The vendors at these shows have planned and worked for months to be ready for opening day of the trade show. After all, one must order a booth by making a deposit, at the end of the current show, for next year's event and then have it paid in full 6 to 8 months prior to the show date. This is a whole additional area, prices of booth space, size and setting up a trade booth at a national convention, so let's save that for another time.
Most vendors have traveled long distances with packed vans and trailers filled with boxes of product ready to set up a display booth for the purpose of selling and promoting their products and speciality items. These items in size, are small to large and cover a variety of material from wood, glass, acrylic, tin, fabric and more. Vendors also have "how to" books, pattern packets, CDs, paint, paint brushes and most anything you would possibly want to paint with or on, you will find at a National Decorative Painting Trade Show.
"NEW" items are featured at national shows as well, when you think about it, these vendors know this is the largest accumulation of decorative painters in one place and it will be the perfect place to showcase their new wares.
A word to the wise.... finished pieces . There are a few vendors that do well with finished goods at these shows. However for the most part you will find supplies for the DIY decorative artist will sell the best. You will see finished items, most are on display promoting books, pattern packets, classes, etc. The National Trade Shows are not craft shows or crafts fairs, these are two entirely different venues.
Are you more a student?
Trade Show-Painting Conventions run simultaneously where you will find in the classrooms and amidst the trade show floor and regular shopping crowd, the decorative artist . Not just any decorative artist, these are the serious artists in the industry, traveling great distances to sit for hours to paint with their favorite teachers in the industry. Painting from early morning to late evening hours, exhausted but exhilarated. Painters that proudly wear clothing they have meticulously painted just for this occasion, most pulling carts behind them housing cherished supplies and writing tablets with notes of the techniques they have learned in each class for every project. Each student taking painting classes from experts in their field, the newest and best tips and techniques to use when they get back home and settled into their own painting and teaching businesses.
Yes, these students are the expert instructors , artist and shop owners in the respective areas where they live. They are learning new techniques at convention to use in their businesses, whether to teach waiting students when they return to their studios or they are planning on painting the newest and cutest designs on surfaces found at convention. They may be planning to display and sell the new items in their shops, on-line or at local crafts shows and fairs. After all, they are now armed with them most up-to-date information needed to be a local authority in the field of "decorative painting".
Perhaps you are an Instructor....
Convention classes and curriculum are set well in advance of the the event. Instructors must submit projects almost a full year prior to the event date. Promoters set up the contracts and submission forms for interested instructors to submit to teach. A selection committee of the convention will choose the "cream of the crop" of classes submitted.
As and example: out of over 600 classes submitted at a given convention, less than 200 willl be picked. After all, the promoters will want to select classes to help insure the students signing up will have the best there is to offer at a
National Convention
, and let's face it, the promoters have to choose what they feel will be the best $ return for their investment.
Most convention instructors are nationally known in the decorative painting, fine arts or crafting industry with most having books published, pattern packets printed or CDs and DVDs setting them aside as the experts in their respective fields. Whether the medium is oils, watercolors, acrylics,colored pencil or other mediums the list goes on and is just as varied in subject matter and teaching styles. You will find the best at a National Decorative Painting Convention and Trade Show.
Then of course, I have to mention my medium,
Gallery Glass Window Color
for faux stained glass, which doesn't really "fit" into the decorative painting field, even though I keep pushing my way into the area. We will go into that a little more on another topic,
Jan Easters Cumber
and
"The
beauty of faux stained glass".
If you feel you have what it takes to be a convention instructor you can contact each convention office for an application for any of the areas mentioned above whether as an Exhibitor, Student or Instructor.
There are several National Conventions available, those listed are where I have personally taught or have been a vendor. I have provided a link directly to each convention on my convention class pages for your conveniece of contacting them.
Contact each office for forms and rules.
