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The woodworking show, https://www.thewoodworkingshows.com/, has gone through a lot of changes over the years, owners, venues, vendors, etc. but they haven't crossed the Mississippi in over 10 years.
I enjoyed them back in about 2006-2010, then they started to shrink and then totally disappear from the west coast.
[OP]
Contributor
It is funny but putting someone based on gender into a specific role to deal with the general public is a very old marketing strategy. I used to work as a contractor for a staffing company and they would typically send out a sales person of the opposite gender to meet with a client about staffing positions. The same holds true for many types of shows. For example, i've been to Boat shows at various convention centers or the big on-water ones, and large ones, like the ones at Jacob Javits Center or Annapolishave a lot of young women at the booths or the sign-in areas to 'draw' in the buyers, typically which are men. I don't see this at small shows like the current wood-working shows but maybe the large scale ones which are now in the history books.Originally Posted by Pat Germain
I used to work with a young woman, "Deidra", who was very cute and very bubbly. She really liked talking to me and always asked me to tell her about growing up in the 1970s. I would tell her something and she would say, "No way!". Every year the company had a booth at the local Space Symposium and, not surprisingly, every year they put Deidra in the booth. Years after I left the company, people would tell me they went to the Space Symposium. When I asked how it was, again and again, guys would say, "It was OK, but I met a REALLY cute woman at one of the booths!".
To this I would say, "Let me guess. You met Deidra?"
"Yeah, how did you know?".Guys are so predictable.
As for woodworking shows, I attended a few in Virginia many years ago. One thing I found funny was there was always a large crowd around the Shopsmith demo. It was typically a bunch of retired guys looking on and nodding. When I talked with those guys, they all wanted a Shopsmith, but they didn't want to buy one from Shopsmith. They said they were going to wait until some old guy nearby died and his wife listed his Shopsmith for pennies on the dollar. Kinda macabre. I always wondered if this actually worked, but I was never interested in a Shopsmith. Seemed to me those things were great if I was making bird houses, but not much else. To each his own.
Distraction could lead to dismemberment!
[OP]
Contributor
I have heard this a bunch of times and I don't know how big the shows were or if they were well attended, but the show makes money on attendance, so if attendance was down, there is no business sense to continue holding them. Once you get west of the Mississippi, except in the city areas, you have a large drop in population density and vast areas to travel between shows for the vendors. I could sure understand if they held the shows in the large cities, say Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, etc. If you actually take a look at the demographics of Rockler and Woodcraft stores, they open them in areas that draw in woodworkers. Rockler for example has 54 stores, 13 of them are out West. The other 41 locations are East extended about to more populated areas of Texas.
This is not to say that a show wouldn't do well in more populated cities out west, but it's also encouraging a lot of the vendors to travel. The shows are mostly back to back every weekend, so going on the 'show tour' isn't so bad with many shows between 200 and say 700 miles apart. Out west, maybe not as easy to pack up and go 1000+ miles between shows. This is all my stupid logical thinking but from a business standpoint, it makes sense.
Distraction could lead to dismemberment!
Contributor
Certainly the reason is making it worthwhile from a business standpoint. Another related issue is whether or not there is a stable customer base in WWing - there is a lot of discussion about younger people not getting into the hobby anymore and the older ones have most of what they need or want.
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When I first went to the one held in Sacramento, about 04, it filled a large area of the expo center and I can say from trying to get around, it was packed, thousands of people. I can't comment on how the sales were but attendance was high. It slowly dropped off the next couple of years, then changed to a less expensive (smaller) venue, then eventually disappeared all together.
The west coast swing may be a bit further apart between shows but no need to go 1k miles between shows. There are large city's (population centers) and venues to be had.
LA, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, to name a few. All with populations in the millions and not that far apart.
There are many factors to consider, not just distance.
Contributor
I used to go. There was a small fee to enter. Then when they moved to the Novi Expo center outside Detroit they also charged for parking. That is when the grouchy old man in me began to flourish . I never went back.
Ask a woodworker to "make your bed" and he/she makes a bed.
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Where else can you take a carbide tipped drill bit and sell it as magic. Cuts through brick, brake rotor, file and still slice a tomato
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White van outside home despot. Just like speakers.
~mike
happy in my mud hut
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Until recently, my son worked for a large distillery. One of his brands was the Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. The company had a huge marketing campaign for that stuff which included young, female models. My son referred to them as, "The Fireball girls". The company decided to end that marketing campaign. Soon thereafter, Fireball sales plummeted. Coincidence?
Maybe some young, attractive people would improve attendance at the woodworking shows? "Tool Time" had Lisa then Heidi. I bet Johnny Depp could get a lot of women interested in woodworking.
Last edited by Pat Germain; 01-23-2024 at 2:12 PM.
Contributor
Your right, I misremembered because it didnt go back to the original spot.
[OP]
Contributor
Only if Johnny Depp shows up at Captain Jack Sparrow
Distraction could lead to dismemberment!
[OP]
Contributor
And a long time ago, it used to be in Somerset!!!!
Distraction could lead to dismemberment!
Contributor
I went a few years ago. It is a very big show. They have machines that are hundreds of thousand dollars down to stuff we by. It was a very good time. Wish it weren't a nine hour drive away.
Contributor
^^^Bingo!!!^^^Only if Johnny Depp shows up at Captain Jack Sparrow
Approaching my 7th decade and I'd go!
Last edited by Patty Hann; 01-24-2024 at 11:36 AM.
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
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Eh, I would drive for 2 or 3 hours just for this. But I'm 1000 kilometers away)
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