Thread: Brisbane Wood Show 2018

Ian, if you happen to go on Friday you will see a lot of school groups and some of these kids will be the future of wood work so if this show ends where do these school groups go?

My point is don't not go because last year didn't float your boat, go because you might see something new or different. Its not going to break the bank.

I have just had a good look at their pathetic website. I counted 20 suppliers and 2 demo's to keep you busy for an hour or so. Theo Haralampou and the chainsaw carver seem to be the only entertainment as such, and a couple of suppliers will be demonstrating their gear such as Gifkins and Japanese Tools.
It will be interesting to see the comments from attendees after the show.

Alan...

Well i went to Carbatec this morning and had my fill of sausages and filled out the questionnaire and got my free steel ruler set . The first question was weather i intended to go to the WWW show and what day i was going so my take on this would be that they want to do a bit of market research before they commit to either a show or more in house activities.
It was refreshing to see some activity in the store with people doing hands on and giving the punters a chance to try out some tools and all the major suppliers had reps there doing demonstrations.
And yes, i did end up spending a bit of money but will buy the majority of what i need at the show.

Originally Posted by double.d

Its comments like these that will kill this show. I've been going for years and will continue to no matter how small it gets. There is always some good timbers to buy and good select ions in tools and hardware, and besides the reduced numbers mean more personalised service.

So, my 2c that nobody asked for, and is somewhat of a ramble... I'm "new" to the woodworking scene, relative to many on this forum. I've only been doing it for 5-6 years.

I've been to a few of the shows in Melbourne, though the experiences I've had seems pretty mirrored by all the TWWWS. First few years were at the Exhibition Center, not too bad, reasonable room. A bit of a hike and a PITA to get to because it was in the CBD, but not the end of the world. Good ceiling height, so lots of stuff could actually fit in and the volume (noise) wasn't too bad because there was room for it to disperse.

Then they moved it out to Caufield racecourse, and put it on the same weekend as the Turnabout thing in Phillip Island, meaning no woodturners showed up. Nor the year after that. The rest of the exhibitors were the same (or fewer). Lighting was awful so I couldn't see - Timbecon had to bring their own lights. Lower ceilings, absolute nightmare in terms of volume. So can't hear people 'cause its so loud, keep bumping into things and people 'cause its so dimly lit...
I didn't go last year.

Now its on the other side of the CBD. Thats a strike for me.

Looking at the Brisbane show/website on this weekend...

* "AVAILABLE SOON: The Brisbane Timber & Working With Wood Show floor plan." When? After the show perhaps?
* "Visit here again closer to the 2018 Timber Show dates for exciting competition info!" It's preeeeeeetty close to the date for the competitions...
* 22 vendors.
* Theo will be demonstrating again (this is great!), I'd imagine Arbortech will be too, "Pour On Gloss".. Gifkins Dovetail - hopefully this time they use a sharp bit because it *screamed* dull cutter from the noise last time I was near the demo..

What is there to entice me out? It'll be too noisy to talk to people, the vendors have little to no discounts, and not all their stock, and it's been incredibly cramped. I could lock myself in a cupboard and order from the various vendors websites to recreate the cramped, purchasing-without-discount experience. Online shopping for many things largely negates a lot of the value (IMO) of vendor-based-exhibitions. The only "positive" for me now is that I could maybe pickup a few timber slabs, as they're much more subjective/harder to get online. I don't super care if my thicknesser is deep blue, pale blue, weird orange or white (since they'd all be the same model, +/- $50, and the colour of paint) but picking out a slab for furniture needs a bit more eyes on.

More demos, classes, or an actual area for get togethers (that isn't a little tucked away corner that you can easily miss unless you have a copy of the unavailable floor plan) where its not so loud that you can't hear people would be a good start to enticing me out of my cave.

Perhaps not enough "celebrity" woodworkers ala WIA's youtuber get-together-meet-and-greet-things that seemed to partially revive that show, but repeating the same formula just smaller every year isn't going to save the TWWW show.

Originally Posted by double.d

Ian, if you happen to go on Friday you will see a lot of school groups and some of these kids will be the future of wood work so if this show ends where do these school groups go?



My point is don't not go because last year didn't float your boat, go because you might see something new or different. Its not going to break the bank.

Having been behind the counter at a few of these shows the school kids see a day off, is all. They are sometimes given a sheet of Qs to get answers to, they tend to divvy up the Qs each gets 3 or 4 answers and then they meet and copy each others ..

Originally Posted by david.elliott

Having been behind the counter at a few of these shows the school kids see a day off, is all. They are sometimes given a sheet of Qs to get answers to, they tend to divvy up the Qs each gets 3 or 4 answers and then they meet and copy each others ..

Yes, I've spent a lot of time on stands too, and you are not wrong. At least 90% of the school kids are there because it's set down that that's what they'll do that day, & have very little interest in most of it. You do see a few carrying bits of timber or something for a project, which is a hopeful sign, and occasionally, very occasionally, a youngster has come up to whatever it was I was demonstrating & shown genuine interest & asked intelligent questions. Taht's all good - if the seed gets planted in even a small percentage, it's worthwhile, I reckon.

But double.d, if you want to get a bunch of kids really interested in woodwork, I doubt the TWWWS in its current form is going to do the trick. The woodies of the future are surely more likely to be turned on by seeing what a piece of wood can become rather than a pile of merchandise. They of all people know how to get deals - 'online'.

I make my comments in good faith, not just to bag something for the sake of it. I am more than happy to contribute my time & energy to anything that might help make the show a success. I've spent the majority of shows on a stand, all three days if work or other committments didn't prevent me. Initially I was with the Woodcraftsman's Guild, then volunteered on the Ubeaut & Forum stand until they stopped coming. The show organisers in the first few years seemed much more involved & tried to include as much active woodworking of all types. There was much more camaraderie (especially at the end-of-show barbeque!). The contrast between the early years and the last show I went to was stark. I would dearly love to see the show get its act together and provide some real attractions that would get the woodies & would-be woodies of Brisbane out of their sheds to come along for a good day out. The attendance figures for the last few years should make it blatantly clear that the show is not providing what the punters seek, and that some new approach might be called-for!

Cheers,

Went to this show today. I was very disappointed. Very few exhibitors and not a lot to catch my attention. If you haven't already been, don't bother. It's pretty rare for me to be publicly critical of events like these, but I did feel pretty let down. I think I spent about 10 minutes there.


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From what I hear the Malany show is going from strength to strength (unfortunately haven't been yet ) and the Lost Trades Fair in Victoria is doing the same. What are these shows doing that is not happening at the T&WWW shows.
I have been to the Lost Trades Fair a couple of times and enjoyed it immensely. There were no big commercial traders, just your small boutique ones which was great, and there were no super specials to be had so its obviously not the possibility of a bargain that attracts people. There were a lot more couples or families there which you rarely see at the T&WWW show.
I want to see the T&WWW shows continue but I think it needs a complete rethink if this is to happen.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

What are these shows doing that is not happening at the T&WWW shows.

"meet the maker" is interesting. This is what happens at the lost trades fair.

"meet the guy looking to earn a wage flogging someone else imported wares" is not very interesting. This is what happens at the woodworking shows.

A good example of the above is Terry from HNT Gordon. He draws a crowd at both the lost trades fair and woodworking shows.

I was there for a few hours this morning and there was a lot less stands there but i thought the venue was a lot better than the old shed and dust across the road. I bought the timber , hardware, finishes and tools i was after and didn't have to pay freight and postage so i came out ahead.

I went today (Friday). I took the day off work because it's a bit of a drive for me. Honestly, I thought it was terrible. I didn't go last year but have been to a couple of previous Brisbane shows. I was really looking for some timber for a project but there was nothing like the variety on offer that I have seem previously and I came away empty-handed. Sorry to post such a negative report but, for me, it was a waste of time and money.

I'm going on Sunday. I expect a discount on tools otherwise i'm buying on line. It's sad when I'm a beginner looking for advise and a deal to get me started in this hobby.

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Went to the Carbatec No Show Show. Took advantage of the 10% discount on a few items. Spent longer there than I did at the Brisbane Show last year. Next stop Maleny.

Was at the show at 10am Friday & gone by 10.45am. As a kid I was taught if you did not have anything nice to say , not to say anything at all. I'll leave it at that.
pker