MISC

CHA - stands for Craft and Hobby Association. They put on 2 huge industry shows a year. It is closed to the public. Retailers and such only. One is held in Anaheim, CA. and the other one in Rosemont, IL (by Chicago). It mostly scrapbooking but there is some mixed media stuff in there. There are a few bead and tool vendors as well. BTW, you can't buy anything here. They only write orders. The Anaheim show is much larger than Chicago. http://www.chashow.org/eweb/StartPage.aspx


There is also the Bead and Button Show where you find beads and metal clay galore. The workshops are kinda pricey. I took one last year and did not think it was worth the money. It is open to the public and you can buy stuff at this show. I went last year and it was pretty good if you do the bead and/or jewelry thing.
http://www.beadandbuttonshow.com/bnbshow/default.aspx?c=a&id=200


International Quilt Show information:
http://www.quilts.com/home/shows/index.php
I am not a quilter but went anyway last year. Quilting Arts was there. I traded some fabric ATCs. Tons of Fat Quarters for sale. Lots of patterns as well. Some interesting stuff. I went through it pretty fast. I loved the art quilts displayed.


Dick Blick did a small show with workshops last year. It is not listed yet. I will post to my blog when I get more information.


Art Unraveled is taking registration for workshops. It is in Arizona in August. http://artunraveled.com/


I will be teaching a few mini-workshops at the Calligraphy Conference in Naperville, IL, this summer. It will be right after summer CHA. Mini-worshops are supposed to be open to all artists. It is not just calligraphy. I am doing copper jewelry and technique backgrounds. There are other workshops in collage, metal clay, and other mixed media stuff. I will put it on my blog when I get finalized details.


My favorite workshop venue is Valley Ridge. Love the great space they give you. The food is fantastic. The view is great. Stay at O'Riley's Farm, if you can. I am taking only one workshop this year and I am taking it at Valley Ridge. http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com//default.asp
It is the Beryl Taylor workshop. I am going with my art bud, BJ. She is a wonderful person who never fails to crack me up. She is way more enthusiastic about stuff than I am. She is also notorious for picking up junk off the ground for art. She actually goes searching for stuff in parking lots! True found object artist. Okay, I have picked up a thing or two in public places in the name of art.


One last thing that amused me tonight. I was looking for 3/16" eyelets to finish binding the heart journals from a swap. I came across the crop-a-dile - which is great for 1/8" and 3/16" eyelets. They are selling the crop-a-dile on Amazon.com!!! What don't they sell?


Okay, done with the service announcements. If there are any other shows that I don't know about, then let me know by putting in a comment and I will post to my blog. I will need a link though so I can direct people.