Bad Economy Not Affecting Crafts Conferences

Posted by admin

A Report from Weaving Teacher and Author Bobbie Irwin

“A considerable part of my income is from teaching at weavers’ conferences and for weavers’ guilds around the country.” writes weaver, teacher and author, Bobbie Irwin.

“Conference planners were very concerned last year whether anyone would register this year, based on the economic conditions. In fact, at most of the conferences where I taught this year, attendance was up. There may have been a decline in registrations for long (three-day) workshops, but otherwise the situation was good. My theory is that, when times are tough, we need these retreats to get away from reality for a few days. Two of the conferences actually ended up in much better financial condition than they’d budgeted for, and they gave out bonuses to the teachers, months after the conferences! That has never happened to me before.

“Our local weavers’ guild has an annual sale, and of course we were concerned last November about the effects of the economy on sales. We not only set a record in total sales last year, people were buying big-ticket items that in previous years rarely sold. Our 2009 sale is this coming Saturday, and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues.

“In government funding, the arts take a beating when the economy is tough. As I once wrote to my Congressman, tough times are when we need the arts more than ever! And I think my experiences with sales and conferences substantiates that.”

Editor’s Note: It’s wonderful to get positive reports like this when our nation’s economy is in the pits. Other reports from readers are welcomed.

Bobbie is the author of three rug making books. Her third book, Twist and Twine–18 Ideas for Rag Rugs and Home Decor, was published in September 2009 by Krause. This is a sequel to her first book, Twined Rag Rugs–Tradition in the Making (Krause 2000). Her other book is The Spinner’s Companion (Interweave Press, 2001). All of Bobbie’s books are available on Amazon, but she now owns the rights to Twined Rag Rugs, which is a popular seller in her workshops. You can order this book directly from her, or communicate with her by email here.