What about the "Hands-On Expo"?

[kickback king]

The show was about 70% of the standard show and there was nothing particularly 'hand's on' about it. I enjoyed a chance to see much of the exhibitors together but they did not seem to bring much of their range and very few 'show specials'.

I usually spend 4 to 5 hours at the woodworking show, and I was deliberately going slow and finished in 90 mins.

Might as well run the May show twice a year or make this one free entry. In it's current form it will not last a second year.

[damian]

I managed a few hours on Friday morning. Saw Cliff and Carl briefly. Spent more than I'd intended.

I thought the show was good. Perhaps some people don't understand the name. IMO it's about hands on activities at home not at the show. It's not just woodworking although that dominates. I was happy to see the boat building exibitors and seeing a bit of metalworking stuff and gardening stuff was a nice change. I guess it helps if your interested in a wider range of things.

My mistake was not bringing the car. By the time I got home I was totally wiped out. I even missed a birthday party saturday night because I was so tired and sore.

Anyway, like the wood show I don't think I'll go every year, but I'd certainly attend it again.

[toolbagsPLUS]

Popular presenters like Richard Vaughan still had full house audiences though. I watched a couple of really good presentations. The one on box design by Steve Hayles was very good.

Thanks for that Chaleville, I had a ball doing the Demo's and have set about organising some box making classes at my workshop in Burleigh, (Gold Coast). hopefully fitting in a couple before Chrissy.

Should have details posted at Fine Boxes,Gold Coast School of Fine Woodwork shortly.

I do not regret one cent that we invested in the show and wish Partick, Rachel, Russel and the rest of the team every success during the coming shows and into the future.


GOOD ONYA GUYS


Cheers


Steve

[scorpio_oz]

The first wood show I went to was in May this year, so thats all I have to compare it to.

I went both on Saturday with the whole family, including with my son's disability assistance dog, and then went back on Sunday with my daughter because SWMBO who couldn't decide on whether she wanted a particular burl for a coffee table on Saturday, decided overnight that she did and sent me back to get it. Luckily it hadn't been sold, so I did manage to get it Sunday.

It worked out well, because managing my son who was getting tired and bored as the day progressed on Saturday, meant we didn't get to see any of the demos, so we got the chance on Sunday.

Similar exhibitors to the wood show. Probably more power tools, but in general 80% or more of it was wood working I guess.

Not as many timber vendors as there were in May.

But I think the biggest notable thing, was the lack of people in attendance. I had said to my wife, if its like the May show, I'll struggle in the pavilions with managing my son and his assistance dog, because the people in May were shoulder to shoulder in the passageways, and with a wheelchair and the dog being below eye level,while it wouldn't worry the dog, as she is trained to manage crowds but all her commands are verbal commands only and with the noise inside, it would make it more difficult getting around to see some exhibitors.

Anyway, the lack of people meant that there was no trouble getting to see what you needed, and you could have a chat with some of the stall holders, because they weren't so busy.

I'm guessing that is the downside for the stall holders. Every stall holder I spoke to wasn't happy about the lack of people. We stayed until about 3.30pm on Sunday, and I'd guess there were probably more exhibitors staff there than showgoers by that stage.

Four stallholders I spoke with said they tried it once, but won't be back for a second show, all had lost money on the show. One I spoke with said he'd done the totals up until the end of Saturday, and he said Sundays sales were about the same. In comparison to May's show, he had estimated that he had sold less over the three days of this show, than he would have averaged over three hours in May.

On the Sunday, for the demos, the largest attended demo I was at was one with Richard Raffan, and I counted eight people there, so there was a lot of spare seats.

RNA showgrounds decided to charge more for parking, $6 in May, $10 a day for this show.

While some exhibitors had a few specials going, not many did.(Can't blame them, they were already losing money being there as it turned out).


Others like McJing had show pricing that was more expensive than there standard pricing. I found on average, they had added 10% to 15% extra in most cases above their normal pricing.(At least on the stuff I wanted to buy)

I went along with a shopping list(with prices and all, with the intention of [a] not overspending, that didn't work, [b] getting what I wanted and not forgetting anything. ) McJings were charging more at the show, which I don't know if they did that in May, I didn't get anything from them in May.

Also, some of the exhibitors, didn't have as much stock as May, because of the recent Melbourne wood show, they haven't received their replacement stock, so there were a few things that I wanted to get that they didn't have stocks of in either the size or colour I wanted, because they had sold out at the Melbourne show.

We really enjoyed the show for several reasons. One, was the lack of crowding, which was unfortunate for the exhibitors, but made it a lot easier to see things. Secondly, in May, it was just my daughter and I that were interested. Since then, we have got a lathe, and my wife has also got involved in doing woodturning, so its now more of a whole family day out. And the lack of crowding, meant that I could introduce my wife to a show with it being as stressful.

Also, I went with a small, rather reserved list of things I wanted to buy, so I didn't overspend, or impulse buy. I found that SWMBO spent probably three times what I did, actually it made my list look a little measly. The good news is that meant on Sunday I had some catching up to do , and I took some things off the wish list and put them on the buy list

I got the chance to introduce myself to Jim Carroll, and a few of the other exhibitors that I have bought off, and put a face to a name. I met Weisy there and seen a few other forum shirts around.

We did overspend. Christmas arrived early for us , it was this weekend just past, it just means that a lot of this stuff is getting wrapped up and put under the tree this year. We've now probably enough for twelve months worth of projects.

Two shows in one year, almost identical? I'm guessing that I would only go to one show a year, and that would be the May show, because there was more there that interested us. But we did enjoy the weekend

-Gavin

[Charleville]

Thanks for that Chaleville,

The pleasure was all mine.

I watched your presentation on the boxes on the Friday and then enjoyed watching you cut out a leaf shape in a veneer at your own stall yesterday. All very enjoyable.


I was a bit disappointed, however, at the boofhead who was supposed to be doing a presentation at 1 pm yesterday at the spot where you did your box design talk.

He was to do a presentation on veneering and vacuum pressing techniques but did not show. There were about a dozen people sitting there waiting patiently.

Of course, we should give him the benefit of the doubt and suspect that he may have had an emergency and did not have time to ask the organisers to post a sign saying that the presentation had been cancelled like a responsible person would do.

Then again, maybe it was just that it was 1 pm on a hot Sunday with small audiences and the pubs were open at the time and ....




Anyway, that gave me the opportunity to wander down and watch your splendid marquetry demo at 1.30 pm so that was an unexpected bonus.
.

[Big Shed]

Just had an email in from Colin Rayner at Northwood Tools and he was very disappointed with the results achieved at this show, in fact he reckons he didn't cover his costs and all the other exhibitors he spoke to didn't either. He reckons he won't be back, nor will most of the other exhibitors he spoke to.

He has extended all his Show Specials as he is left with heaps of stock bought for the Show.

[weisyboy]

Just had an email in from Colin Rayner at Northwood Tools and he was very disappointed with the results achieved at this show, in fact he reckons he didn't cover his costs and all the other exhibitors he spoke to didn't either. He reckons he won't be back, nor will most of the other exhibitors he spoke to.

He has extended all his Show Specials as he is left with heaps of stock bought for the Show.

this is not how i see it.

i to did not cover costs over teh weekend but in the long run we will see what pans out from it. i handed out a few flers and got rid of some cards. i also have a few logs to pickup around the place.

a few of teh exhibitors said tehy were more than happy with the amount of exposure they got.

the way i see it is this.

this was teh first one in brisbane. no one knew what it was about. id say ots of people blew there fun allowance at teh wood show at teh start of the year.

every person i spoke to said it was mutch better than teh wood show. and thaught it was brilliant and would be back.

on teh whole THEY LOVED IT! from what iv heard anyhow.

so over teh next 12 months tehy will be telling all there mates how good it was.

i recon next years show if they do it again witch i truly hope they do will be bigger and better than teh wood show.

that is if teh exhibitors will wake up and realise that everythign takes time.

i for one will be back next year in a flash.

i will be emailing teh organisers to congratulate them on a great show and make a few suggestions and comments.

[texx]

i agree fully with what carl has just said .
but i never went because i just could not do it that weekend, but it was an expo or show not a 3 day sale , so any stall holders that were not happy should take a look at what the thing is all about it is in my opinion showing the stuff and its uses and or whats available ,getting more people interested in the pastime and generate more business further down the track .
i could go on and on but i won't, just giving my opinion .and i think carl has the right attitude .exposure .advertising , ................
on ya carl for your positive attitude

[funkychicken]

that is if teh exhibitors will wake up and realise that everythign takes time.

When you have to spend a few grand for the spot and haul your stock hundreds, or thousands of km, you want to make a profit, not be patient and wait for the people to roll in.

If you've got the choice to go to a show with plenty of people, who are there for a woodwork show and to spend money on tools. Or go to a show with half the people, some of which aren't there for woodwork at all.
It's a pretty easy decision

I asked 5 exhibitors and they all said it either wasn't worth their time or they haven't covered costs

And if none of the exhibitors return for the next Hands-on-Expo, then it doesn't matter how many people show up, it'll still flop


Sorry I missed your demo Steve, I didn't even know it was on

[toolbagsPLUS]

this is not how i see it.

i to did not cover costs over teh weekend but in the long run we will see what pans out from it. i handed out a few flers and got rid of some cards. i also have a few logs to pickup around the place.

Nice one Carl,

I agree, how many get their investment back from yellow pages in the first 3 days after distribution?

Like Carl, we handed out a couple of hundred flyers and started receiving calls this morning regarding dates for Workshop Classes and inquiries for veneer sales.
I say reserve your final verdict for a few months and give something new a fighting chance to work.


Cheers


Steve

[toolbagsPLUS]

Sorry I missed your demo Steve, I didn't even know it was on

Darn that means Funky, you'll just have to attend a workshop...shucks

Cheers



Steve

[dai sensei]

Well I enjoyed it and I will be back. Mind you I am an addict of these shows attending them in Bris, Melb, Syd even Perth, just got to stop spending so much, but I am a sucker for a good deal. I love talking to the stall holders, after all I know most of them , I've even been known to help out a few when they need a break .

Although a lot of stall holders may not have covered their costs, it is often more about getting their name out there and letting people know their product range.

[weisyboy]

When you have to spend a few grand for the spot and haul your stock hundreds, or thousands of km, you want to make a profit, not be patient and wait for the people to roll in.

and your the expert cos youv been running your own business for so long?

If you've got the choice to go to a show with plenty of people, who are there for a woodwork show and to spend money on tools. Or go to a show with half the people, some of which aren't there for woodwork at all.
It's a pretty easy decision
if you are talking about teh wood show i doubt teh atendace will be so good ext year. there spaces are also a lot more expencive than teh hands on

I asked 5 exhibitors and they all said it either wasn't worth their time or they haven't covered costs
5 is abviously the majority. i would have spoken to 20 exhibiters that were with how it went but admit it could have been better. compared to 15 tht said they were disapointed.

And if none of the exhibitors return for the next Hands-on-Expoitl be just like the wood show, then it doesn't matter how many people show up, it'll still flop
exactly thats why we all need to go back and support the new show.


Sorry I missed your demo Steve, I didn't even know it was on

sorry about that but i dont agree with what you have said and it hasnt come from someone that has been tehre or done that.

i have been to mutch worse shows than that. one show i did we got about id say 100 people threw max.

how many people came threw the gate i wonder.

[Sturdee]

I think we've heard enough about the financial aspects of the show, which in any case is only relevant in respect of the number of exhibitors that may come to the next year's show or the other ones in other cities. The argument of " I know better than you " is not interesting.

I would rather continue to hear reports of how the show actually was, more details about the actual stands and displays, the layout and general organisation.

That would be much more interesting in guiding me if I shopuld go to the one when in Melbourne.


Peter.

[scorpio_oz]

Warning:Rant on

I tossed up whether to wade into this debate, and probably unwisely decided I'd add my business wisdom for what its worth.

I think how successful a show is for a business, depends on the type of business and whether its livelihood depends on services, and this can be running classes etc or other services, or whether it depends on shifting stock, eg.sales.


I've run both types of businesses, in the IT industry. I still do. Owned and run my own for the last ten years, and for over ten years prior ran other peoples companies. Currently own both a sales and a separate service company so I understand the clear difference in how they make money.

We used to do the big IT expos each year in Brisbane and Melbourne about ten years ago. For us it was about two things, exposure, showing the latest stuff our company did and sold, and getting sales leads.

A four day show would cost us around $80K for the floor space, and with all the equipment and staff committed to the exercise, it was easily $150K per show that we had to get back. One bad show, meant for a really bad year.One good show meant for a really good year that would cover the costs of a bad show if you had one next year.

Come the following Monday morning, it was like a military exercise, to ensure every sales lead, large and small got followed up.

Was there ever a show that we didn't recover our costs, yep, is was the year that the last show in Brisbane and Melbourne run. None of the major players came back.

And while we didn't sell stuff off the stands, there were plenty of stands that did, and their business sales model depended on the sales on the day to make their money. People used to come to the show because they could see all the stuff in one place and buy stuff and save themselves running around town comparing.


I only spoke to a few exhibitors late on the Sunday, and they were all sales businesses, that depended on shifting stock over the weekend. They are the instant barometers I used to find at our types of shows. Because you find out how much excess cash people had to splash, and what we used to find out was if they didn't have cash to spend at the shows, then it was a fair indicator on how much they had to spend after the shows.

When I asked the questions, of generally the business owners on Sunday, you can see the look in their eyes and their shoulders drop and what they say after that, is just generally confirming what they have already indicated, and the general response was 'we won't be back'. I felt for these guys because I've been in their shoes, I've been at shows that we didn't make any money at. I've walked away from shows with no credible sales leads, its a cr*ppy feeling.

As a business owner, do I go back if I lost money, on a couple of occasions I have, just to make sure it wasn't just a once off bad show. (also, there is also that other factor of human nature, not wanting to be wrong in your own judgement, I've gone back to shows, because I lost money last time and I wanted to show people that I wasn't wrong in my choice and I could make money next time [oh yes, I did lose money on this particular show the second year as well, just stubborn I suppose]) It did get to a stage where my loyalty to the show organisers and my own stubbornness has to be put aside, after all, your family and staff can't eat loyalty or stubbornness.

Don't get me wrong, I've made ten times the amount of money from doing shows, than I have lost, but only the individual business owners will know, either very quickly or over time, whether this show was worth their while.

As a showgoer on the weekend, by the time I pay for parking and a ticket, its $25. I justify this cost by going and buying stuff that I would like from out of town companies that I would generally have to spend extra to freight stuff if I bought of their internet sites. And generally I buy more at a show because unlike buying over the internet, where the more I buy the higher the freight costs, at a show the more I buy, the bigger saving I make against the ticket cost. If I couldn't buy stuff and save on freight, coming home empty handed leaves me feeling empty.

But I also go to the shows for the demos and to see what companies are doing what. On the weekend, my daughter was the business card bower bird, she collected heaps of cards, so if I need something later, I can go through the cards and hopefully support a company that paid to demonstrate their services at the show. I would support show companies before a general yellow pages lookup because the show companies have shown an interest in getting their name out there, if that makes any sense.

I've said this because I didn't want things to get into a p*ssing contest on whether the show was successful or not. I think both FC and Weisy are both right in their assessments. And as I have said over the years, and it still applies, the best judge of success or failure of any event or business, is time.

:Rant off.

Now that I have that off my chest, yes I really enjoyed this show. I thought the stands were well set up and the vendors had a good variety of stuff. I didn't go and look at the power tools much, because I didn't need anything. I looked at the pen turning stalls, and hand tools and books and stuff. And I went home with some nice burls, and some small bit of CL and Huon to turn up for my son up some tops. Would have liked more timber vendors, like in the May show, and would have probably bought more, but I got enough.

I liked this show a lot , but my reasons are probably a little different to most, with my son being in a wheelchair, if its crowded and he can't easily get into a stand to see something, or he is in the road and blocking people walking past, I tend to throw my hands in the air and not stop at a stand to browse, its too hard or I feel that its inconveniencing others if we are in the road. This happens often.

He wasn't with me in May, because at the time my wife wasn't too interested. Since then we have got a lathe and she is learning to turn and is interested in going to the shows as well, so now its a whole family affair. If it was as crowded as the May show, I think we would not have stayed as long, not spent at much and not enjoyed it as much.

This show we could take our time and browse, without getting in anyones way. In fact because we had my son's assistance dog, we generally got stopped and asked about the dog and what she does, so it was a relaxing weekend, and one that we would do again, but I also understand, that if the vendors aren't there, there isn't anything to browse, and there isn't as much to spend your money on.


Why not so many at this show. My personal assessment, possibly too close to Christmas, people worrying about Christmas costs, and the costs of getting kids back to school in the new year. Another thought, is two almost identical shows in one year viable? I don't know. Because I didn't have a lathe when I went in May, but I do now, I spent all my money at this show. But if I had the lathe in May, I probably would have spent the money in May and not gone to this show. My wife and I figure we bought enough over the weekend for a years worth of projects. I'm sure there will be plenty of navel gazing by the stall holders and organisers in the weeks and months to come. All I know is I'm glad we went.

Time will tell if this show becomes a success, but this weekend, while some of the vendors might not have enjoyed it, I selfishly will say, our entire family did.

-Gavin