What about the "Hands-On Expo"?

I might just buy in here just a little... I am one of those bods who come sort of in the middle.

I have been to many WW Shows, I attended the very first in Melbourne way back when cordless drills and mobile phones were SciFi. It was fantastic! The crowds were huge and the atmosphere was electric.The very next show was my first as a demonstrator and I have only missed one Melbourne show as a demonstrator since( I thought it wise to attend my daughters' wedding that year..) Those first years were great, the "vibes" from exhibitors and public alike were fantastic!
Over the years the shows seemed to get stale, the featured demonstrators tired. Hells Bells, some of them got OLD! Companies came and went, some changed hands and seemed to shrink in new hands.

As I headed north to work at the Sydney shows and latterly the Brisbane shows I found that the most fun to be had (apart from "Play Day" with U and Beaut!!!) was the people, both customers and other exhibitors. I also found that most of the exhibitors seem to be the same. They really seem to love providing the goods, the service/s and while they need to make a quid to justify their attendance (existence? ;) ) I think they truly enjoy the job/people.

Having spent many years working at the shows with my mates Neil and Pauline and the last few with Jim and Irene I know just how important it is to them all that their goods are used well, correctly and with enjoyment. I would not work with folk who focused solely on sales, I have better things to do with my life!

OK, EEE ( and not the Ultrashine I sell for my mates! Everything Exhibitions & Events) the "new" WWWShow folk... These people, Liz, Rick and their staff, have bought a pup. They seem to be working very hard to grow it into a Great Dane. They have listened to YOU, they have taken your suggestions and criticisms of the old WWWShow and are actually doing something to rectify the shortcomings of their immediate predecessors. The last Melbourne show seemed to have a lot of the spirit, fun and comfort of those early shows. The demonstrators were interested and interesting, there were decent rest areas, there was good signage, people on both sides of the counters were happy!

The exhibitors know that EEE are really trying to make it better for everyone because lets face it, if Joe Public has a good time and the exhibitors have a good time then everyone wins. The public get good deals, they also keep up with techniques, designs, skills etc etc, the exhibitors profit by supplying these and EEE at the top of the tree get to make a fair return as well.... EVERYONE WINS!

OK OK, I could go further with this but run the risk of turning back into Doorstop so I will not say more...

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Originally Posted by Christopha

OK OK, I could go further with this but run the risk of turning back into Doorstop so I will not say more...

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Please continue Chris as you are making great sense. Besides I always liked Doorstop. :D


Peter.

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Originally Posted by Christopha

...the featured demonstrators.......got OLD! ...

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Yeh some even lost their hair :U:U:U

I had intended saying nothing but a couple of things need to be cleared up.... So here I go sticking my beak in.

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The organisers have been on here talking to us (Up until new management took over the original woodshow, when did anyone from the previous woodshow hop on here and listen to this mob?).

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Hands-on is run by the same people who wouldn't listen to us on here or take part in the forums in the past even though we offered them all the help under the sun. They are the same people who headed up and ran the Timber and Working With Wood Shows for Ridells and later DMG, before the show was sold to the new people EEE (Everything Exhibitions & Events)

EEE on the other hand have actually been listening to us here and have done so since the day they took the shows over, not only that, but they have acted positively to make the shows so much more than they were before. The last couple of shows they've run have been the best in at least the last 10 years and rank up there with the best ever for exhibitors.

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I wasn't around for the first 'other' woodshow, but I'd bet it started out much the same way, and look how its grown.

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The other wood show the Timber & Working With Wood Show was massive from day one. I know, I was there in Melbourne for the first one and have exhibited at them all. They stagnated over the last few years before the oldies bailed out and EEE took over and started to drag them back up through a lot of dedicated and selfless hard work.

The bottom line is this: If the exhibitors aren't happy and don't make money they won't be back. No exhibitors no shows. It's that simple. The exhibitors at the T&WWWShows run by EEE this year were ecstatic.

What more can I say? Lots, but I won't.

Neil :U

PS Hands-On Expo wasn't a woodworking show was never touted as one, it was supposed to be a hands-on show of combined trades crafts education and employment, etc. As I see it, it seems to have fulfilled it's promise to be just that, with the possible exception of the Hands-On bit which I'm told, just wasn't. Unfortunately for reasons beyond the comprehension of most, but clear (I'm sure) to some, it doesn't appear to have received the expected reception they were hoping for and expecting.

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Originally Posted by Christopha

I might just buy in here just a little... I am one of those bods who come sort of in the middle.

I have been to many WW Shows, I attended the very first in Melbourne way back when cordless drills and mobile phones were SciFi. It was fantastic! The crowds were huge and the atmosphere was electric.The very next show was my first as a demonstrator and I have only missed one Melbourne show as a demonstrator since( I thought it wise to attend my daughters' wedding that year..) Those first years were great, the "vibes" from exhibitors and public alike were fantastic!
Over the years the shows seemed to get stale, the featured demonstrators tired. Hells Bells, some of them got OLD! Companies came and went, some changed hands and seemed to shrink in new hands.

As I headed north to work at the Sydney shows and latterly the Brisbane shows I found that the most fun to be had (apart from "Play Day" with U and Beaut!!!) was the people, both customers and other exhibitors. I also found that most of the exhibitors seem to be the same. They really seem to love providing the goods, the service/s and while they need to make a quid to justify their attendance (existence? ;) ) I think they truly enjoy the job/people.

Having spent many years working at the shows with my mates Neil and Pauline and the last few with Jim and Irene I know just how important it is to them all that their goods are used well, correctly and with enjoyment. I would not work with folk who focused solely on sales, I have better things to do with my life!

OK, EEE ( and not the Ultrashine I sell for my mates! Everything Exhibitions & Events) the "new" WWWShow folk... These people, Liz, Rick and their staff, have bought a pup. They seem to be working very hard to grow it into a Great Dane. They have listened to YOU, they have taken your suggestions and criticisms of the old WWWShow and are actually doing something to rectify the shortcomings of their immediate predecessors. The last Melbourne show seemed to have a lot of the spirit, fun and comfort of those early shows. The demonstrators were interested and interesting, there were decent rest areas, there was good signage, people on both sides of the counters were happy!

The exhibitors know that EEE are really trying to make it better for everyone because lets face it, if Joe Public has a good time and the exhibitors have a good time then everyone wins. The public get good deals, they also keep up with techniques, designs, skills etc etc, the exhibitors profit by supplying these and EEE at the top of the tree get to make a fair return as well.... EVERYONE WINS!

OK OK, I could go further with this but run the risk of turning back into Doorstop so I will not say more...

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Chris,well said no-one could have said it better than that.

I reckon since the Perth WW show has been run independant of the usual organising it has had that refreshing interest that continues to draw good patronage from stall holders and the public alike.It is run in a similar vein as the now Eastern States shows by EEE.
Progresive thinking on how to better implement each years show offers up its challenges, but by at least attempting to meet those challenges shows continued input from the organisers.
By comparison this year the Melbourne TWW show was by far one of the best that I have been to in the East(and I've been to a few up and down the coast)and easily parallels what we now have here in Perth if not in some respects an improvement .These now well run shows can be compared to what Chris said of the very early days when all went in a positive vein.

To the public and the stallholders give the "Hands-on" a chance to grow it does need your support.

Cheers:)

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Originally Posted by ubeaut

I had intended saying nothing but a couple of things need to be cleared up.... So here I go sticking my beak in.

Hands-on is run by the same people who wouldn't listen to us on here or take part in the forums in the past even though we offered them all the help under the sun. They are the same people who headed up and ran the Timber and Working With Wood Shows for Ridells and later DMG, before the show was sold to the new people EEE (Everything Exhibitions & Events)

EEE on the other hand have actually been listening to us here and have done so since the day they took the shows over, not only that, but they have acted positively to make the shows so much more than they were before. The last couple of shows they've run have been the best in at least the last 10 years and rank up there with the best ever for exhibitors.

The other wood show the Timber & Working With Wood Show was massive from day one. I know, I was there in Melbourne for the first one and have exhibited at them all. They stagnated over the last few years before the oldies bailed out and EEE took over and started to drag them back up through a lot of dedicated and selfless hard work.

The bottom line is this: If the exhibitors aren't happy and don't make money they won't be back. No exhibitors no shows. It's that simple. The exhibitors at the T&WWWShows run by EEE this year were ecstatic.

What more can I say? Lots, but I won't.

Neil :U

PS Hands-On Expo wasn't a woodworking show was never touted as one, it was supposed to be a hands-on show of combined trades crafts education and employment, etc. As I see it, it seems to have fulfilled it's promise to be just that, with the possible exception of the Hands-On bit which I'm told, just wasn't. Unfortunately for reasons beyond the comprehension of most, but clear (I'm sure) to some, it doesn't appear to have received the expected reception they were hoping for and expecting.

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Hey Neil,

Couldn't agree more.

In fact in the early days they were huge and they ran for 4 days and till 10 at night.

Oh and we use to get a BBQ and some coldies for the stall holders. I wounder what happened there.
I think they saw their big fat bottom line getting chewed into.

Cheers
Dave

we got a steak burger and a few stubbies or a glass or 2 of wine on Friday night. :2tsup:

Dead right Dave they were 4 days. From memory 10am - 10pm (6pm on Sunday) Oh yeah they were huge and there were still crouds of people around as late as half an hour before closing time.

EEE have a bbq and drinks for all exhibitors on Friday nights and a BBQ burning outside throughout the show. They have also supplied well equipped exhibitors lounge and forum members lounge, complete with lounge chairs, notice board, boiling water, brewed coffee, and a water cooler.

They also supply comfortable lounge chairs at various places for patrons to sit, relax and recuperate so they can get back into it refreshed. In the past many would have just left because they were worn out. That alone is a giant step forward.

For those who don't know it the first few shows were run by Rod(Raf) and Linda Nathan who also founded and continue to publish the Australian Wood Review magazine.

:~

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Originally Posted by ubeaut

PS Hands-On Expo wasn't a woodworking show was never touted as one, it was supposed to be a hands-on show of combined trades crafts education and employment, etc. As I see it, it seems to have fulfilled it's promise to be just that, with the possible exception of the Hands-On bit which I'm told, just wasn't.

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From what I saw, it was pretty much a woodwork show, with hardly any metalwork. There may have been a bit of DIY stuff, but I screen out that stuff automatically. There were some apprenticeship and training mobs there, mostly stuffed in a far corner in the last hall. Their stands looked very empty.

At the Lie Nielsen and Carba-tec stand you could try out their tools, I got to use a Veritas spaceship block plane:D
So it there was a tiny bit of Hands on

It’s actually been a great opportunity to read all the feedback! For my money any woodworker who came along to the Hands-On Expo would have enjoyed themselves (of the 302 visitors who completed survey cards as they left, 97% rated the expo good – excellent). There was a very wide range of tools and machines, timber, free demos of turning, dove-tailing, pyrography, carving, toy making and more, as well as some good woodwork! I know I’m biased but the hands-on stuff in the other 'trades' that I tried was fantastic, soldering electronics (good fun), forming a plastic mould (reminded me of jelly), didn’t do bricklaying or tiling ‘cause I’ve done both before and never want to clean or lift a brick again!
Saw plenty of people trying different tools. Missed the cutting out rust from a car demo on the Fein stand, missed Steve Hayle’s demo which I’ll catch in melbourne and have apologies to pass on from Richard Coles, his mother took ill and he had to cancel his veneering demonstrations at the last moment.
We’re busy planning ahead and it’s been great to get your feedback.I’d love to hear more, so feel free to email your thoughts to [email protected] I’d be interested to know whether the forum visitors enjoyed the show and why people chose not to attend so we can improve the show accordingly to everyone’s benefit.
Cheers
Collette<O:p</O:p

I fully intended going but I had a better offer and went fishing instead. Was all fired up to go till I was informed it was basically a bit of a ripoff of the working with wood show with the same tired old demonstrators like Raffan, Vaughan and Bell I decided the fishing was a better option.

And after reading this.

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Originally Posted by ubeaut

Hands-on is run by the same people who wouldn't listen to us on here or take part in the forums in the past even though we offered them all the help under the sun. They are the same people who headed up and ran the Timber and Working With Wood Shows for Ridells and later DMG, before the show was sold to the new people EEE (Everything Exhibitions & Events)

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I feel vindicated for not attending. Surely there should have been some sort of contract to say they would not run a similar show for 10 years or something along those lines. My goodness, one would think there would at least be a moral obligation if nothing else. How on earth can someone sell a business then start a clone of that business in direct competition to the one they sold. How unethical. Maybe this was common knowledge and that is why the attendance was poor.

Karma has struck and will strike again. I think they should get on bended knees and beg forgiveness of the people they sold the working with wood show to, especially if they intend to go ahead with the other shows as planned.

If they intend to continue running shows they need to have a go at something completely different, something new and fresh and leave the woodwork alone. If they continue in this vein, we the woodworking public will be the ones who really suffer, as they will surely cruel it for everyone.

Just my humble, honest and sincere opinion.

Darky

PS I chose to go up to Rockhampton for the weekend with a dear old friend, for the following result.
Attachment 122804
Not a great photo, but the weekend was amazing and the barra steaks were to dye for.
Got to admit, I did not miss the expo for a second as I was having way too much fun. :D

Nice lookin' fishy for the little dishy and my favourite too.

I didn't say they owned the Timber and Working With Wood Shows. What I said was they ran them (for DMG World Media), or one ran them the others helped.

Don't look like there's anything more constructive coming from this thread so unless someone else has something to add it'll be closed tomorrow.

Neil

Weather they owned it, or as you said, "headed up and ran" what they have done still seems to be unethical to me.

I will continue to attend and enjoy the working with wood shows but will not attend one of the hands on shows purely on moral grounds. Not even sure I will support the businesses that knew this yet exhibited at the show anyway.

Maybe it is time to close this thread.

DL :~

I was talking with an exhibitor on the Sunday. I was told of two parents who rocked up at 3pm on the Saturday to collect their son working on the stand. They had to pay $15 each to enter plus a $10 parking fee. $40 to collect their offspring. They weren't amused apparently and neither was the exhibitor. It would seem ethics are not what they should be with the organisers.
Darklord, I could not agree more.