The Joys of Trade Shows and Conventions

 I have to admit that I have never heretofore gone to a trade show before last week. I had been to a ComicCon or Baseball Card type vendors show when I was a kid, but that was more of a convention of fans. I have also been to a few academic Historical Society state conventions, but I was away at an International Federation of Leathercrafter Guilds convention in Salina, Kansas. It was for people who do leathercraft like myself. There were some professionals, some vendors, and a lot of amateurs wanting to learn new skills. 

There were several classes and seminars you could take on all sorts of leathercraft skills from leather braiding to knife sharpening to leather carving. Most conventions are just two or three days, but this one was pretty much all week from Tuesday to Saturday. Kudos to the Wheat State Leather Guild for putting that all together and hosting the event. They were all volunteers, and it is not an easy task to organize a convention at a major convention center solely on volunteer power but they pulled it off very nicely. 

I particularly enjoyed the class on Celtic style leather carving. I have done some artwork in the vein but never attempted it in leather. You can see the progress I made in one class (my first attempt in the upper right corner and progressing until the painted cross from the afternoon session) here: 
 

This piece of leather of about 1 foot by 1.5 feet.

It is fun to learn new skills with artists who have mastered the art and willing to help you learn trips and tricks by sharing their knowledge. I admit to being a bit awestruck on morning when I pulled into the convention center and getting out of their cars on either side of me were Bob Klenda on one side and Jim Linnell on the other, two of the greatest leather carvers and saddle makers on the planet at present. They were both teaching classes. 

Granted, leathercraft is a bit of a small, niche hobby market. With so much mass produced (usually fake) leather products from China, actual handmade products that are made from quality material and with real hand made artisan skill was something I had never considered. Previous conventions I have been to were either mass produced commercial products for fanboys or academic in nature, but a gathering of like minded and skilled artisans willing to share their skills was indeed a treat. 

Some of the stuff being displayed by people in attendance was staggering. I will show a few pictures here: 

Leather carved Gandalf in 3D

The original was on display next to the magazine cover it adorned

They are hard to see the 3D detail in this pictures with just a regular phone camera, but in real life, the hand skill on carving these pieces of leather was both staggering and humbling. I don't have anywhere near that level of skill...at least yet. Maybe one day I could attempt to do something like that, but that's a long way off at this point in my learning. 

So, I suppose the point of this is to recommend if you have a hobby to find a trade show or local guild you can join to learn more of your craft. There are often wise and experienced artisans willing to share their skills, particularly if they are skills that are dying arts. The cooperative nature of such hobbies was a delight. I recommend you give conventions and trade shows in the true sense of trades and hobbies if you have any interest. They are well worth the time. 

 I wish I had known about such events years ago.