally we expect this one knife to be the best knife you make this year!
The winner will finish the transaction inside the show once it opens on Friday. No money will change hands inside the gala.
Honorary members, Guild members, and Associate members are admitted free, there is an admission charge for others.
Invitations will be supplied for Guild members to invite their customers to this brand new event.
No knives may be displayed in the Gala unless that person has a table reserved at the show.
GUILD BUSINESS MEETING
The Knifemakers Guild Business meeting will be moved to 8 a.m. on Friday morning.
This will accomplish two things. It will allow the political discussions to be completed prior to the show opening, and it also opens up Saturday night for more social interaction between Guild members, customers and friends in the hotel lobby and other places.
FREE TRIPS
There will be a massive push to sign up new honorary members to the Knifemakers Guild. Invitations to join as honorary members are now being printed and will be available soon. The Guild member who signs up the most new honorary members will receive his Guild show table FREE-and will be on the front row. As an added incentive for the honorary members, one new honorary member will be selected by random drawing to receive a FREE plane ticket and hotel accommodations at this years' Guild show. If you not an honorary member of the Knifemakers Guild see your nearest Guild member on how to join and become eligible for the free trip!
SIGNS
Permanent small table signs are being ordered for any Guild member that wants one that will read "Honorary members honored here." Any honorary member that sees this sign will know that he is eligible to a 10% discount from the maker. Display of this sign by Guild members is of course optional. Guild members that wish to have one of these signs reserved for you please contact the Guild business office.
PERSONAL TOUCH
The Guild Show will have tables at the Gator club Lakeland Knife Show, and a table or booth will also be taken at the Blade Show pass out posters, register new Honorary members, show off the four knives to be given away at the show and in short answer questions about the Knifemakers Guild. (Volunteers are needed to help man this booth, and Guild member or Honorary member willing to help for an hour or two during the Blade show contact the Guild Business Office).
CALENDARS
This year the show will be announced in a 11X17" poster featuring a PointSeven stylized photo of the four show advertising knives. The poster gives the details of the show and also has a 2004 Calendar. These will available soon and are suitable for placing in store windows, gun shops, and anywhere the public will be. They will look nice on a shop wall as well!
SHOW FLIERS
Color show fliers will be available soon. Also included in the fliers will be a space for the knifemaker to stamp his name, and this coupon will entitle the bearer to ½ off the admission price of $7.00 at this years' shows.
Show information contained on a business card will also be available soon.
FRONT ROW
As mentioned above, one table on the front row at this years' Guild show will be awarded free to the Guild member who signs up the most new honorary members.
Also one probationary member will drawn from among the probationary members who have reserved their table to have his table location to be on the front row. (This table is not free).
COLLECTIONS
A special request is being made to honorary members who have assembled collections suitable for exhibit to bring their collections to the Guild show for others to enjoy. An emphasis on education and display will be a factor rather than simply laying the knives out on a table. Trophies will be awarded by the Guild for the first time at the 2004 show. (The Guild will pay for the trophies but the collections will be judged by an announced group of qualified judges).
KNIFEMAKER AWARDS
For the first time awards for Best Bowie, Best Hunter, Best Tactical Folder, Best Art Knife, etc. will be awarded by the Knifemakers Guild. (The Guild will pay for the trophies but the knives will be judged by an announced group of qualified judges).
MENTOR PROGRAM
The Guild Board has announced the formation of a mentor program. Each new probationary member will be assigned a Guild member to be their mentor, with the goal of helping the probationary member improve his craft, share techniques, and enhance the Guild membership experience overall. Any Guild member willing to serve as a mentor to a new probationary member is asked to contact the Guild business office and put their names on the list.
STATE CHAIRMAN/LEADER
The Guild Board has announced the establishment of a State Chairman for each state. This person will be responsible for promoting handmade knives and the Guild within their state, doing such things as insuring Guild Show information is available at local knife shows and gun shows, helping to group tables of knifemakers at local shows and events, monitoring potential legal problems with knives, and in general being the eyes and ears of the Guild for their state to aid in organizing knifemakers on a state level. If you are willing to serve in this job in your state please contact the Guild Business office.
SHOW LOCATION
The 2004 Guild show will once again be in Orlando, Florida. Other locations will be taken under consideration as the show evolves, but it was felt that it is more important in 2004 to stabilize the show and get things going forward before moving the show.
BATTLE OF THE BLADES
We are putting together a team competition for a cutting competition, details to be announced.
WHAT'S COMING
There has been a lot of requests for exploring an "outside" market to bring in new collectors. In 2005 plans are underway to solicit a knife from each state along a common theme, such as an ivory handled hunter. This knife may be made by a single maker, or it may be a collaboration with one knifemaker doing the blade, another forging the Damascus, another doing the handles (provided all those are within that state). The result will be a 50-knife set of exceptional knives that will be auctioned to the highest bidder. The winning bidder gets a very unique set of handmade knives-and the Guild will then use that money from this sale TOTALLY for exploring non-traditional markets.
IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW
Per the bylaws, any Guild member whose membership expired and not renewed or quit the Knifemakers Guild in good standing can reapply to the Guild Board for readmission without having to go through the probationary period. Why don't you help your Guild be a bit stronger and call some knifemaker friends you know who are not Guild members and invited them to apply. The bigger the Guild the stronger the Guild.
TOTO, WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
There is no Kansas City show anymore, and the Guild can't return there. The fire marshal regulations, cost of the room, etc. make a return to the Crown Center prohibitive. Those days are gone.
In the heyday of that Guild show there was little demand for ballrooms in hotels compared to now. With the coming of drunk driving legislation most large public events that use to be hosted elsewhere, from DU dinners to wedding receptions, are now held in hotel ballrooms. An event such as a knife show that ties up a six-partition ballroom must return to the hotel more revenue than 18 or 20 wedding receptions or similar events, because on a good weekend they will rent and re-rent those ballrooms for that money. Few of those ballrooms are tied to room rentals as they once were. Consequently the number of places a show the size of the Guild show can go are very limited. A 20-50 table show can go a lot of places a 250-300 table show cannot.
Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities in America, at a rate that means a huge number of new "local" people to bring to the Guild show. That's much better than a city which is losing population. With the various tourist attractions in the area it makes for some of the lowest airfares of anywhere. In many instances coming from the West Coast is less expensive to go to Orlando than it is to go to a major city in the central part of the US. (And there are usually better connections and a variety of times.)
The Guild show will go to the best possible location for the show, where ever that may be-but returning to Kansas City for the annual show is not in the cards any more than ivory colored linen micarta handled boot knives are still in style.
JUST FOR THE HONORARY MEMBERS
As honorary members we want the Knifemakers Guild show to be the favorite show you attend. We realize a lot of that appeal in the past-and in the future--are the well-known makers and the high quality knives they bring. So if you're planning to attend this year's show and there are some makers you expect to see there, let them know. Drop them a card and tell them you look forward to seeing them at the Guild Show. Mention it when you talk to them on the phone. You might be surprised what some of these makers will do in honoring your request!
Also while you're at this year's Guild show be sure to be on the looking for tomorrow's legends too! They will be there for sure!
Bruce Voyles, Show Manager
THE PRESIDENT'S GALA
This is a party for the honorary members with ALL Past-Presidents of the Knifemakers Guild serving as the special hosts. The Gala will be Thursday night of the Guild show weekend, and will feature a complimentary bar and live music. Coat and ties for the men and evening apparel for the ladies is requested but not required.
For the knife side of the Gala, each Guild member who is an exhibitor in the Knifemakers Guild show will have the option of bringing ONE knife to be exhibited on a table at the Gala. The fee to display this knife is $25.00, and the rules are that the knife cannot have been exhibited previously. A card describing the knife and the price will accompany the knife. A small box will be placed behind each knife, in which anyone wishing to purchase the knife may place their name. At a pre-determined time the winning name will be drawn from the box.
Naturally we expect this one knife to be the best knife you make this year!
The winner will finish the transaction inside the show once it opens on Friday. No money will change hands inside the gala.
Honorary members, Guild members, and Associate members are admitted free, there is an admission charge for others.
Invitations will be supplied for Guild members to invite their customers to this brand new event.
No knives may be displayed in the Gala unless that person has a table reserved at the show.
GUILD BUSINESS MEETING
The Knifemakers Guild Business meeting will be moved to 8 a.m. on Friday morning.
This will accomplish two things. It will allow the political discussions to be completed prior to the show opening, and it also opens up Saturday night for more social interaction between Guild members, customers and friends in the hotel lobby and other places.
FREE TRIPS
There will be a massive push to sign up new honorary members to the Knifemakers Guild. Invitations to join as honorary members are now being printed and will be available soon. The Guild member who signs up the most new honorary members will receive his Guild show table FREE-and will be on the front row. As an added incentive for the honorary members, one new honorary member will be selected by random drawing to receive a FREE plane ticket and hotel accommodations at this years' Guild show. If you not an honorary member of the Knifemakers Guild see your nearest Guild member on how to join and become eligible for the free trip!
SIGNS
Permanent small table signs are being ordered for any Guild member that wants one that will read "Honorary members honored here." Any honorary member that sees this sign will know that he is eligible to a 10% discount from the maker. Display of this sign by Guild members is of course optional. Guild members that wish to have one of these signs reserved for you please contact the Guild business office.
PERSONAL TOUCH
The Guild Show will have tables at the Gator club Lakeland Knife Show, and a table or booth will also be taken at the Blade Show pass out posters, register new Honorary members, show off the four knives to be given away at the show and in short answer questions about the Knifemakers Guild. (Volunteers are needed to help man this booth, and Guild member or Honorary member willing to help for an hour or two during the Blade show contact the Guild Business Office).
CALENDARS
This year the show will be announced in a 11X17" poster featuring a PointSeven stylized photo of the four show advertising knives. The poster gives the details of the show and also has a 2004 Calendar. These will available soon and are suitable for placing in store windows, gun shops, and anywhere the public will be. They will look nice on a shop wall as well!
SHOW FLIERS
Color show fliers will be available soon. Also included in the fliers will be a space for the knifemaker to stamp his name, and this coupon will entitle the bearer to ½ off the admission price of $7.00 at this years' shows.
Show information contained on a business card will also be available soon.
FRONT ROW
As mentioned above, one table on the front row at this years' Guild show will be awarded free to the Guild member who signs up the most new honorary members.
Also one probationary member will drawn from among the probationary members who have reserved their table to have his table location to be on the front row. (This table is not free).
COLLECTIONS
A special request is being made to honorary members who have assembled collections suitable for exhibit to bring their collections to the Guild show for others to enjoy. An emphasis on education and display will be a factor rather than simply laying the knives out on a table. Trophies will be awarded by the Guild for the first time at the 2004 show. (The Guild will pay for the trophies but the collections will be judged by an announced group of qualified judges).
KNIFEMAKER AWARDS
For the first time awards for Best Bowie, Best Hunter, Best Tactical Folder, Best Art Knife, etc. will be awarded by the Knifemakers Guild. (The Guild will pay for the trophies but the knives will be judged by an announced group of qualified judges).
MENTOR PROGRAM
The Guild Board has announced the formation of a mentor program. Each new probationary member will be assigned a Guild member to be their mentor, with the goal of helping the probationary member improve his craft, share techniques, and enhance the Guild membership experience overall. Any Guild member willing to serve as a mentor to a new probationary member is asked to contact the Guild business office and put their names on the list.
STATE CHAIRMAN/LEADER
The Guild Board has announced the establishment of a State Chairman for each state. This person will be responsible for promoting handmade knives and the Guild within their state, doing such things as insuring Guild Show information is available at local knife shows and gun shows, helping to group tables of knifemakers at local shows and events, monitoring potential legal problems with knives, and in general being the eyes and ears of the Guild for their state to aid in organizing knifemakers on a state level. If you are willing to serve in this job in your state please contact the Guild Business office.
SHOW LOCATION
The 2004 Guild show will once again be in Orlando, Florida. Other locations will be taken under consideration as the show evolves, but it was felt that it is more important in 2004 to stabilize the show and get things going forward before moving the show.
BATTLE OF THE BLADES
We are putting together a team competition for a cutting competition, details to be announced.
WHAT'S COMING
There has been a lot of requests for exploring an "outside" market to bring in new collectors. In 2005 plans are underway to solicit a knife from each state along a common theme, such as an ivory handled hunter. This knife may be made by a single maker, or it may be a collaboration with one knifemaker doing the blade, another forging the Damascus, another doing the handles (provided all those are within that state). The result will be a 50-knife set of exceptional knives that will be auctioned to the highest bidder. The winning bidder gets a very unique set of handmade knives-and the Guild will then use that money from this sale TOTALLY for exploring non-traditional markets.
IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW
Per the bylaws, any Guild member whose membership expired and not renewed or quit the Knifemakers Guild in good standing can reapply to the Guild Board for readmission without having to go through the probationary period. Why don't you help your Guild be a bit stronger and call some knifemaker friends you know who are not Guild members and invited them to apply. The bigger the Guild the stronger the Guild.
TOTO, WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
There is no Kansas City show anymore, and the Guild can't return there. The fire marshal regulations, cost of the room, etc. make a return to the Crown Center prohibitive. Those days are gone.
In the heyday of that Guild show there was little demand for ballrooms in hotels compared to now. With the coming of drunk driving legislation most large public events that use to be hosted elsewhere, from DU dinners to wedding receptions, are now held in hotel ballrooms. An event such as a knife show that ties up a six-partition ballroom must return to the hotel more revenue than 18 or 20 wedding receptions or similar events, because on a good weekend they will rent and re-rent those ballrooms for that money. Few of those ballrooms are tied to room rentals as they once were. Consequently the number of places a show the size of the Guild show can go are very limited. A 20-50 table show can go a lot of places a 250-300 table show cannot.
Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities in America, at a rate that means a huge number of new "local" people to bring to the Guild show. That's much better than a city which is losing population. With the various tourist attractions in the area it makes for some of the lowest airfares of anywhere. In many instances coming from the West Coast is less expensive to go to Orlando than it is to go to a major city in the central part of the US. (And there are usually better connections and a variety of times.)
The Guild show will go to the best possible location for the show, where ever that may be-but returning to Kansas City for the annual show is not in the cards any more than ivory colored linen micarta handled boot knives are still in style.
JUST FOR THE HONORARY MEMBERS
As honorary members we want the Knifemakers Guild show to be the favorite show you attend. We realize a lot of that appeal in the past-and in the future--are the well-known makers and the high quality knives they bring. So if you're planning to attend this year's show and there are some makers you expect to see there, let them know. Drop them a card and tell them you look forward to seeing them at the Guild Show. Mention it when you talk to them on the phone. You might be surprised what some of these makers will do in honoring your request!
Also while you're at this year's Guild show be sure to be on the looking for tomorrow's legends too! They will be there for sure!
Bruce Voyles, Show Manager
