A Peek Inside the 2006 CHA Summer Convention

Sensory overload. Crafts of all kinds. Sheer enormity. Miles of booths. Creative new products. That's what comes to mind when I think of the CHA convention and trade show. CHA stands for the Craft and Hobby Association, which holds a trade show twice a year. CHA Chicago was held on July 21-23, featuring over 500 exhibitors in more than 1200 booths. Unlike a consumer scrapbook convention, CHA is only open to buyers, suppliers, and others in the trade.

Size and Scope

Since it's not open to the public, most scrapbookers have not attended CHA. I had the opportunity to go this year as a Scrapjazz writer. I had access to the Press Room, where any vendors who wish to can place packets describing their new products. They often include catalogs, CDs with images of their products, and samples. Scenic Route and Sandylion were particularly generous with the samples.

After visiting the Press Room each morning, I walked up and down the aisles of the trade show floor. At any booth with scrapbook-related items, I would show my badge and ask them to show me their new products. After I had been given the tour of the booth, I would ask for a catalog. Often this required an exchange of business cards.

The main trade show area is so long that you cannot see one end of the room from theother. At the end of the first day, I had covered approximately ¾ of the main hall, and there were two adjacent halls in addition! Luckily for me, the two additional halls combined were smaller than the main hall. I had managed to cover half of the trade show in one day. Other than a break for lunch each day, it took the entire eight hours both days for me to cover all of the booths.

By my estimate, 75% of the booths were scrapbook-related in one way or another, possibly more, even though CHA includes all crafts and hobbies. I visited booths that were equipped with not much more than a table or two, and others that spanned the equivalent of a dozen of the small booths. Some booths sold business supplies, such as software or display cases. (I skipped those!) This year, two pavilions focused on needle arts and beading, so I peeked at some of the jewelry booths.

Many of the booths were as well-designed and original as the products they showcased. ProvoCraft had a large demonstration area surrounded by a white picket fence. Far and Away (pictured below) had an Asian theme, complete with paper lanterns and kimonos. The kangaroo in front of the pink-and-green Crop & Glue booth was very friendly. The Fiskars booth had several seating areas with couches. QuicKutz handed out slices of birthday cake, and many of the booths had bowls of chocolate (M&M's were very popular) for hungry visitors.

By the end of Friday, I realized that the tote bag I had brought with me was simply insufficient for the number of catalogs, product samples, and other items I was hauling around. I had read online that rolling bags were the only way to go, but I didn't think I would be carrying that much. I was very wrong. After two days, I had picked up:

• catalogs from 161 companies, some of whom handed me their full catalog as well as their CHA supplement.
• products from many companies, including beautiful Russian papers from Dove of the East, a vellum runner from Therm O Web, four sets of Gel-a-tins, laser-cut chipboard that read "CHA 2006" from Laserline, ‘bling' stickers from Paper Cellar, and a pouch with adhesives from Crop & Glue, for example
• business cards and CDs
• make-n-takes, including a paper flower made with the Cricut, a card with the Tapestry line of papers, a composition book with Scenic Route papers, a paper hanger with rub-ons and a big brad from Karen Foster, and a Chinese gift box with birthday stickers from Mrs. Grossman's (I really wanted to make the purse at the Creative Imaginations booth and the Beloved mini album from Art Warehouse, but there just wasn't time!)

I was much smarter on Saturday morning and brought a wheeled bag with me. Even so, by the end of the day I was tired and sore!

Meeting People

I met sellers from India, Hong Kong, France, the U.K. and of course the United States. I learned that in the U.K. many crafters started as cardmakers and are now crossing over to scrapbooking (the opposite of what has happened here in America, I think).

I spotted a few craft celebrities. Petaloo had Carol Duvall, and if I had waited in line, I could have had my picture taken with her. I did get to take my picture with Faye Morrow Bell (pictured here), who was working in the Li'l Davis booth and showed me all the new products. I also spotted Ali Edwards, Polly Maly, Melissa Inman, and Karen Foster, among others.

Going for the full CHA experience, I attended the Designer Bash on Friday night. It was well-organized, the goodie bags (which I had been too late to get in on) were full of fun products, and the door prizes were amazing. I met an abundance of design team members, a woman who has written a book about scrapbooking, one who designs clear stamps, and another who is a designer for PineCone Press. There were certainly plenty of creative women in that room.

Attending CHA was an amazing experience. It reminded me why I love scrapbooking so much. What other hobby allows me to not only record my memories and personal history, but also to experiment with so many other crafts?

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