Thanks for following this blog over the past year. It's been fun, and I couldn't have done it without the great images that Jan McKay, Sylvia Kleindinst, Pat Rooney and so many others sent along. This will remain online as a record of the 2008 convention, but I won't be adding to it after today.
Sales Room: Size is important. The one in Parsippany was too small, and would have meant splitting up the Sales Room or simply having people sell from their rooms--which would have added enormously to our costs. More importantly, it was an idea which people hated, because as I learned they want to be in one big room to get maximum foot traffic and to be next to friends they see but once a year. Chalk it up to a beginner's mistake. We shifted to Piscataway to get the 5,822 sq. ft. ballroom, and it was worth the headache and penalty.
Delegate: The people I relied upon the most live in other states, from California to Connecticut, so distance should not be a factor. Many people who have organized conventions in the past are eager to help out. Some can help you with planning, others will sign up for duties during the convention itself (and some will gladly do both.) Find someone who lives nearby to help you negotiate with the hotel in person. There’s a lot of information to absorb, lots of notes to take. You don’t want to miss a thing. As you might have deduced by now, Sheryl Jaeger was indispensable in this regard, negotiating with the hotel in addition to overseeing the Sales Room, among many other things.
Embrace the new: Stay open to new ideas. I hope Bruce Patrick Jones’ Artists Sweatshop becomes a convention tradition – it’s a fun and instructive workshop that produces new art on the spot.
Balance: We need BOTH antique/vintage and new/contemporary paper doll artists to be successful.
Promote and advertise: Very important--and you don't have to spend a dime. In addition to the paper doll magazines, there are lots of free listing opportunities with your local newspaper. Somerset Studio magazine has a free event listing service online. Don’t neglect the antique/collectibles press (i.e., Maine Antiques Digest, Paper & Advertising Collectors' Marketplace, Antique Week and Antique Trader). Most will pick up and use a press release, unedited, so make sure you get it right. Even if readers don’t attend this year, they now know we exist, and may attend sometime in the future. Also, many of them sign up for absentee souvenirs, an important source of convention revenue.
Some readers jump at the chance to attend. Bonnie Hanson saw a press release I sent to one of the antique weeklies – she had attended conventions in the past, but lost track of us. Who is Bonnie? See below:
Yes, THAT Bonnie--a big winner at Competition.
Go online: Start a blog, Facebook, myspace, live journal, whatever. Promotion is easy when all you have to do is send a link with all the information. Garth Lax’s e-mails are extremely effective—providing information (he does a lot of his own research on convention locale touring) and reminding people about deadlines, nudging them to send that check in.
Snail mail: And let’s not forget our friends who are not online and have no e-mail. Many people print out Garth’s e-mails and snail-mail them to friends. That’s very important. Many off-line people subscribe to paper doll publications (Paper Doll Review, Golden Opportunities, Cornerstones, Paper Doll Circle in the UK); get the editorial calendar from the editors, so you know when to send in a timely letter or press release with convention updates.
Dealers: There are paper doll dealers who faithfully come to every convention. And there are paper doll dealers who attend because they live near that year’s convention site. (Did you see Don and Jo Ann Reisler's fantastic sales table? There also was another couple at San Antonio in 2007 who had a great selection of antique paper dolls.) Those one-shot dealers need to hear about us. That’s why promotion locally and nationally is important.
Dover: Dover Publications came through with $1,000 to support our opening reception, and showed a willingness to stay involved. This is a good thing, and their support should become a tradition, too. Contact me if you need information or help to keep them involved. The graphic at the top of this post is taken from the Dover Electronic Clip Art collection, "Advertising Cuts of the 20s and 30s."
Be prepared for the unexpected I: I had no idea my late father would fall seriously ill during the convention planning year. But I was able to lose myself in the details of convention-planning, and let a lot of stress roll off that might have sunk me any other year. My father's illness put a lot of things in perspective.
Be prepared for the unexpected II: Lori Lawson of Virginia was supposed to help me out. Where was she?
Having a baby! Ethan Shelton Craig was born August 29.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Thanks to all of you who attended and helped out in so many ways.
I look forward to seeing all of you again in Las Vegas.
I believe this is a nerferkiti (Debra Van Dyke) display.
Brenda Sneathen Mattox, Deanna Williams, Jan McKay, Jenny Taliadoros, Kwei-lin Lum.
Jan and Jo Ann and Don Reisler. This was the Reislers first convention, and they had some wonderful items for sale. Their specialty is works on paper and art from children's books. Check out: www.joannreisler.com/
Margaret and Howe Brown, and Scott Jorgenson.
David Wolfe, Leslie Ann Stockton and Diane McBurnett.
Me (looking relieved, and no doubt with a glass of wine on that table!) and Jan.
Peggy Ell, Pat Motley and Brenda Givens.
Mel Odom, Jan McKay and Samy Odin.
Jan and Kathy O'Tierney.
Mel Odom, Samy Odin and me. (That's Bruce Patrick Jones in the foreground, left.)
Karry Fuller, Gregg Nystrom and Bruce. That's me, foreground left, this time.
My husband Rob and his mom, Lois Gebeloff keep track of the tickets and cash in the Raffles Room on the Saturday Sales Room Day. By volunteering to monitor Raffles that day, they gave a break to Grace and Katherine Keene and Ron Fong who did a lot of work setting up the room, selling tickets and standing guard over the raffle treasures. (Many experienced paper doll convention organizers told me how important it is to have trusted family and friends involved as volunteers, so that collectors won't miss out.)
Marissa and Rachel in the lobby of the Embassy Suites, Piscataway. They attended Saturday's banquet, and now they both know who Ethel Merman and Mary Martin are!
Lois, her grandson Joshua Rozenfeld, Rob and Steve.
Joshua (back to camera), Steve, Cindy and Marissa (Rachel just outside the frame).
Marion Creamer (in pink, right) walks purposefully through the Sales Room with some found treasures, as my husband and I browse the goodies on the far left (taking a break from the Raffle Room, hence the aprons). On my right, Valerie Fahey.
Sheryl and Ralph organize their corner, as Beverly Micucci and Sandy Vanderpool make their way through the room.
Emcee David Wolfe and Sandy Vanderpool on the verge of distributing one of the convention's six souvenirs.
Ralph Gallo, who with Sheryl Jaeger runs eclectible on eBay.
Sheryl on the phone, and Patti Fertel.
There's a lot of knowledge about paper dolls sitting at this table: Elaine Price, Mary Young and Peggy Ell.
The birthday girl holds court.
A touch of the wand to Ron Fong.
That 70s gal and Sam McKay.
Bruce Patrick Jones lines up his shot at the N.J. Historical Society in Newark. The portrait is of the artist Anna Lindner, whose exquisite watercolor paper dolls were on display just for us.
Hitting the big town: Katherine Keene, Jan McKay, Sondra Leeds, Laura Cushing-Kidney (Debra Ann Earls is hidden behind her), Grace Keene and right behind her, Paula Sherrick.
