The Clover Crew in Chicago
For the Craft and Hobby Association Show
Being from the cool Northwest I usually dig in the back of my closet for “summer” clothes to pack for this show. Chicago is an energizing city to visit so it’s with great expectations that I pack and prepare to head out for the CHA show. Who wouldn’t be excited to get to wander around in the land of magic for crafters?
Although the lobby looked deserted on set up day, the next morning, bright and early it was filled with thousands of excited craft buyers eager to see the latest and the greatest.
Opening ceremonies always includes a Pipe and Drum band roaming the aisles playing their incredible music. While the music is awesome, it’s always good to watch a group of handsome men in mini skirts!
We were all energized by the music and ready to meet and greet all the eager customers who wanted to see what’s new and how to share it with their customers.
The booth was bright and cheerful with our models and shining personalities. Phil South, our Northwest Rep; Carol Porter, Educational Director; and Louis Carson, National Account Manager, prepared to greet the crowd.
One part of my job is managing the models for our booth and project sheets … how fun is that?!
Working with Carol Porter, Beckie Hanson, Alicia Salazar, and other designers for Clover is truly inspiring. The creativity these women have is amazing.
Not all at the Trade Show is serious and these adorable ladies are proof of that. I would love to hang out with them because I know it would be a barrel of fun. They were about cute and a half.
What you can’t see is their glasses have green lenses to match the “things” attached to them.
Usually what happens at CHA stays at CHA but I happened to have my camera and they graciously allowed me to take their picture.
Our fearless leader and COO, Jan Carr, is always coming up with great solutions to booth problems. When we decided to move the Christmas tree to the Craft SuperShow booth in the next exhibit hall, he graciously offered to use his
scooter to transport it to the new location. His helper to the left is Jon Larson, our Midwest Rep.
I’m thinking about getting one of those scooters to help get around our place at home. Our mailbox is about a quarter mile from the house and I could just “scoot” on down there instead of walking … heaven forbid I actually e-x-e-r-c-i-s-e !
Here are the Clover Girls! L to R … Beckie Hanson, Carol Porter, Fran Ortmeyer, Asuka Madenokoji and Alicia Salazar. You couldn’t ask to work with a better crew.
During the trade show, we were visited by the Craft Diva herself,Danielle along with Jan Mollet-Evans. They were checking out what Clover had that was new and exciting. Check out whats new at the “lounge”.Megan, Ana, and Scott from When Creativity Knocks dropped in to say hello, too. They have great programs on how to do some of the awesome crafts out here in craft land!
Another special lady, Tiffany Windsor from cool2craft.com filmed Alicia and Carol making heart pom-poms. Be sure and take a look at how to make this cool pompom shaped like a heart.
It’s always good to see old friends and make new ones and that is part of the excitement of doing the shows, for me. A very special opportunity for us all was doing the Craft SuperShow which was open to the public. People came to learn and to purchase materials for their “addictions”, and to do Make-It/Take-It projects at many of the booths.
For those of us at Clover, having the opportunity to work with the consumer is a privilege as we learn from them and are able to demonstrate our products. The truly fun part of the SuperShow is working with the young crafters. They are so eager and I love their “can-do” attitudes. They are fearless and determined to learn these crafts and share with their friends.
For all of you that came by the booth and made our pom-poms – heart shaped and round – we thank you. Maybe you will recognize yourself in some of the following pictures.
Until the next time … keep crafting.
