Feedback - ideas to improve the forum stand

[DSEL74]

The show was really good I thought as it closed and i didn't even realise before I got to see all the stands.


There was some discussion at the show on improving the forum stand for future shows which hasn't been raised here.

Some of the points were:

• Display pieces by forum members
• Interactive demo, visual interest i.e. treadle lathes and other machines
• More graphics photos etc on the wall panels, currently only one side had photos.
• People walking past don't tend to read words, you have 3 seconds to grab attention.
• Talks scheduled, polishing, box making etc what ever is your passion to talk about.

I'm sure there are many more but these are the ones I remember.

[Chesand]

I was part of that discussion and I am sure that others later in the day also thought about it.
The discussion was in the context of constructive criticism as we realised that the Forum stand was provided by the goodwill of the organisers and Neil.
Also it has to be remembered that Forum members manning the stand are all volunteers.
When people see you standing there with pamphlets in hand they think that you are trying to con them into something (which of course we were ).
While the position of the Forum stand was good being at the top of the escalator, perhaps it was also a little bland and confronting with nothing on display to attract patrons, many of whom were looking at their show guides as they stepped off the escalator. Maybe a couple of new posters might help.
I found it a little easier to attract attention when I stood nearer the photos and used them as a talking point.

I stress that my comments are meant to be constructive and I will certainly be part of the Forum stand in future

[DaveTTC]

Great shows this year that ive been to and Melbourne has great reviews this year.

Particularly for those who have volunteered or visited the forum stand we would like your ideas on how it can be improved

1) for volunteers
2) for members
3) for appeal and interest to the public



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

[_fly_]

Not sure how you can do it but after being on stand for 3 years I'd like to see things people have made.
Thats going to get more people to stop and look.

Maybe we could give the items at the melbourne GTG at Box hill RSL the week before and you can take it all in for display.
We can then pick it up the next meeting.
Or 3 locations around melbourne to drop stuff off and they can be the three first people on the stand on friday.

I know the pictures are up and it may require more space
but its looking at items that will get more people stopping to talk.

Just standing there handing out paper makes them detour around us.
Makes me look like a krishna or salvo asking for handouts.

[DSEL74]

This is of course all in the hope of making the stand more effective and growing the forum by attracting new members but also we need to consider what hooks the people who lurk or have been before but not engaged.


I'm not sure of the agreement on being provided the stand or the history of the lounge and I don't want to step on any toes but maybe that is another aspect that needs to be reviewed. My reason for saying this is I didn't see many people use the lounge other than those that manned the stand who dropped in before or after their shift. Does it use need to be better displayed?, should it be open to the public as a draw in captive audience? Or could the space be better arranged so that is multi purpose?

Having experience in exhibition design for many years I would be happy to talk with "forum management" or the show team as Dave was this year about some other ways to possibly do things. One thing I will say is a closed stand deters people as they feel they will be trapped, this may be part of the reason for who does and doesn't enter.

As I mentioned I don't know what budget, arrangements etc need to adhered to so can't comment to much.

[crowie]

In the 3-4 years I've done the forum stand at the Sydney show the lounge has proved a good meeting point for a chat and catch-up with forum mates, especially when we had coffee & tea generously supplied; but then even last year there were blokes & some ladies just enjoying a sit down & chat. [sometimes it's only been standing room only]..

My only concern would be getting extra volunteers to assist plus the security for the loaned wooden artifacts at the stand as I spoke to a few stand exhibitors last year and they had numerous items taken.

Other than that I always love seeing what folk make and do.
Cheers, crowie

[crowie]

Just a thought,
Some of the items on the display could be donated as either raffles or lucky door type prizes for new sign up members....
If a raffle the moneys could go to a nominated charity or the like.
I'd be happy to make a toy for that purpose.
Cheers, crowie

[NCArcher]

My thoughts.
Forum lounge for members only. It's there so members can have a rest and a chat and a cuppa if it's on offer.
If you open it to the general public, members wouldn't get a look in. I don't know about Melbourne but in Sydney we use it as a temporary storage area for members purchases. Couldn't do that with punters wandering in and out all the time. We didn't have tea & coffee this year but were able to use the exhibitors lounge. Even though there were big signs that said EXHIBITORS ONLY it was usually full of school kids and general public helping themselves to a cuppa so that supplies ran out very quickly. Although Woodnut put on the ex school teacher voice and chased the school kids out a couple of times.
As for displays, talks and demos, I think you would need to check on the terms of the usage. If you start doing demos and talks you may need to pay for an exhibitors space. This year at Sydney we came up with the idea of displaying Trev's motorbike with a scrolling display of the Forum WIP on a decent screen. We left it a bit late and it didn't eventuate but I still like the idea.
We also found that if you stressed the FREE aspect in the first 2 secs people were more likely to stop and listen.

[ubeaut]

I'm open to any and all suggestions that may bring people to the stand and help them to find out about the forums.

The internal section of the stand itself should be used for forum members only as a sanctuary/rest and revive area, meeting place and quiet spot to have a cuppa and a bicky or lunch, etc. and as previously mentioned a safe place to store their ill-gotten gains from the resultant pillaging raids on exhibitors stands.

Just as an aside the coffee etc at Sydney was going to cost almost $600, cost that much in Brisbane and more. Melbourne was $390 the cheapest we have ever been offered by a massive margin that was for 100 cups per day, I'm pretty sure there were a lot of non WWF members from the club stand behind us in Melb getting brews. I don't begrudge them that but there is an exhibitors lounge for them, which I am not paying for. That inner area of the stand should remain for members only and their invited guests.

As for the idea of displaying members works, demonstrations of skills and the like. I would love to see that sort of thing happen and in Melbourne this year we had a massive area outside of the stand where this could have been done. I'm could speak to the organisers and see if we can get this again in Melb and possibly something similar in Brisbane and Sydney.... If we could get enough participants.

My only concern is that I would like to see owners of articles there to take responsibility for their own things rather than having the responsibility fall on the heads of volunteers or the forums.

Two of the prizes were nicked from the stand on the weekend and I'd really hate to see something like that happen to someone pride and joy they had left for display. I also wouldn't like to be the one on duty when that happened. The feeling of the blood draining from your face and that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach wouldn't go away too quickly.

There would also be a matter of insurance for the stand and the goods. I pay special public liability for the stand. But inidividuals would have to supply their own insurance cover for theft and damage for any goods left on the stand or be prepared to shrug their shoulders and say "Oh well, they must have needed it more than I did." The forums or individual members shouldn't bare the responsibly for other members items.

Keep the ideas coming and I'll definitely see what I can do about getting something happening. I'm sure it could also act as an extra draw card for the Show as well as the forums and it could well end up being the biggest non commercial thing at the shows if done right and supported by the members.

Cheers - Neil

[Chesand]

Another thing to consider is the length of the "shifts" on the stand. I realise that we struggled this year, because of other events, to get a full muster to man the stand but I feel that it might be better to have shifts of one hour at a time and offering a second hour at some stage on the same day or on other days.
I found that I was getting tired and starting to lose interest by the end of my two hours. One hour at a time might not be so intimidating to prospective volunteers.

Another thought might be to offer a "prize/s" to be drawn for new members who join up within 7 days after the show. They would have to use a special promo code or introduce themselves as joining as a result of receiving a pamphlet. This would be a way of determining how successful the pamphlets are.

Some points that we should emphasize about the Forum when talking and handing out pamphlets are;
1. It is FREE, Free, Free and absolutely no obligation in any way. (we all do this anyway)
2. It is basically an information sharing Forum.
3. There is no minimum level of skill needed to join or be part of the Forum.
4. The majority of members are hobbyists or "weekend warriors" with a few practising or retired professionals who offer their help.
5. It is run from here in Australia - not an overseas group - although we have quite a few o/s members.
6. It is one of the most visited and most respected Forums on the net.
7. The spammers are kept under control by the administrators and moderators.

I throw those in for what they are worth and I am sure that there are other points that could be used.

[doug3030]

Another thing to consider is the length of the "shifts" on the stand. I realize that we struggled this year, because of other events, to get a full muster to man the stand but I feel that it might be better to have shifts of one hour at a time and offering a second hour at some stage on the same day or on other days.

Agreed. I only put my name down for a one-hour stint because I have a bad back and on a good day I might be able to do two hours but far too often even one hour can be a real struggle. I did not want to make a commitment I could not keep and leave someone in the lurch.

This year particularly I am glad I only volunteered for an hour as I was only able to attend one day due to having made other commitments prior to the dates for the show changing. With the gates being only open for six hours this year instead of seven, that does not leave much time for a good look around. I think I spent nearly two hours just at Wynwood Timber and I was not going to buy any timber this year but Trevor (TGCreations) led me astray.

While I agree in principal that displaying member's work on the stand may get interest, I would not like to be responsible for its security. I think more stuff gets knocked off at the show than most people realize. Was it last year or the year before that someone or a group of someones managed to stroll off with Tazzy Timbers' prize piece without paying for it, being a large slab of Huon pine worth several hundred dollars? Maybe a lockable display case could be used if someone has one that could be borrowed for the weekend?

Someone mentioned the forum lounge for storing purchases. I have done that in the past, but not this year. All the exhibitors I bought from were downstairs near the parcel pickup. I was not going to cart them upstairs just to cart them down again at the end. I might add that the parcel pickup was extremely conveniently located for drop-off and vehicle access this year and was extremely well run.

Something that we could possibly do would be to use the computer/s on the stand to register potential members onto the forums while they are there. Join them up and send them off with a nice printed card in their pocket with the forum URL, their forum ID and password written on it. It would be fairly easy to check up on how many of those signed up in that way actually logged back in later. Particularly if the card directed them to a thread in the forum to go to and post the old "Im in" to go into a draw for a bottle of shellawax or something.

Anyway its good to see people thinking about making it better.

Cheers

Doug

[Handyjack]

Unfortunately I was unable to attend this year as I was committed to work (to help pay for any purchases).

I like the idea of displaying items made by members, perhaps if those on the stand could bring one or two small items that they could talk about, and if they do not feel safe leaving them there when not on the stand, put them in storage.

I might bring something as simple as a tool box - might be plain and rough but practical and shows some basic skills even if not high end. A puppet cut on the scroll saw might be another item to show.

Just food for thought.

[CAG]

Awesome ideas from Chesand and Doug3030. I have used the computer, both last year and this year, to show genuinely interested prospective forumites the areas of the Forum of the most interest to them. Why not sign them up at the same time and entice them with a prize?

Also, when was the decision made to have a volunteer raffle? If announced earlier on the Forum, we may have had a bit more interest. I only suspect Neil and Dave saw an opportunity at the last minute to grab the you-beaut U-Beaut products. As an aside, I didn't know about the raffle until I saw the photos the morning after! And I drove Geoff Ford home to NSW and he didn't even mention it! And what a sour looking Santa Claus in the winners' photos!

I was keenly questioned by a member of the public as I was ending my shift on Saturday which he stretched to an hour! I only got three hours to look at the Show, an hour of it at the display immediately behind us in the morning. I missed out on purchasing veneers, I missed out on spending quality time with the new vendors downstairs and I missed all of the timber outside and by all accounts, I missed out on the value at Wynwood Timbers. In short, go back to one hour shifts!

I may look and act like a bouncer at times but I would not want to be responsible for someone's precious creations to then have them swiped or damaged. Imagine Trevor's (Repliconics) Indian motorcycle model getting broken! AAHHHH! Wouldn't it be awesome though to have it, or AWTEX entries from forumites like Powderpost or Chesand's rocking horse on hand to look at. Maybe individual volunteers could bring something along with them to talk about to the public and then show them on computer where it is posted and discussed on the Forum.

I agree with only allowing Forum members within the inner sanctum of the black walls. I left things inside and wouldn't want anyone we couldn't vouch for in there. I think the new venue catered so well for seating that our members weren't desperately seeking us out for a seat. Excellent seating, venue staff, catering; congratulations Liz and Impressive Exhibitions. Unforunately, I parked in the Exhibitor parking and that was a fair bit further away than most Show attendees would have realised. I should have parked directly outside the gates like I have done every other time I have attended an event at the Racecourse. C'est la vie. Oh, and to the jerk(s) who peed on the floor in the upstairs Men's Room, learn to aim!

Well done Dave and my fellow volunteers and to Neil and Pauline for your commitment to our community,

Craig

[Jeffen]

I saw the stand in Brisbane in 2014 - to be honest, it wasn't engaging, at least for me.

Personally I would have it setup as a shed, lots of old rusty (or not) planes, saws and chisels,
make it a talking point. Give people an object to connect to, their old dad's saw, or grandad's plane
or whatever - the photos are nice but they are not of anyone the punters know - so of little interest.

Anyway, that's my thoughts, create an interesting space that invites people to interact.
Happy to donate a few old chisels and maybe a plane should the idea have merit.

Jeff

[homesy135]

Just finished reading the "ideas for improving the Forum Stand" thread. While I've never been to a Sydney or Melbourne wood show I can share one thing that irks me at the Perth Wood Show and that is most of the made items are "hands off, eyes only". While I can see the need for this I would really like to handle the boxes, chests of drawers and other items to feel their weight, smoothness, etc.

Therefore, my suggestion is to have some items made by forum members that visitors to the show can feel, open, use and experience in a tactile manner.

Volunteers at the Forum stand could point out to the visitors that the forum content covers not only the production of the items but the selection of the tools and machines, best materials for construction and help with problem solving along the way. No obligations. All for free!