CHA 2012 Day 1

 First day of the show and here is my home away from home for the week.  The booth is looking marvelous. If you want me, I will be at this table.


 These were my first four customers. We made cards today.

 One finished card. They all looked different, according to the artist's personality.


This is Koggy. She is here from China. She is a designer there. Isn't she a doll?


One of the best parts of my day at a show is meeting crafters.  Although I have met some "way out there" folks, for the most part, crafters are a passionate lot.  I try to get their stories about where crafts has led them. More and more, the industry is global and I get to meet people far from home like Koggy. Today, I taught 2 women from Japan, a couple from South America, and one from China. 


I also meet people from all over the USA. I had four women from Oahu today... and a lot of locals. Crafts take people on paths I never would have imagined. At the table today, I had a darling girl who runs a non profit company that makes scrapbooks for "Make A Wish" kids. She takes the pics from their big wish trip and turns them into pages.  And makes no money from it.


And while some stories are heartwarming, some just make me laugh. One of my ladies told me when she was young, she married a man from Italy, as she said, straight off the boat. He spoke not one word of English. They both went to college and she earned a degree for each of them. Because he spoke no English, she did all of his work. She said, for each assignment, she would write an A paper for herself and a C paper for him. In the middle of that, she had a baby! She got him his degree and one for herself before she collapsed of exhaustion. Literally. I asked her what in the world drew her to a man she could not speak to, who would not learn the language, and allowed her to do all of his college work for him. She said, He was tall, dark, and Italian, and a musician. I was young. Need I say more?" While she is no longer married to him, she said they had a daughter who has turned out to be the brilliant owner of a multi million dollar company. She is happy with that result.


So many stories. Good ones.


Take your Vitamin C!

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