I just wrapped up a week in Las Vegas at the West Coast Art and Frame Expo where thousands of framers get together for learning, camaraderie and over indulgence (it is Vegas after all). This annual trip to the desert is something I look forward to each January. After the craze of the holidays, a few days away is always a welcome reprieve.

If you happen to be surprised that 1. picture framers even have a convention or 2. that four thousand plus framers come from all parts of the world, let me assure you friends, the dream is real.

First off, I was there to work, not play, although I did manage to do both. I presented 5 brand new classes. *Note to self: don’t ever commit to creating 5 new classes again. To my relief and amazement, all of my classes were sold out. Standing room only.

Just look at these happy people getting ready for my wisdom. They were here for my Fundamentals of Frame Design class. I also taught Recharge Your Business, on business strategy and Building the Buzz, event marketing class. As a bonus, I taught 4 quick courses in the Wizard booth on the trade show floor.

I am so busy, I rarely have time to walk the show floor, I did manage to squeak out a few minutes to sweep the show. The first stop was my friend Andres at House of Mercier, a Peruvian company that specializes in custom leather-wrapped frames. We shared one of the most important frames of my career this past year. If you missed the January issue of Picture Framing Magazine, you can read about the project here: http://finerframes.com/leather-cabinet-frame/  

As a picture framer, you’ve got to forgive me for getting nerdy here. But check out these frames!!! Yes, they really are THAT BIG! This is like frame porn. Oh Roma, you never disappoint this frame lady.

One of the highlights of the show was to see three fantastic frames we created on display in Tru Vue’s booth. If you think framing customer’s special items is stressful, imagine framing these for shipment across the county for scrutiny by the best framers in the world. Yikes! Happy to report the frames made it!  This was part of TV’s new Boot Camp Retail Makeover contest of which I am part of the prize. Framers, register here.

My team also worked on building extraordinary frames for the Wizard booth. We built 5 new projects this year that they added to last year’s frames. I love the Eric Clapton album! Emily does too… can you tell?

It was great seeing my newest graduates from my Recharge Your Business program. This has been a project 10 years in the making and there is nothing more satisfying that seeing others soar. Congratulations to Gilded Moon Framing and Finishing Touches Picture Framing. You guys rock!

It was an action-packed week for sure, but we managed to squeeze in some fun. I toured the ancient Samurai warrior exhibit at the Bellagio Fine Art Museum. Michelle and I visited the famous Fremont Street and may have had a cocktail or two. Have you been? This is a place that cannot be explained, it must be experienced… just make sure your medical shots are current.

In case you missed WCAF 2018, I’ve posted a video of one of my Wizard classes on YouTube. Go check it out, leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!