What should the Knifemaker's Guild do?

Mike you are a gentlemen and I admire you for being the guy that is working on a goal for an organization you believe in. You are a true credit to the Guild and an example in your dedication to follow. Good Luck and please call me Joe:)
 
Mike there are two or three board members that are probably wondering what Charlie and Harry are going to come up with next too. We have never hesitated to let them know what we think good or bad. We always try to suggest a solution to any problem we mention, but sometimes the solutions are elusive. The Board members have always received the suggestions very well.
 
I forgot to mention while I was in the fox hole,

Coop and Steven, I think the educational seminars for new collectors is an excellent idea. :thumbup:

Moving the show around more has been brought up a couple of times but it always immediately shot down because most of the members don't want to do it. As mentioned, the hotels don't want one year contracts either. You can't just go rent a ballroom, they come with catering deals and room blocks. We have looked at non-hotel venues but most people want a hotel venue. Moving every year would also be a logistical nightmare. The move to Louisville was much harder than I would have guessed. There are a million details that have to be dealt with. The show committee would be in a rubber room in no time.
 
stephanfowler said:
To get any kind of a reasonable rate the show organizers must negotiate with the hosting facility, their BIGGEST bargaining chip is the willingness to sign a multi-year contract

it makes a huge difference.

I would guess that it could save on overall costs as much as %50 over a 3 year period----- I have no factual basis for that percentage fyi, just guessing
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Exactly right Stephan. Costs would skyrocket in moving a show every year or two, even if you could consistently get decent venues with just 1 or 2 year deals.
In addition, by the time you get the bugs worked out (ex. wrong lighting, ABS San Antonio) you would be moving to deal with new problems.
 
I've been reading this thread with great interest and want to Thank You Mike and Harry for representing the Guild with passion and excellent factual responses to some tough questions and comments. The Guild is trying to address many of the ideas that have been brought up and we're determined to move forward in a positive manner and improve with every day. So thank you all for your input and observations, we'll take them under advisement and implement them if we think they apply and can help.

Just so that you all know, the Drouin collection has not been lost or sold, it is beautifully displayed at Smoky Mountain Knifeworks in Severeville Tenn. as part of the National Knife Museum exhibit up on the second floor. It is on loan from the Knifemakers' Guild so that it can be seen by many more people year round and not just once a year at the Guild Show.

Murray, Thanks for the suggestion that the Guild provide credit card clearing services to our members at the show. You talked with me about that idea last year and this year we instituted it and had it available to our customers and members at this years show and it was a big hit with everyone. It was used for about one quarter of the sales at this years show. Thank You!

We're doing our best to address our shortfalls and take pride in out strengths, the past is something we have to live with and hopefully learn from, but we are working hard to make the future of the Guild a bright one. All I ask is that all of you who have any interest in the success of the Knifemakers' Guild keep your comments constructive and keep them coming. We're all interested in the future of knife making and collecting and we are all better served by a strong and diverse marketplace that is open to and protective of all knife related interests. We believe a strong and healthy Knifemakers' Guild can and will contribute to the overall health and vitality of knifemaking.

Keep Sharp,
Kevin L. Hoffman
 
JParanee said:
Mike you are a gentlemen and I admire you for being the guy that is working on a goal for an organization you believe in. You are a true credit to the Guild and an example in your dedication to follow. Good Luck and please call me Joe:)
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Thank you. I really do appreciate that.

I am actually a very respectful guy when I am treated with respect. ;)
 
Moving a show every year or even every couple of years is really not possible for many reasons, many of those already mentioned about hotels and room blocks and catering contracts and long term contracts to guarantee a good venue and a good rate etc. The other thing to think about on this score is that if you move a show around every year, then every year you have a First Year Show with no repeat customers and you are always educating a new market to what we do and what things cost and what is a custom knife etc. Educating the public about hand made knives is a good thing, but a floating show never reaps the benefits of the educating that it does if it is always moving on. The move to Louisville was done to relocate the Guild back into a more geographically central location to take advantage of the proximity to many more of the major population centers of the USA.

Keep Sharp, Kevin
 
Mike,
You're a great guy and I Thank You for all the hard work you put in on all the advertising and show promotion this year.

Kevin
 
Kevin, thanks for the information on the Knife Collection. Charlie and I had donated a knife made by a friend that had passed away to the collection and I thought that was where it was. It is good to see a Guild Board member wading in here. Hang around! It is a good group and there is a lot of good information floating about.
 
I just have to point out that it means something when someone who has been registered with BF since 2004 hasn't been motivated to make a post until now. And what a good post.
Change must be in the wind:D
 
I don't attend shows, so I'm not qualified to give recommendations on what the knifemaker's Guild should do, but I'm enjoying what other have posted.
 
One Quarter of the sales by Credit Card in the first year of that option available is just great Kevin. I hope that there was the opportunity to have a notice in the packet that collectors got when entering the venue. I hope other shows will follow suit. I don't know if each maker had a sign on his table to show that he had credit card availability but I hope that will occur in the future. I have been to a a variety of Guild shows since the late 80's and will be at more in the future and will be at many other knife show venues as long as I can travel and am happy to be a Honorary Member of both Guilds in US and Canada. There are a couple of great threads going on in BF re the Guild show and I'm sure much of the info will pertain to other shows too.
 
It's not possible to separate The Guild from the Guild Show. The show's problems reflect the sponsoring organization's problems.

New Oxford American Dictionary
guild - noun
1. a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often with considerable power
2. an association of people for mutual aid or pursuit of a common goal

The key words in this definition illuminate important aspects of the Guild's enormous challenges, past and present.
medieval - The NOAD defines this word as it is used today in the following way: informal, derogatory, very old fashioned and primitive
power - The Guild has been plagued by power struggles and in-fighting. It may not be possible to overcome this sad legacy.
mutual aid - It has already been pointed out that the Guild lacks a customer-focused culture. It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of this one failing.
common goal - See power and mutual aid

In response to STeven's original question, What should the Knifemaker's Guild do?, there have been many thoughtful suggestions in this thread. Unfortunately, it's not clear whether the Guild has the collective will to change and sufficient resources to make it happen. Harley-Davidson USA did it. McDonald's Corporation is doing it (the new Angus burger) and so is KFC, Inc. (new billboards in Denver are displaying these words: Kentucky Grilled Chicken). If you visit the web-sites of these companies it is clear they have devoted lots of resources to changing their past image and negative public perceptions, not to mention their corporate cultures. These corporations have the will to change and the assets to make it happen. In the absence of those, the old saying may apply: "It is easier to give birth than to raise the dead." Could it be that the time has come for the Guild to go away so something new and fresh might eventually spring up in it's place? I don't know the answer, nor do I have a hidden agenda or any bone to pick with the Guild. I am not trying to be critical or provocative. My question is legitimate and important. Anyone with experience at the board level overseeing an organization that is struggling knows only too well that ignoring this question is always a bad mistake. So, on the one hand, like everyone else, I would like to see the Guild to become healthy and successful. On the other hand, if The Knifemakers Guild was a publicly traded company in which one could purchase shares for investment, would I want to own its stock as things stand presently? No.
 
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To date I have not flown to shows nor do I have the disposable income to purchase knives as I would like, so my interest is mostly as someone that loves knives but can't afford the high dollar ones.

I did attend Blade for the last two years (last year was the first time) and absolutely was blown away by what that show offers.

The seminars and demonstrations are a HUGE attraction to compliment the knives. If anything, I had too many choices and I was there for the whole show, and there was much I did not have time to see. I am NOT complaining about that:D

My interests include several genres of knives, supplies, and tools and there is an abundance of all.

I think this thread is producing a LOT of good dialogue and I would hope to see the Guild shows continue to improve. Louisville is a location that I would consider, but this year I didn't because of what I had been told in conversation about the recent shows. Admittedly it was nothing more than heresay, but it did affect my decision.

Peter
 
A thought provoking insight I've just had

the people I've talked to and read reviews from who are enthused about a show (any show) are always talking about how they just couldn't manage to see everything.

I think that the bittersweet feeling of knowing you had a good time but also knowing that there was more to see and you possibly missed out can be a great motivator for attending the next years show.

How does a shows management engender that response.

Obviously you could get a HUGE room and put 500 knifemakers in there and let the customers try to see all the knives, but that's not really reasonable at this juncture.

You can add side attractions like Blade does, seminars, demos, cutting competitions.

You can add side trips to historical locations like the recent ABS show which sponsored a trip to the Alamo complete with tour guide.

You can institute a "collectors gathering area" which allows trading/selling between collectors.
 
IIRC according to Guild rules, you can only display (sell) the knives of current Guild members or members who have left in good standing. Kevin can help us with that too.
Mike come out of the fox hole bud. We are all on the same team.
We are one big family and we are having a family meeting to see what we are going to do with Gramps. Gramps is having a hard time and we all think we know what is best for him. We just need to talk it out and make sure that Gramps gets the best care possible.
We do not want to pull the plug on Gramps!!
BB
 
Provocative post, Buddy. :)

The internet, it appears, has become the premier modern resource in our times, replacing *some* of the needs which the Guild was created for.

Someone mentioned the Guild also having a forum presence right here on Bladeforums. I think that's a GREAT idea. These two similar threads this week have generated over 6000 views (and climbing) as I type, and that is four times larger than any thread on the KMG site. This is telling.

Show up where you get the most involvement!

I am pleased to see Mr. Hoffman come out and support Mike's point of view and immediately clarify some points. Although others have posted provocative posts, this ALWAYS makes one look deeply for suitable answers. I would suggest that this good focus might be driven by the antagonists.

May those others who don't mess with the internet come forward sometime soon, too. :D

I think you guys are getting somewhere! :) Mike Carter has gained LOTS of admiration for his efforts. Certainly from me.

Coop
 
I would suggest that this good focus might be driven by the antagonists.
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That might very well be Coop. I have never spent much time worrying about where suggestions come from in the organizations I've been a part of. You never know who might ignite a spark that changes everything. Just look at what the cow did for Chicago. Any suggestion given seriously is worth consideration. While I don't think for a minute that the Guild should consider going toes up, there are some serious considerations that need to take place about suggestions that have been freely given on this forum.

From a business standpoint the Guild show was the best show we have ever had. We also had a good time. Other maker’s experiences might have been different and like Les says it can always get better. It won't get better if the Guild does not continuously do a self evaluation to determine what it is they provide the maker as well as the knife buying public, and how they can do it better. They need to utilize any resources that they have available. The Board has taken some steps in the right direction and I don't see any one, Board members included, saying that they have done enough and are now through.

This thread has generated interest in receiving Guild applications if it has done nothing else, and I will be getting some sent out next week. I look forward to the next show and encourage makers to check out the Guild and get their applications in early.

I have to go to a Georgia Tech football game. I wish I thought it was going to be a better experience than I would have sitting here and reading this...
 
SharpByCoop said:
Someone mentioned the Guild also having a forum presence right here on Bladeforums. I think that's a GREAT idea. These two similar threads this week have generated over 6000 views (and climbing) as I type, and that is four times larger than any thread on the KMG site. This is telling.
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Those numbers are incredible. I think it would be an easy decision to make. The sheer traffic alone is a wealth of potential customers and makers. Now I can see why Bladeforums has an Estimated Worth of $34375.7 USD


SharpByCoop said:
Mike Carter has gained LOTS of admiration for his efforts. Certainly from me.
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I wholeheartedly agree. The way he handled himself earned him a future customer. With so many craftsman to choose from that can make incredible works of art, their character becomes part an important part of making the decision to give them my hard-earned money.

Thanks,
Carlos
 
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