2006 Annual Conference

May 9 - 11, 2006 Portland, Oregon

Page:   1   2   3   4   5

Of course, all during the conference we had some great vendors displaying their wares and sharing their wealth of information with all attendees. Vendors were open during all the breaks, meals and during most of the presentations (although they tended to be not very busy during those times!).

Vendors

The vendors who were there are listed below, with pictures (sorry, we didn't get pictures of everyone). Please take a moment to visit their websites and show your support.

The Lebermuth Company, Inc. (Mishawaka, IN) once again honored us by sending the feisty and entertaining (and extremely knowledgable) Debbie Woodruff to man their vendor both. Debbie brought all the pre-orders (free shipping for delivery at the conference), lots of samples and special scents just for the conference attendees. She also handed outLebermuth umbrellas (which luckily we didn't need for the weather) and answered questions and gave helpful advice when asked.

Glory Bee Foods (Eugene, OR) had several tables absolutely crammed with lots of goodies - from containers to ingredients and everything in between. And, besides great deals on the products they brought, they also offered special deals on items ordered at the conference.

Tammy Doering of Dead Sea Bulk Materials (Anniston, AL) not only brought wonderful products (and had a beautiful display), she was a special vendor with her own room for classes and demonstrations. Three times a day through-out the conference she gave mini-classes and demonstrations. Her enthusiasm, knowledge and mud certainly kept the room packed! It was not uncommon during the conference to see people walking around, or even attending classes, with mud drying on their faces! Only at a soap gathering!

Precision Craft Molds (www.moldmarket.com) (Brightwood, OR) came with stacks and stacks of marvelous molds. Their display was great - it was actually possible to see all the molds easily and choose just the right one(s). Besides excellent deals on their regular stock, they also brought some close-out items at just amazing discount prices. During the conference Jeff donated a raffle prize of a custom mold for the lucky winner - at a value of over $250! Thank you, Jeff (and all of MoldMarket.com) for your generous support of the conference!

Anne-Marie Faiola of Brambleberry (Bellingham, WA) came with a beautiful presentation booth, lots of samples and smellies and great advice and information. At least one conference attendee recieved a custom blended product and was heard to say, "This scent is the absolute BEST!" Anne-Marie also spoke to attendees on Thursday about her experiences in getting to where she is today.

Art Marko, of National Shrinkwrap (Lakewood, NJ) came the farthest of all of our vendors, and we greatly appreciate his efforts to provide quality products to the conference attendees! The National Shrinkwrap shrink system (developed by Art) is an awesome product and Art demonstrates it with flair and panache. He probably shrink wrapped a ga-zillion small items (soap, cards, candy) and a lot of baskets during the three-day conference. He makes it look SO easy!

Casey Kellar of Turn the Rock Publishing (Portland, OR) definitely mulit-tasked at the conference. As a vendor she had a booth displaying her miriad of materials on how to start, grow and expand your business using trade shows, web sites and other marketing and promotional avenues. Then she did book signing on Tuesday night AND she spoke ("To Market, To Market") about getting your products out there!

Kathy Griset of Cibaria International (909-941-8142, Rancho Cucamonga, CA) created a beautiful display with olive leaves and twinkle lights to highlight the various types of oils and their properties. She answered questions and provided valuable information about oils and the current oil commodity markets. Cibaria Int'l, dba West Coast Olive Oil Company, is a provider of all types of oils.

Sherri Murray was a very busy gal, manning the tables for both ForSoapmakers.com (Myrtle Point, OR, owned by Marie Gale) and The Upland Soap Factory (Upland, CA, owned by Linda Stevens) and also packing up boxes to ship for attendees to had too much to carry home. ForSoapmakers.com provided shipping services. The rubber duckies were a fun addition brought by ForSoapmakers and you could see lots of attendees with their duckies throughout the conference.

Continued ...