All Hail Columbus!

I leave tomorrow for the ISACS conference in Columbus, Ohio, where I'll attend workshops and seminars with teachers and administrators from Independent School Association of the Central States, the accreditation organization that accredits our Clear Spring School. This will be my first time to attend the annual conference.

While I've driven through Columbus many times on my way to New York, or Philadelphia, this will be the second time it has been the destination of my travels. The first was in the summer of about 1993 when I exhibited at an American Crafts Council show. The show was poorly attended, the aisles were nearly empty, sales were extremely poor until I got an order for $6000.00 from a New York Gallery (almost all of which was later cancelled.) But often success is not in the form that we expect.

I had one visitor hanging around my booth, occupying the very long spaces between the customers who weren't there, an editor from Woodworker's Journal, Doug Cantwell. Doug was intrigued and curious about my designs and wondered about publishing them in his magazine. I said yes. As a result, I found myself in my first relationship with a national magazine. They wrote two articles featuring my work and when they wanted to do another, I asked, "Will you let me write my own?" They said yes, and that led to more articles and books, to woodworking education and to this blog. It is a shaggy dog story that ran right through Columbus, a city named in honor of discovery. I am looking forward to going back. And this time instead of selling work, I'll be conferring, sharing, and learning with other educators.

I may be away from the blog, but if you want to dig deep and read old stuff, type sloyd in the search block at upper left.