OKCA Show

That's a good point - what can the promoter do to attract more custom makers (and custom buyers)?
 
My question is: What can the show promoters, knifemakers, knife club members, knife collectors and knife nuts. Do to attract more customers to a knife show? Let's all have a groups hug and find an answer. :eek:
 
Edna and I were set up at OKCA again this year, and we had a freakin' blast! :)

We had a sales table, and made a few sales; we had our Randall display up and won a cool Gene Martin 'California Bowie' for that effort; we went to buy Randall's and came home with a suitcase full of older/minty knives, but more importantly...

We went to have fun, to see friends, to make new ones, and to BS a bit...all that we did, and next year we'll be back doing it again :D

Spinning three times on 5 South around midnight Sunday after dodging an old yeller Lab, and taking out some 200 yards of ditch weeds was just an added bonus in my book!

Good seeing you guys there, hope to see the rest of you next year!

Shel

p.s. We still have a little cash left, so if you have any Randall's you'd like to divest yourselves of...well, we're in the book ;)
 
Personally I think that the customers for the "crap" and customers for "custom" don't have a lot of overlap. It all depends on what people can afford. I'm sure everyone would rather own a one-of-a-kind than a production knife (with the possible exception of a few like production knives likes Chris Reeve's and Benchmade's.) Things have been tight for the last few years for everyone, which I think is the real explanation for shrinking knife sales. So though I'm not particularly interested in looking at twenty year old beat-up Case and Schrade knives, or $5 Asian knives, I don't think they take away business from the makers.

Don't give up on the show, do what you can afford to do. Hell, the Republicans won't be running things forever. ;)
 
Nick: I can well remember years when the ranch income was a negative figure, ranching was what I wanted to do more than anything else at the time and I loved every minute of it. Tiem with horses, cows, nature and the ranch community is great times. The same with knifemaking, there was a time I had to trade a knife for a tank of gas, I still remember the show as a good one.
It isn't the cash I make that matters, it is the life! Just being there, just sharing a smile with a friend about knives, learning about the evolution of a knife style or sharing time with a knifemaker I will never meet through his knives. The history of lady knife is filled with knowledge about cultures and times, shows are the best place to share those thoughts.

Living simply with a dream is what makes life worthwhile. Everything else matters very little in the long run.
 
You and Nick are in much different circumstances.

You can feed yourself on a cow or flora and fauna if times are hard because of your situation. I am afraid that if Nick was not making an income off of his knives, he might have to resort to cannibalism. ;)

Everyone has a different reason for setting up at shows. I go to sell, buy and see my friends. I must AT LEAST make expenses back, it is not a frickin' vacation for me to go up to Eugene. Last year, I was about $600 in the hole, and from the feedback on this years' show, it would have been worse.

At this stage in the game, after having done 10 years in Eugene, it is time for a change of venue. I will see many of you at Blade. It would have been nice to see you at Blade AND the OKCA, but that is not financially practical.

I have a good chance at making a profit at Blade, will be picking up knives from makers that do not attend Eugene, and will have a guarantee of a good meal with good friends every night.

That was my tough decision this year, and I am betting that it is the right one. Each dealer, maker and collector has to make the decision that is most right for them, in the long run. YMMV.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
For some folks materialistic goals dominate, new cars, diamonds, boats, big new houses. They live lives of quiet desperation for they will never be able to buy enough, next years model will be the fashion.
Some can and do live simply for the art of living well. I would not trade any amount of cash for the very special conversations I had at the Eugene show. One nearly brought tears to my eyes, when a boy came to me wanting to learn, another who's grandfather and I were friends and another who came to tell me his soulmate was gone.

One man who has been wanting to share time about wootz for years and I tried to find time but could not this year, maybe next year if we both survive.

Can a show enjoy freedom? Many as knife makers seek freedom above all else, maybe a show should enjoy the same freedom and just be a show.
All too many enslave themselves and blame others.
 
Ed Fowler said:
For some folks materialistic goals dominate, new cars, diamonds, boats, big new houses.
Click to expand...
Or new knives... Am I the only one here to think that you're spitting in the soup here? Those people are your customers Ed. There ain't many ranch hands who can afford a $7,000 bowie.

They live lives of quiet desperation for they will never be able to buy enough, next years model will be the fashion.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure who you are talking about, but I don't think that applies to anyone who in this thread said they had chosen not to go to Eugene - makers or collectioners. So, what's your point exactly?

Not all ambitious people are shallow, and in fact most are not. In any case, the point isn't about how millionaires have chosen not to go sell or buy knives in Eugene. The point is how many hard working people couldn't afford it.

Some can and do live simply for the art of living well.
Click to expand...
That's pretty "hollier than thou" attitude there. And some manage to live both well and comfortably, with lots of pretty things. Those are not incompatible. In fact, the most inspiring people I know are those who've managed to have highly successful professional and emotional lives. They are less uncommon that you seem to think.
 
Ed Fowler For some folks materialistic goals dominate, new cars, diamonds, boats, big new houses.
Click to expand...

If only I'd sold better at Eugene... these things would have been at my feet. :rolleyes:

Ed, I mean no disrespect... but Steven and Joss hit the proverbial nail on the head.

Saying you're not doing this for the money seems like sort of a given. I think a person can make more money at ANY endeavor than knifemaking. That pimple-faced kid flipping burgers at McDonald's probably makes more than I do.

But there is a VAST, VAST difference between someone saying they need to at least break even on show expenses in order to do said show... and that person thinking they need to aquire houses, boats, and diamonds.

People spout of lot of poetic bs about how you should "only do what satisfies you" and "what you love," etc.... But if what you love will not allow you to keep a roof over your head, some food in your stomach, and diseases from your body, then you just flat out have to go do something (at least for AWHILE) that will get you that.

Being young, and wanting to start a family in this crazy world... I suppose all the expenses that surround that give me different views than if I was older and living alone on a ranch where I could be okay if I didn't have cash for the grocery store, w/s/g bill, etc.

-Nick-
 
If a maker goes to a large show and does not sell out to public or purveyors it is time to evaluate your QPR.

QPR is a term from the wine world where everyone is a critic and has strong opinions.

Quality
Price
Ratio

This is how smart knife buyers shop. They compare quality, features, benefits and marketing from various makers and decide what they want.

I am not directing this post towards anyone in particular but it is a lesson that some makers learn too late in their career.

hint-You know your QPR is good when other knifemakers buy your knives.

The internet is also putting a hurting on shows just like it has every other high end collectible marketing venue. There is a knife show every day on EBay or KnifeArt and those venues take money from people who would have previously saved for a show 3-6 months in advance.

Knife purveyors who are in business to make money and are NOT selling knives online in some fashion are hobbyists in my opinion and not serious businesspeople.

Some of y'all can romanticize knives all you want. I am very fond of them also. But people who do not treat this arena as a business are "here today-gone tomorrow". It is the rare exception that can survive in todays rapidly shifting economy regardless of how low your overhead is.
 
I've never know this show to generate a bunch of custom knife sales. Fortunatly this show and the one before were better than expected for my sales. Up untill then I felt like I was showing a display. I'm sorry to hear alot of the makers have put this show on the don't bother list. If I had to travel a long distance to do this show and my sales didn't even make expenses I'd sure think twice. As it is I look at this show as a bargin. I've already been asked to do the forging demo next year and if things go as planned I'll do it. It seemed to me more people came threw the doors this year. Sunday flew by. If I hadn't done the demo on Sunday I would have been bored to death.
 
Well, I would like to thank all the knife makers past, present and future who attend any knife show where I pay my entry. No way could I afford to drive to, hundred different knife makers shops in one long week end and feel the fit of the handle, see the flow of the grind lines and admire the craftsmenship of your work. The shows are where I get my knife JONES relief. Some times I purchase a knife, sometimes I place an order and sometimes I just kick the hub caps.
 
Hey Jeff, Could you give Doug a call for me and tell him to check his email. Tell him I need a bakca show application and the sucky Cal sales permit form.
 
There are many considerations in doing any show. Financial success is not always measured in the number of knives sold. I have never sold well at OKCA, but I had a chance to achieve some notoriety from rope cutting competitions. Because of this opportunity I got an order for a folder from Sal Glesser. Neither of these aspects of the show helped pay for my room the years that they took place; but the opportunities they presented pay the bill now. I only have a table at one show a year, it will be Oregon.

I really love making knives. This has brought me many good freindships. Now the knives are taking a back seat to these friendships, that usually involve knives. Every year I deepen some friendships, every year I start some new ones.

I don't think my friend Ed Fowler is trying to cast aspertions on anybody. The guys just relishes in his quality of life and tries to share that perspective with his freinds and customers. Being an eternal optimist I see Ed walking the talk and spreading the word from his heart. I see Ed's statements as a reflection of not only Ed but the values displayed at the OKCA Show...Take care...Ed
 
It seems that most of the knife makers posting here view most of the shows they attend as a kind of vacation. As opposed to others who are business men and view a show for what it should be an opportunity to sell their knives.

Obviously it is each "business" owners perogative to conduct their business as they see fit. However, how many shows can you attend in a year and lose money?

If it is as Ed Fowler says not about "Material things" why do you get a table at the show? Why not just go there to visit with your friends? If they are such good friends why wait for a knfie show to visit with them?

One of the best aspects of a show is the chance to catch up with friends. However, you cannot fault those who view a show from a business perspective. Those who understand that you pay your show expenses, material costs and yourself a salary with the selling of the knives.

If your knives are not selling, for whatever reason. A true businessman will assess the profitability and make decision based on the shows value to their business.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top