A Sincere Thank You!

Dear dealers, collectors and attendees;

I wish to pass on my sincere gratitude for your support! 

Most of us are creatures of habit. We like familiar surrounds, and we get used to our comfort zone. Seven Feathers became just that. 

But life is fraught with change. And so, after roughly fifteen years in familiar surrounds, Seven Feathers and I "agreed to disagree". It's always tough starting over. But start over, we did. And, with your support, I believe that we have laid the building blocks for something far better.

Sure, the padded chairs, the plush carpeting, fancy table drapes, linens, etc. etc. were nice amenities. But heh, how often do we get the chance to attend a show with the aroma of livestock wafting through the building, accompanied by sheep bleating, cows mooing and horses snorting in the background. Welcome to the Rogue Valley, and the Old West as it once was (and I wished still remained). 

Speaking of livestock, I accidentally backed my truck into the manure pile down by the east end and packed my fair share of fertilizer home on the rear bumper and trailer hitch. Do you know how much that would cost if you had to buy it at Home Depot? Now that's what I call a bonus to our parking arrangements~ 

The "ambience" of Expo 2016 is just one of the many things that I love about this wonderful valley in Southern Oregon, and I hope you all did too.

OK, enough shooting the bull... Here's the long and short of it. Hall dimensions - 12,0000 square feet. Gate count combined for the two days of general admission was just a tad under 500. Table sales; 52 - 30" x 8' bottle / insulator - 43 one hundred square foot antique dealer booths. Sales - according to sellers - ranged from good to excellent. Public attendance was superior compared to C'ville. Advertising was accomplished through TV, radio, news print, Craigslist, Internet, and multiple insertions into bottle / Insulator and Antique Store hard copy publications. Sandwich boards were fabricated and disbursed through the Valley, as were overhead banners. Simply, unless you were blind, deaf and dumb (excuse the politically incorrect terminologies but you all know me...), there was no way that you could not hear about the event.

Glitches were few, but included an issue with vendor handicapped parking; quickly and efficiently addressed and handled thanks to the understanding dealers who moved their vehicles so that we could relocate those with health issues up front and center. As Murphy's Law would have it, the one dealer that inquired prior to the show about the quality of lighting said, "we have no need for electric power, however, we do hope for a well lighted room", and to whom I replied "equal to or better than the vast majority of shows on the west coast". Alas, the only light bank in the entire facility that failed was directly above their table, which died a sudden death (albeit fifty feet in the air and non-repairable while the show was set up), as soon as they finished setting up. Thanks Murphy~

The vast majority of disappointments were from the Johnny come latelys, who wanted to reserve a table or booth at the last minute. Our introductory announcement about this venue, sent to dealers around the first of the year, stated "I can't stress the old saying enough; you snooze / you lose. Simply, if you are serious about a table / tables, mail your reservation in as soon as you receive this dealer packet". Simply, there was nothing that we could do to accommodate more dealers. As such, come 2017, get you dealer applications completed and sent in ASAP when you receive your packet!

The upsides were many in terms of sleepers and rare pieces that "crossed the aisle" from antique dealer to bottle / insulator collectors and visa versa. And the quality of rare western glass, regardless of form, that seems to migrate to our shows here in the "State of Jefferson" never ceases to amaze.

In closing; this, our first year of reinventing the wheel, was a success. We sold to the walls, had strong public presence, were able to address the few challenges that popped up, and provided our dealers with an opportunity to sell their wares while enjoying a wonderful spring weekend in Southern Oregon. 

I personally had a great time, and am hoping that everyone else enjoyed themselves as well. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2017!

Many, many thanks!

Bruce Silva
Show Chairman