Shows that may not be on your radar, but you won't want to miss these CHA shows & conferences

The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) is a professional organization for those involved in the craft and hobby business, which includes quilting, sewing & embroidery!    While CHA has many members that come from quilting, sewing & embroidery, I believe there are many more that could benefit from being a member of CHA, and many that would have fun and be inspired by attending their conferences, trade shows, and craft supershows.  As such, I want to share insights with you today about some upcoming CHA shows and conferences that you may not have on your radar, yet could benefit
by.

An example of the wonderful things that CHA does for their members is their educational webinars.  They even hold a webinar to help show exhibitors learn how to maximize their experience.

First, for those that may not be aware of CHA, it is an international not-for-profittrade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and retail sales of products in the nearly $30 billion U.S. craft and hobby industry. CHA promotes education among members, to help them succeed in the business, and enables ways for crafters to connect with other crafters, to develop their skills, and much, much more.  For those in the business, I encourage you to check out CHA and ideally join.  And for those, that are consumers in this business, I hope you get a chance to attend one of their Craft SuperShows, which they open up to the public. For teachers, you may also want to consider becoming a demonstrator for one of the CHA members at a trade show, as it is a great way to show off your talents, as well as attend a wonderful trade show that is not open to the public.

• July 19-21st, 2011 The CHA 2011 Summer Conference & Trade Show , 2011 in Rosemont, Illinois at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The theme is "Craft Fusion: The Selling Power of Mixed Media."  This event is targeted to CHA members and will offer a number of conferences and workshops to help sell mixed-media, there is even a social media bootcamp session!
•  October 7- 9, 2011 The Deseret News Fall Home Show to be held at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah and they will have a CHA Pavillion that will certainly be the highlight of this event!
• January 29-February lst 2012 CHA  Winter Conference & Trade Show will be held in Anaheim, CA. This is a wonderful conference & show, but it is open to CHA members only.   Insights on the CHA SuperShow, which is open to the public, are not yet available online, but rumor has it that the supershow will follow the Winter Conference & Trade Show.

CHA members that may inspire you to come to see their booths, as well as network at these conferences include:  June Tailor, Making AccuCut, Making Memories (SLICE), Mighty Bright, ArtBin, CT Publishing,Dill Buttons, Fiskars, Hancock Fabrics, Loralie Designs, Simplicity Creative Group, Sizzix, Prym Consumer USA/Dritz, Silhouette, Westcott, and many more.

Congratulations to CHA for being named as a finalist in two American Business Award categories, also known as the "Stevie Awards".  And congratulations to Victor Domine who is also named for an award for his contributions.

Victor Domine

Public Relations Manager, Craft & Hobby Association
(201) 835-1224
vdomine@craftandhobby.org
www.craftandhobby.org
http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com
CHA on Facebook

CHA Craft SuperShow (open to the public)