Re: [lace] Re: IOLI Convention -location, location, location - and price
At 9:46 PM -0700 3/16/05, Vasna Zago wrote: Thirdly, I work at a university, and they don't do conferences anymore. School runs year round. Students are in the dorms all year. There are no extra spaces, we barely have enough space for our own classes and staff, much less renting precious classrooms out to conferences. Universities are facing major financial difficulties, and the times when one could rent a university for an outside conference (at least here in the US) are long gone. So, that option no longer exists for IOLI convention planners. It's a hotel or nothing. And, to get a hotel with any amount of classroom space means it's gonna cost the convention go-ers. Them's the facts. BUT, in comparison to other professional conferences, IOLI is still a terrific bargain. The Embroiderers' Guild of America, Inc., has smaller regional seminars in some years, and in my area (Mid-Atlantic), we used to hold these seminars on university campuses until the late 1990s. But after that time, they changed to being held at hotels. Why? Because the organizers found that the universities had started charging as much as convention-style hotels for definitely not convention-style accommodations. It seems that the universities had caught on to the fact that they could make some real money renting out their space for these types of activities. This may not be true everywhere, but it is a factor in this part of the country. As to when the tours happen (mid week, late week), the times and length of classes, etc., it's all up to what the convention planners want to do. And, as we can tell from the messages, here, whatever one does, SOMEBODY is not going to like the arrangement. They/we do the best we can and hope the majority of people will be happy. Although it does mean one extra night in the hotel, I think it is nice to have a one-day break in the middle, especially for a newbie to lace-making, so that her head doesn't just overflow with all the learning crammed in there from intensive workshops. Even if you choose not to take a trip but instead work on your lace, it's at a more relaxed pace, with no time restrictions on when you're doing it, and so allows one to perhaps clear the brain a little for the next 2 days of lessons. -- Mary, in Baltimore, MD [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Re: IOLI Convention -location, location, location - and price
In a message dated 3/16/2005 11:33:09 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: There's but a *single* obstacle (as far as I've heard) to organising IOLI Conferences on U campuses: the elder membership (the majority of attendees) is disinclined to *walk* from one building to the next (bedroom-food-class sequence)... And some object to student fare vis food on the been there, done that 40 yrs before, and don't want to do it again principle (but you send your precious child into the same environment, without a second thought, no?). Unstated but understood is also the problem that some of the elder attendes would not *fit* in (on?) a single bed... Having spent some time among the mobility impaired while still youthful, I would like to offer the observation that the IOLI Convention is a vacation that, generally speaking, is one that you can do with limited mobility, especially if the hotel is well supplied with elevators. (Funny how sedentary hobbies attract people who don't walk too well.) Last year's convention in Harrisburg demonstrated the importance of a handicapped friendly environment. Although in some ways the layout was good, only two floors to the hotel. In other ways it was bad since there was a set of stairs at the entrance that must be traversed with suitcases etc. Worst of all was that many of the activities took place in a two story lobby with a stair case. The banquet/sales room was on the bottom floor below the two story lobby, and was equipped with a cumbersome wheel chair lift rather than an elevator. One day I was present when a group of perhaps fifteen, including hotel employees, friends and supporters of a wheel chair bound individual and curiosity seekers gathered to assist in transporting the person down the stairs to the sales room. Meanwhile a steady stream of people using canes, some of them red in the face and breathing laboriously were working their way up the other side of the steps crying out, I'm OK, I'm OK, really I am. Undoubtedly all these people would have to stay home if they had to walk to cafeterias and classrooms in other parts of the campus, or else there would have to be cadres of people transporting them in vans, etc. And sometimes after a day of extremely exhausting and painful transporting yourself around, you might want to splash out for room service! It is often said that being disabled is expensive and in a sense the entire convention is bearing the expense of being available to people who are not terribly mobile, but that is a lot of our group. (Some of this impairment is invisible in the form of heart problems.) How did they handle handicapped people in Prague? When I visited Germany which is as far east in Europe as I have dared to go since becoming mobility impaired, I was amazed at the number of people I saw dragging themselves around on two canes, until I realized that they were building brand new buildings with no elevators there, so wheel chairs were not very useful. It was two canes, or stay home. It really weeded out the weaklings! (I began to take my cane everywhere because, while in the US you can just operate as a normal person using elevators and escalators, in Germany when you arrive with a cane, sometimes, if you are lucky, word is sent to the back office and in about ten minutes someone arrives with a key and unlocks a freight elevator for you and conducts you up to the fourth floor. Of course, when it is time to leave, that person is nowhere to be found.) However this points out a basic problem that the accommodations very much determine who goes to conventions. The needs of younger people and the needs of older people are somewhat in conflict. Pity the poor organizers of conventions. Devon - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: IOLI Convention -location, location, location - and price
On Mar 16, 2005, at 19:50, Janice Blair wrote: I have been to all conventions, except Puerto Rico, since the one held in Ann Arbor. I have no recollection of staying at a 5 star hotel and some of them would be lucky to receive 3 stars! $100 per night is sky-high for some of us, no matter how lousy the hotel really is. I agree with Weronika - and have been beating this same drum for years, like Cato and his Cartagina obsession - the lace get togethers ought to be set in (on?) a University campus environment; the last OIDFA, in Prague, was a *model* in that respect... And every city large enough to have a convention-friendly hotel is likely to have a U campus as well, so that's not an issue. 1) You have an option to share the - dorm - room (and are likely to share the bathroom with more than one person), or you can have a room to yourself if you're willing to pay extra. But, even if you share a *room*, you don't have to share a *bed* (something I personally dislike to the point of abhorrence; the more so, the older I grow) - the beds are singles, being aimed at students, not families. 2) You never run out of *proper* classroom space - something that happened both in Hasbrouck Heights and in Ithaca, where some people had to have classes in bedrooms or in suites, which were not really suitable as classrooms. Even if there *are* enough conference rooms in a hotel to accomodate 35 separate courses (I counted the Denver ones), the needs for quality light of businessmen on the one hand and stitchers on the other are not likely to be the same. Classrooms, unlike conference rooms are likely to be both large and well lit. 3) Universities may not have ballrooms, but they do have large halls - they need them for functions (graduations, etc) 4) The U cafeteria food may be unimaginative and a tad heavy on the starches, but it offers *some* choice and is *still* cheaper than the special of the day at *any* hotel large enough to have its own restaurant. And, in US, at least, fast-food places if not actually *on* campus (some universities have food courts on campus) are within less then spitting distance - students migh riot, if deprived of theit pizza :) There's but a *single* obstacle (as far as I've heard) to organising IOLI Conferences on U campuses: the elder membership (the majority of attendees) is disinclined to *walk* from one building to the next (bedroom-food-class sequence)... And some object to student fare vis food on the been there, done that 40 yrs before, and don't want to do it again principle (but you send your precious child into the same environment, without a second thought, no?). Unstated but understood is also the problem that some of the elder attendes would not *fit* in (on?) a single bed... The OIDFA/Prague organisers did - IMO - a brilliant job of marrying the divergent needs of have's and have not's... They booked places in surrounding (and superiour g) *little* hotels for those who couldn't stomach the U hoi-polloi as their daily fare. Those hotels were all within a short taxi-ride (1-3 bus stops) from the campus and the events. To be sure, it was a pain to collect them (and their complaints) on a trip day, but better than having them bitch abut low standards 24/7... And since all U meals were by choice, they could have theirs - better - elsewhere. Perfect. When I attend IOLI (and other US) events, I try to stay at the hub. But I *do* resent -whether I'm flush or skint - having to spend a load of moolah (on top of a load of moolah spent on the air ticket), on hotel do-dads like environmentally-incorrect one-use shampoo bottles etc, only to be faced with having to work in a make-shift classroom... Finding a hotel to have the convention *Why* does it have to be a *hotel*??? Weronika, you will not be alone on Wednesday if you miss out on the trips. I plan on working on my lace that day So do I. But, like Weronika, I'd prefer to be able to opt-out of a trip at one *end* of the event, not in the middle of it. With the trip in the middle, whether I take it or not, I still have to pay for the hotel room for that night... We can walk to the Super Walmart to stock up on cheap food. Their advertisements don't always live up to their delivery - you have to watch your step carefully. Wonder if they sell cheap plonk as well. Ours does. *Very* cheap... barely a step above denatured alcohol, at least in 1liter bottles. The gallons might offer something drinkable :) Weronika, plonk is Brit for cheap wine -- Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Re: IOLI Convention -location, location, location - and price
On Mar 16, 2005, at 19:50, Janice Blair wrote: I have been to all conventions, except Puerto Rico, since the one held in Ann Arbor. I have no recollection of staying at a 5 star hotel and some of them would be lucky to receive 3 stars! Tamara wrote: $100 per night is sky-high for some of us, no matter how lousy the hotel really is. I agree with Weronika - and have been beating this same drum for years, like Cato and his Cartagina obsession - the lace get togethers ought to be set in (on?) a University campus environment; the last OIDFA, in Prague, was a *model* in that respect... And every city large enough to have a convention-friendly hotel is likely to have a U campus as well, so that's not an issue. (rest snipped.) Geesh, Tamara, sometimes there's no making you happy, eh? ;- Anyway, I have a few comments. One, is that it's impossible to find a decent hotel room under $100/night these days. Lots of my faculty go to conferences all over and room rates are running about $150-$180 per night. Secondly, conference fees normally run in the $350 range, so IOLI convention registration fees currently are dirt cheap. Thirdly, I work at a university, and they don't do conferences anymore. School runs year round. Students are in the dorms all year. There are no extra spaces, we barely have enough space for our own classes and staff, much less renting precious classrooms out to conferences. Universities are facing major financial difficulties, and the times when one could rent a university for an outside conference (at least here in the US) are long gone. So, that option no longer exists for IOLI convention planners. It's a hotel or nothing. And, to get a hotel with any amount of classroom space means it's gonna cost the convention go-ers. Them's the facts. BUT, in comparison to other professional conferences, IOLI is still a terrific bargain. As to when the tours happen (mid week, late week), the times and length of classes, etc., it's all up to what the convention planners want to do. And, as we can tell from the messages, here, whatever one does, SOMEBODY is not going to like the arrangement. They/we do the best we can and hope the majority of people will be happy. Just my two cents, ma'am. Vasna In sunny Boulder, Colorado, where the crocuses got buried in the snow this week. - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [lace] Re: IOLI Convention -location, location, location - and price
Thirdly, I work at a university, and they don't do conferences anymore. School runs year round. Students are in the dorms all year. There are no extra spaces, we barely have enough space for our own classes and staff, much less renting precious classrooms out to conferences. Universities are facing major financial difficulties, and the times when one could rent a university for an outside conference (at least here in the US) are long gone. So, that option no longer exists for IOLI convention planners. It's a hotel or nothing. And, to get a hotel with any amount of classroom space means it's gonna cost the convention go-ers. Them's the facts. BUT, in comparison to other professional conferences, IOLI is still a terrific bargain. Your university may not 'do' conferences but others do. We held a conference at a local U in 2001 and had great service. 'Doing Conferences' is their summer business. We plan to use it or another one in 2-3 years when we host again. Lorri Washington State - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[lace] Re: IOLI Convention -location, location, location - and price
On Mar 16, 2005, at 23:46, Vasna Zago wrote: Geesh, Tamara, sometimes there's no making you happy, eh? ;- On the contrary... I'm easy to please, as long as my pocket-snake (which bites whenever I dip im my pocket for cash) remains sleepy... :) Mild as milk and twice as bland - that's me :) Anyway, I have a few comments. One, is that it's impossible to find a decent hotel room under $100/night these days. Granted. Lots of my faculty go to conferences all over and room rates are running about $150-$180 per night. Some of those conference rooms are not paid by attendees, but by their firm. Less so in the case of teachers (who are less and less likely to go, even though the conferences might be vital to them), but for certain sure in the case of the big cheeses (currently on trials for fraud)... The hotels have beenn trimming their rates to people on business accounts for years, as have the airlines. Secondly, conference fees normally run in the $350 range, so IOLI convention registration fees currently are dirt cheap. I didn't even think of questioning the registration fee - I feel we get a heck of a lot for it (though I'd happily drop the goodie bag for a $25 discount) - but now that you mention it... :) The normal conferences you're talking about are for *professionals*; IOLI conference, in contrast, is for people pursuing a hobby. We are not attending a conference and the workshops because - armed with all we learn there - we hope to make big bucks in the future... We go for personal enrichment, yes, but it has a different face :) Thirdly, I work at a university, and they don't do conferences anymore. Like some other people have said - depends on the school. Washington and Lee (the local U, *mostly* undergraduate) started to promote summer activities some 20+ yrs ago, as a means of getting money; parts of the U *had* to be open all year round but most of the paying students (undergraduates) went home for 3 months. I've never known them to do *business* conferences, but they do all sorts of stuff - Alumni College (older people - alumni and spouses - coming back for some mental reinvigoration) , Summer Scholars (kids in junior year of highschool thinking of going to college getting a taste of it), various sports camps (one to three week long), and Arts Fair (4 weeks of art classes for kids between 6 and 18; 4 hrs a day, no food, no lodging, just classroom space). Given an early-enough booking, they *might* be willing to put up a lace conference. It wouldn't be as good for them as the other enterprises - I don't think any of the faculty could be employed as teachers, for example. But lace is still culture, and qualifies as adding to the cachet :) And there ar other colleges (junior) around, with fewer resources and, therefore, fewer scruples... BUT, in comparison to other professional conferences, IOLI is still a terrific bargain. In comparison to (other) *professional* conferences, yes... But we *are not* professionals; we are housewives, dabbbling at a hobby... We are not sponsored - in any part - by our place of employment (if we're employed at all); we have to shell out of our own pocket, no taxpayer money involved... As to when the tours happen (mid week, late week), the times and length of classes, etc., it's all up to what the convention planners want to do. And, as we can tell from the messages, here, whatever one does, SOMEBODY is not going to like the arrangement. You can please some of the people all of the time, or all of the people some of the time, but not both; sure. But the profile of workshops offered at the Conferences has changed over the 16 yrs I've been a member of IOLI; the 3hr and the 6hr workshops seem to have disappeared (RIP g), and the 12hr and the 24hr ones have become prominent. Presumably, because *intensive* was what most people wanted. So, who knows... If enough people object to paying for a night in a hotel room so that others can attend something totally unrelated to lace (a horse-shoe toss or whatever), then the attraction will also be moved in such a way as to accomodate the tourists but without putting the onus on the lacemakers. Just my two cents, ma'am. Heck, with the dollar in the dumps, I never bother with less than a quarter... Ma'am :) -- Tamara P Duvallhttp://t-n-lace.net/ Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
