The baa ram ewe booth at the 2017 Summer Show. Photo by Kristin Link.
The National Needle Arts Association (TNNA), the trade association for the yarn and fiber industry, will no longer host a Winter Market in Austin, Texas, as previously planned. Instead, the association will have a pavilion on the show floor at Creativation, the Association of Creative Industries (AFCI) trade show in Phoenix from January 16-20. The pavilion will be a space for yarn and fiber wholesalers to connect with retailers.
In an email to instructors sent earlier today by Susan Lane, TNNA’s Executive Director, and Don Lynch, TNNA’s President, the decision was described as “an exciting opportunity to take a step towards our strategic goal of creating a larger creative industry show.”
The atrium at the Embassy Suites Las Vegas where the Winter Market was held last year. Photo by Gwen Bortner.
The Winter Market, which focuses primarily on needlepoint and cross-stitch, had shrunk in recent years both in the number of vendors selling at the show and the number of buyers attending. In 2018 the show shifted to hotel suites, rather than booths at a convention center, to save on costs. The format got mixed reviews. Now, it seems the association has opted to focus on a single annual show, the Summer Show which is scheduled for June 19-23 in Cleveland, Ohio.
TNNA is still working to determine if the association will be able to host its own educational offerings at Creativation. They’ve asked instructors who had applied to teach at the Winter Market to alert staff if they’d like to have their proposal saved for consideration to teach at the Summer show to become part of a future TNNA podcast or webinar.
I know this is something that’s been talked about for a long time. Nice to see it finally happening.
This is a great opportunity to get our brand in front of a wider audience! It’s great to see TNNA doing more collaborations with other sectors, organizations and events. TNNA is working hard to serve the industry in ways other than their traditional trade show. Looking forward to the future.
IDK. Shortly before they announced the change, I received a note about my membership being in the grace period and touting free admission to the Winter Show as a major benefit of belonging. I never got the email announcing the change; found out about it online.
I have more questions than answers. Will admission to all Creativation is be free to TNNA members? How does that work? Because right now, the registration for Creativation doesn’t mention TNNA at all. It does look for membership in AFCI, an organization I can find lots of information about EXCEPT how much it costs to join. If you try to register as a non-member retailer, the form wants to know your annual revenue level, the lowest of which is “Less than $999,999.” Gosh, that doesn’t sound like an independent LYS is really their target audience.
And what does the statement “an exciting opportunity to take a step towards our strategic goal of creating a larger creative industry show” really mean? Are all the shows going to head towards this model? Is TNNA looking to merge somehow with AFCI? What would that mean for the small LYS?
I’m still in the “grade period” for membership. Not sure whether I’ll renew or not. As I said, more questions than answers.