This is the last post in a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.
Well, this is the end of my CHA blog series. Is it bad to end it with Unlucky 13?
I just wanted to wrap up my experience there this year with some final thoughts and impressions. And add anything I forgot to say :) ‘Cuz I’m a straggler like that.
State of the Scrapbooking Industry?
As I was taking photos, I overheard a conversation amongst those working in a booth. They were saying how this year it seemed like the crowds were definitely thinner; one estimated there was about 1/3 as many shoppers as usual. I wasn’t there last year but from 2 years ago, I would agree the attendance was down a bit. Not 1/3 the amount of people but maybe 2/3 as many. I’m no math major but I think our estimates differ by quite a bit, LOL. I wonder if the attendee numbers are available? Hmm…
One thing I noticed was that in many of the scrapbook vendor booths I visited, company reps were talking to Spanish-speaking women placing orders. I thought that was encouraging about the scrapbook market in Spanish-speaking countries; is it booming? Hope so!
In fact, I heard people speaking languages from all over the world, not just in scrapbooking areas but all over the CHA show floor. Again, I took comfort in that and was pleased by it. #craftingisinternational
Who Was and Wasn’t at CHA 2016
Paperclipping wasn’t there doing videos; online someone said they lost their sponsorship and someone else said their child had something going on but since Phoenix is their home turf, they’ll probably be there next year. I haven’t kept up with the Paperclipping podcast or their message boards so I’m not sure what’s correct. If you know, please leave a comment!
I thought perhaps Nancy Nally from Scrapbook Update wasn’t there but I see now from her recent blog post that she was at CHA. Boo! I missed her this time.
Basic Grey was noticably absent :( They were my favorite booth to visit last time, mainly because of the lovely conversation I had with owner Rachel Brenchly.
Big Change to CHA in 2017
Next year, CHA will move to Phoenix and will be 3 days instead of 4. I mentioned it to several people I talked to and the consensus was that Phoenix is more geographically desirable to many scrapbook companies, but everyone will miss going to Disneyland.
Free Classes
I attended a free 15-minute class about e-mail marketing called “Create the Perfect Subject Line to Get Your Emails Opened.” As someone who handles social media for companies as a living, I see a lot of mistakes being made with this in the scrapbooking industry. I wish there’d been more of an audience for this class.
VENDORS I Visited but HAVE No Photos
Echo Park/Carta Bella
The booth was very busy. I wasn’t able to get photos of the lines displayed because there were staff and customers standing in front of them. It seemed like they were taking several orders and that’s a great sign.
Pink Fresh Studio
They had one of the smaller booths and didn’t have a ton of product displayed but I believe they’re fairly new. Someone with a nice video camera was waiting to interview them so I stayed on the outskirts :) I love their products and wish I’d remembered to look for the “Life Noted” acrylic letters I Pinned that included “Meh” – dang, wanted to see those in person!
Random Photos
The Spellbinders wall with some amazing paper garlands!
Create and Craft TV
Remember when I talked about them here? Well, they film live shows at CHA which is pretty cool.
Hey, that’s Teresa Collins!
Speaking of Scrapbook “Celebs”
Here’s who-all I saw at CHA this time, whether I spoke to them or just lurked, LOL:
- Becky Higgins
- Teresa Collins
- Ali Edwards
- Shimelle Laine
- Julie McGuffee
- Layle Koncar
- Vicki Boutin
- Amy Tangerine
- Paige Evans
- Cathy Zielske
All Good Days Must Come to an End
I knew it was a long shot but I wanted to see if there were any scrapbook stores in Anaheim that I could slip into before leaving town. Here is the sad return I got for my search :(
I had to drive through downtown LA because of some traffic on my usual route …. only to sit in more traffic. But, hey, it’s LA. Plus it was Golden Globes night. I tried to just enjoy the view.
Catalogs and Such
When I got home and had time to look in my CHA tote, this is what I had. Some came with and others were handed to me in booths I visited.
So that was my CHA 2016 experience! I hope you enjoyed being along for the ride and that I didn’t inundate you with too many posts.
Any favorites from what you saw?
