Canadian Conference Buzz

by Elizabeth Steinebach on August 25, 2009
Filed Under: NEWS

Thank you for the great feedback!

I hope there is more coming. The dialogue has started and it is looking good.

First some housekeeping. Jason has changed the newsletter feature of AISG to include a - user friendly- reply option. As many of you noticed, you had to go to the website to find my contact information. Thanks to all who persevered. I know it took a bit more of your time, but many of you checked the website out and gave feedback about it as well, which was greatly appreciated.

Second, some back ground. I almost met David at the AGG conference in Buffalo this year. It was timing and circumstance that didn't allow us quite to chat in person. Part of the next initiative for AISG is to electronically capture the AISG Leadlines. For those that are not familiar with these, they were the quarterly published magazine that AISG created in it's early years. They should be made available, in a search-able format so everybody can enjoy the interesting articles, but more importantly, see some exceptionally great Canadian Stained Glass. I knew that David was a past member and so I contacted him, asking if he had any copies that he might share.

It was during these email exchanges that David mentioned that while at the AGG conference, he was either approached or did the approaching, to the AGG executive, about the possibility of a Canadian conference.

As an aside, Vic Rothman (AGG) and I have been chatting about this possibility, since the Rhode Island conference. And it has been my personal wish to see a Canadian conference since I took the stewardship of the AISG on. However the priorities for AISG required a website overhaul and increasing the membership, before I could even imagine tackling the idea of a conference.

And so, here is the opportunity. David, who just simply asked me, to ask the membership if there was any interest in a Canadian conference. All he wanted was a show of interest. Like any good creative project, sometimes you just need to percolate with all the possibilities, before an action is taken.

So for all of you, as excited at this prospect as I am, please use the the forum to share your thoughts and ideas. The canvass is still blank and we just need to keep the creative juices flowing and feed the possibility.

Some other issues on the table: David is not a current AISG member, though he certainly has been in the past. Our membership is still very small, it is not going to be able to support a conference on it's own, we are going to need a lot of outside support. This looks like it will be from the American Glass Guild. The AGG usually have a host at the conference city, usually a local stained glass studio. As this is David's idea and initiative, AISG can only play a supportive role.

Personally I know a stained glass conference in Canada would be a very good thing for our local industry. It would generate a lot of interest in stained glass on many levels, from the wholesaler right up to the public commission. I hope you step up and help David get this off the ground.