I meet with three lace groups. One group meets in a Community Center run by the Parks and Recreation department of the city. This group has two bookcases on wheels with doors and locks which contain the guild library. We are permitted to leave these in a back room during the month between meetings. Normally groups pay a rental fee for using a meeting room but they 'forget' to charge us. However, we give them a yearly donation check that lets them get equipment or things that are not in the normal budget. They also expect us to demo at their yearly gift bazaar.
This group previously met in a classroom at a fabric store, until the rent was raised too high to be feasible. Another group meets in a Community Room belonging to a bank. It's free to approved non-profit groups. We had to apply for the privilege, and explain who we are and what we do. It's large and well-lit. This group does not have a library so storage is not a concern. The room carries a few rules (no food, and pick up all dropped pins). Since we meet on the weekend when the bank is closed, we can park in the bank parking lot. Weekday meetings have some parking problems. The room key must be picked up each month during business hours in order to get into the room on the weekend. The third groups meets in private homes on a rotating schedule. This group is small and has no library to deal with. Our town has a fire department with a meeting room that some groups use. This might be something to check out in your town. Some churches will let groups meet in a classroom, especially if one of the members of the group is also a member of the church. Rental fee policies vary greatly. (My church has generously allowed the lace group to meet there on the month that the bank's meeting room is occupied with their auditors.) Libraries sometimes have meetings rooms, also. It helps if one of the staff is a lacemaker. Alice in Oregon ----- Original Message ---- I am looking for ideas on where a lace guild could meet.............. ............. two different locations and although both venues have served us relatively well, they have their challenges: parking is a pain and finding permanent storage for our library would be ideal. Cost is another consideration. Like most guilds we would rather spend money on books and teachers than on rent. We even thought that if we found the right tenant, we would offer lace course in exchange for free rent. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
