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Every year the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild, Inc. hosts an Annual Conference for soap makers. The conference moves through different regions of the country, providing easier access to members, exhibitors and speakers on a rotating basis.
The conference runs three days, with registration starting on the evening before the first day. Dinner on the last night is the Annual Awards Banquet. The Annual Membership Meeting is held over a long lunch, usually on the second day.
A variety of speakers are scheduled each year, covering most of the subjects of interest to soamakers. Topics usually include some aspect of cold process soap making, melt and pour soap making, marketing, promotion, websites, labeling, and a smattering of business concerns. Starting in 2008, Certification Exams will be scheduled at the conference as well.
Throughout the conference, attendees can visit the exhibitors. A number of companies have exhibitor tables, showing products old and new and providing information to attendees. This is often a way for attendees to actually see and touch those products they see on-line; it's also a chance to talk to exhibitors and vendors face to face.
2010 Conference
The 2010 Conference will be held in Denver, Colorado on April 30 - May 2, 2010.
Conference Locations
Since the HSMG is a national, actually international, organization, the tradition has been to move the location of the conference through the regions of the US each year, giving members in different parts of the US easier access. For the purposes of the scheduling and planning, the US has been broken into 8 different regions.
The actual location of the conferences are selected about 18 - 24 months in advance, but are announced at the Annual Awards Dinner of the preceding conference. So, for example, the site for 2010 was selected in mid-2009 and the announcement will be at the 2009 conference.
(Past conference are noted with a star and the date.)
Past Conferences
2009 Conference - Palm Springs, CA Summary and Pictures coming soon!
