Crafts At Christmas

[Gill]

Being a 'crafty' sort of person, I visited the Crafts At Christmas show at the NEC yesterday. It was extremely well attended and you could hardly move amongst the crowds.

There was the usual plethora of stamp making, card making, cross stitch etc which didn't interest me at all. However, in amongst it all were some highly skilled woodworkers selling turned pieces, furniture, jigsaws... you name it, it was there. Moreover, it was selling in vast quantities whereas the other craft merchandise was hardly shifting.

Since there's been talk on this forum recently about how disappointing woodwork shows have become lately, I thought I'd mention this.

Gill

 

[Losos]

Hi Gill,
My brother has been participating in a few craft fairs the last few months but has been sadly disappointed by the turnout & sales. (He does glass engraving) Did you notice any glass engraving stands at the event :?:

 

[Gill]

Hi Losos

I didn't taken much notice but there certainly were some engraving suppliers demonstrating their wares. It wasn't all machine operated, either - there were a variety of compounds being used to etch and engrave.

One new technique I hadn't seen before involved printing monochrome pictures from a computer onto a specially treated sheet, then applying it to the surface that was to be etched and letting the chemicals do the work. It looked very impressive. I don't know much more about it, I'm afraid.

I was taken by the Graphtec 'Craft Robo' which is a printer-type device that can cut card up to 2mm thick using a fine cutter. If only it could be beefed up to cut wooden veneers - marquetarians would be out of business!

Gill

 

[Losos]

Gill,

That printing technique sounds a bit like the way the early PCBs were made in the electronics industry (Printed Circuit Boards)

The current method uses lasers & all sorts of gizmos, so maybe the makers of the old method are looking for new markets to stay in business