After an already busy start to the year with local dog shows, lectures and salon renovations, I attended my first national grooming convention of 2008 over the weekend of March 7. Atlanta Pet Fair truly is "the biggest little trade show" in the U.S. and is so worth the trip! APF had been on my radar for some time, and my free ticket package was just the nudge I needed to finally go.
The seminars were outstanding, with so many offered it was hard to choose; I wish I could’ve seen them all! Grooming competition was somewhat smaller than I expected - more comparable to our New England show - but just as wonderful. It was also very exciting to finally be able to see Creative entries in person. This is another thing I plan to do in the future - what artist could resist all that coloring and sculpting? The Model Dog contest was interesting as well, though I think I still prefer real dogs. APF’s trade show was huge. So many vendors, I had to use a lot of willpower to not buy everything I saw. After all, I needed to be able to fit it all in the luggage to fly home! Of course, I still made several purchases, some of which I had shipped, and the rest was strategically packed with the rest of our stuff. But proudly, nearly everything bought was on my shopping list - products to try, etc. - I believe only one impulse item (poodle/groomer t-shirt) made it through. Can’t guarantee the same would happen at a show we drove to. LOL
The seminars were outstanding, with so many offered it was hard to choose; I wish I could’ve seen them all! Grooming competition was somewhat smaller than I expected - more comparable to our New England show - but just as wonderful. It was also very exciting to finally be able to see Creative entries in person. This is another thing I plan to do in the future - what artist could resist all that coloring and sculpting? The Model Dog contest was interesting as well, though I think I still prefer real dogs. APF’s trade show was huge. So many vendors, I had to use a lot of willpower to not buy everything I saw. After all, I needed to be able to fit it all in the luggage to fly home! Of course, I still made several purchases, some of which I had shipped, and the rest was strategically packed with the rest of our stuff. But proudly, nearly everything bought was on my shopping list - products to try, etc. - I believe only one impulse item (poodle/groomer t-shirt) made it through. Can’t guarantee the same would happen at a show we drove to. LOL
The flights down and back went off without a hitch. Although the airport/security crap was still a pain as expected, but could’ve been worse. I’m not sure if the Rescue Remedy helped at all, but acupressure techniques definitely managed to reduce any initial stress and kept my motion sickness well under control. Coming home was easier on my nerves, now that I’d experienced flight... of course I was also too exhausted to really stress out, plus the flight was a bit smoother. I only needed acupressure once or twice this time for some minor turbulance and pressure changes making me woozy. (It was a tight little commuter jet.) And I managed to read on the way, planning my schedule for the next show. Not bad, I didn’t even need Dramamine!
Now, I swear I work harder at these shows than I do at home in my shop. The hours are certainly longer! Seminars started at 8 am each morning and ran until at least 5 pm. Competition hours were even longer, and there were evening parties two nights in a row. With the tight seminar schedule I barely had time to shop for necessities and quickly peek at the competitions, never mind squeeze in meals and bathroom breaks. And on top of all this there was Daylight Savings Time, making me lose another hour of sleep in the middle of the weekend. I actually missed a couple lectures that morning because of the stupid time change. Luckily one of those missed topics is being repeated at another show, so I’ll be able to catch it there. At least I was able to attend many other great lectures, including an ISCC SuperCoats, an awesome handstripping seminar by Daryl Connor, various breed demos, and other business related subjects. Even got to sit in on a speaker lecture, which was great, and may be useful to me in the future if I ever do start teaching.
ISCC offered their rare Lifetime Membership, which I gladly took advantage of. It’ll save a lot of money in the long run. No more forgetting renewal fees, and now I can "officially" begin the certification process. (Plus I got this nifty "lifetime" bar added to my membership pin! Oohh. Aahh. LOL)
I also spoke with NDGAA about certifying with them as well, which I will start testing for next month. You know, because I don’t have enough to think about already!
I also spoke with NDGAA about certifying with them as well, which I will start testing for next month. You know, because I don’t have enough to think about already!
I mentioned APF parties. Yep, even groomers need to kick off their shoes (sometimes literally, as I observed) and have some fun. Unfortunately I was too tired to make the Internet Social, but have heard nice things about it. If nothing else, what a great chance to meet your online friends. Next night was the Kenchii Party, which advertised a DJ, belly dancing and breakdancing demos. Even I couldn’t resist checking it out, and I am not a party person! Gotta say the cash bar was terrible (had to go down to the restaurant for a good mixed drink), but otherwise the party was pretty awesome. Great dancing and fun. I, of course, remained a wallflower, though I was so tempted to do some of the familiar line dancing. Maybe if I’d had a stronger drink. ;-) If I had known anyone in the crowd, I likely would’ve at least done the Hustle to Last Dance at the end - which I was shocked noone started! We always Hustle to that song up here! Oh well, guess that’s what I get for not going to the Internet Social and meeting people to dance with. LOL Incidentally, I still managed to make contact with several people from my groomers lists over the weekend.
All in all, a great start to the season... bring on the next show!
But first, a nap. ;-)
But first, a nap. ;-)
