John Larson Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 In the past few years Rome Hutchings and the board have done far more than previous folks have, well IMHO anyway, to make ABANA useful. In 6 0r 7 months the big ABANA hammer in takes place in Memphis. Try to make that part of your vacation planning. Every effort is being made to keep your expenses low, in contrast to the Seattle vent 4 or 5 years ago. I personally know three members of the board and they are sincere, hard workers, and want the organization to be a big improvement over where it was a while back. Come and say hello and try out my machines in Memphis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Yes, and the price for membership has dropped due to the economy!(of course that was AFTER I renewed my membership for 2yrs! ) Also, you get a discounted price for the conference by registering before Dec.30. I'm plan to call in my registration tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 O.K. John, you talked me into it. I dropped out a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Y Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I think my ABANA membership is worth way more than the price they charge. The discount at Grainger alone has saved me twice what I paid in membership. Take advantage of the discounts, they offer a tangeable benefit. The Hammers Blow and Anvils Ring are gravy to a great organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 My kids are always asking what I want for my birthday, so I figured they could pay for my ABANA membership, and for fathers day, I can go to a class, works out very well around my house!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 That's what I like to hear, guys. I have no connection to ABANA's marketing efforts. I just spoke as a concerned smith. Glenn edited my post perhaps because he thought otherwise. No matter. Grant, I first saw you at ABANA-Alfed, NY in '96 when the KA-75 was shown and then two years later ABANA-Ashville, NC when you showed off your "8-cylinder JY hammer." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Sorry John, that was a straight six! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 This year marks my 30th year as an ABANA member. I think that despite its troubles of the past, it is a great organization. We have to remember that it is a mostly volunteer group. The magazines depend on submissions from members. I have used the Anvil Ring for years in my classes to give my students ideas and to expand their thinking. I have attended six conferences. I will not be at Memphis because it is in the begining of June. I cannot miss a week of school so close to the end of the school year. The administration would never give me the time off, and my students would never forgive me. I have always asked to have the timing set for after June 25, but I realize that scheduling will not always accomodate that request. So maybe the next one, although the drive to the Dakota's is a long one from the East coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primtechsmith Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thomas.....The discount came after I renewed mine for 2 years as well! ANd I am on the Board!!! HA! Glad to hear people enjoying ABANA. We are here to try and do our best for the membership. We also like to hear opinions on making things better too!!!peyton@abana.org Peyton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 John, an explanation notifying you of your post being edited and the reason why was sent to you by the site personal messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Glenn, I read the message and that is why my post yesterday was worded the way it was. You seemed to think I was doing some advertising for ABANA to avoid them paying you. Nope, not the case. Was just speaking my personal opinion with some rationale offered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 John, we are on the same page. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I was a member of ABANA for a bunch of years. I have heard said that it is 10 times harder to get a customer or member to return, than to keep one. Seems to be a truism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Boy are you right about unhappy customers not returning. I believe you can please people many times but only displease then once. So the Seattle ABANA event being controversial is proving hard to overcome. Even without the Seattle controversy ABANA may have seen membership decline. Personally I am forming the opinion that the crafts movement that seemed to start in the 70's is ebbing. When I look at designer magazines at the news stand I see less iron work than 2-3 years ago. Iron was hot for a long time in high end houses. Colonial Williamsburg is having a tough economic time. When I'm at hammer-ins I see smiths in the audience start to get restive at mid-morning because the stuff being shown isn't new enough--or whatever. Fifteen years ago it seemed that information was a lot harder to obtain. Now we can watch youtube, read many superb books, go to assorted smithing schools, buy new tools on the net, etc. Just seems to be enormously easier and less of an adventure nowadays even for (and maybe especially for) newbies. I still think we have to hang together and ABANA plus our local guilds are the best vehicles. Volunteerism is weird stuff, to be sure. Right now I think Rome and his crew are doing what needs to be done and we gotta give them our support. End of my sermon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I don't know anything about Seattle. Personally I was displeased over a many-year-period when ABANA was almost exclusively focusing its glossy publications years ago on abstract sculptures of weird alien-like-art stuff. I have been in blacksmithing as a hobby since ~1973 and each year I have seen people come and go from blacksmithing, most folks seem to leave the hobby after just a couple of years, but the number of smiths still seems to keep on increasing. True the market for ironwork is hard-hit by the economy, and fashions come and go. Those folks that stay in blacksmithing seem to be those that focus on the pleasure that they personally receive from blacksmithing rather than the market or fashion, what they can sell, or the number of people doing blacksmithing. As for demonstrations, yes if what is demonstrated is something that I have seen 35 times I would tend to loose interest. On the other hand it seems that it has been a few years since I have had the opportunity to see demonstrators such as Mr. Hofi, Tom Clark, Rob Hudson, etc. In contrast, watching someone grind out a quick knife on a sander-grinder, or watching Nick V. do demonstrations using techniques that he stopped using years ago (his statement to me at his shop), does not hold my interest for very long. So as for ABANA, I am hard pressed to think of much benefit of rejoining. I can't afford to go to their conferences, I have never been able to relate to the weird futuristic art that their publications have seemingly dwelled upon, and money is tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Larson Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Grant, ya know I knew it was a 6, but somehow that 8 showed up in print. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crij Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Well I am a relativly new member of ABANA, 3rd year IIRC, as far as the current publications `Hammer blow' is a great teaching and tip publication IMHO. With `Anvil Ring' maybe 1/3 of the stuff showcased there has been abstract. Most of the stuff I have seen in AR, I could be glossing over the weird stuff, has been nature and geometric based shapes and scenes, basically stuff I would tolerate living with up to stuff I would love to have. I think it may just be how the art field moves, in the 80's when my sister was taking art classes in college, from what I saw, it seemed like abstract was the `IN' thing to teach, now stuff has swung back to nature. Just my 2cents, Rich C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I've just renewed. Personally I have enjoyed the magazines and plan to attend the conference. This will be my first vacation away from the water. I'm looking forward to soaking up a lot of info. You can figure the price aint bad for dues. Sams club cost almost as much and that's just to let you in to spend more money. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I have my membership re-upped. I like the info that is provided by ABANA. I see abstract forgings for what they are.... just that - forgings. I like to see how they are forged and try to figure out the process used to get the final result. I do not have to like it but I go deeper and strictly look at the way the metal was moved to the final shape - to me that's the interesting part/s. - JK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freemab Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 It's nice to hear ABANA is improving. I attended one conference - Ashville 1998 (?) and wasn't seriously considering attending another till the recent NY conference - that ABANA canceled. (NorthEast Blacksmiths ran a conference anyway and I attended, as did John Larson.) I find myself highly swayed by John's posting, very inclined to go. But the reason I haven't gone to an ABANA conference since '98 is the cost-to-benefit ratio. If I go to a local meet, I see a demonstrator. Travel costs are low, and there are no other costs to speak of. If I go to a regional meet, travel costs are moderate, there may be an overnight or two, and admission cost is nominal. Sometimes I can make back on tailgating much of what I spend. Maybe I'll have to choose between 2 or 3 demonstrators, but usually such a choice is not too onerous. But with an ABANA conference, too much is packed into too short a time. I can't see all five or eight simultaneous demonstrations. In '98, despite it being a fairly well run conference, I could hardly figure out where I wanted to be when, and missed things I could have seen. I can't watch demos and tailgate. The best I could hope to do is to see a few demos, shop the tailgate sale, and maybe see the gallery. I just cant be in five places at once! I don't have a solution, other than to skip the ABANA conferences and stick to local and regional conferences. Does anyone else have a solution? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Good point about 'what to watch'. I would suggest that each demonstrator have a finished piece of what they intend to demonstrate on display earliy enough that individuales could make their minds up on who to watch. This may be done at most places, it was done this past month at the SFCABA in Perry, OK. Just my $.00002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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