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 Scrollsaw Contests sponsored by SAW and Creative Woodworks and Crafts:

As a result of the conversations that were held the previous year. SAW took the opportunity of holding a Scrollsaw Contest at each of the Scrollsaw Picnics this year. Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine joined with SAW in sponsoring this event. Each of the picnic hosts was contacted and agreed to provide space for the contest.  Anticipation, excitement, and fear filled our days until the first contest was held at the Tennesse Scrollsaw Picnic. The co-sponsorship of the contest allowed for more advertising through the magazine. SAW provided the workers to manage the contest and two of the judges. CWWC provided the third judge. Both SAW and CWWC provided the prizes for the contest with SAW providing the ribbons.

It was a major success. There were more items entered into this contest than were entered at SAW Conference the year before. Scrollers liked being able to do a little more than just put their projects onto a brag table. This was an opportunity for them to really see how their work would be rated against others work. And they took advantage of the opportunity.

By the time we got to the Pennsylvania Scrollsaw picnic, anticipation was running high. In spite of some rainy weather, entries were good for the contest and many people enjoyed having this venue added to the picnic schedule.

Our last contest for the year was at Joe Diveley's picnic in August. Over 100 items were entered into the contest and the judges had an extremely difficult time determining the winner. The statement was made that there had to be at least 15 to 20 "Gallery Quality" items entered in this contest. What we couldn't determine was why the quality of the items entered took such a huge jump up, but the bar was raised a lot from previous contests. CWWC was very thrilled to be able to talk to several people about their projects and found several for inclusion in future issues of the magazine.  Pat Lupori was extremely pleased that she didn't have to judge the entries, but only accept them into the contest and manage the details. Winning any kind of a ribbon at this contest was a great honor, because there were so many great projects entered.

We learned a lot from hosting the contests. Each time a contest was held we made small changes to the judging method, bookkeeping method, and project handling. The number of categories was limited in order to be able to handle it in a one day venue.  Small refinements may continue to be added, but the co-sponsorship was enough of a success that both SAW and CWWC want to continue to host the Scrollsaw contest at future scrollsaw events.

SAW promotional items:

In the past SAW has produced T-shirts with the SAW logo on it. This year, we added to that a sport shirt with a collar. The logo is much smaller and is a very nice looking shirt. In spite of the fact that our first order for the shirt burned up in a fire at the factory, we managed to get these items before the first picnic of the year. Luckily no one was hurt in the fire, and the factory is being rebuilt.  We were very pleased with the look of the new Sport Shirt and hope to continue it for some time.

Scrollsaw Workshop Magazine Open House

Fox Chapel Publishing (founders of the Scrollsaw Workshop Magazine) held an open house in late March at their publishing headquarters. This is something they have done for the carving side for several years, but was their first time with a group of scrollers.  This two day event gave many people the opportunity to meet two of the newest scrollsaw authors around: Gary Browning of scrollsaw portrait fame, and Diana Thompson, of 3-D scrolling fame. In addition, John and Joyce Nelson, Tony Burns, Barry Gross, Chuck Olson, Ray Seymour (Seyco), Ron Posten (Hegner), Ernie Melton (Eclipse) and many others participated as vendors.  The open house was a major success. Scrollers from as far away as Alaska made the trip to attend. And they were not disappointed when they got there. We are hoping that this can become an annual event, because it sure looks like there are a lot of scrollers willing to make the trip to attend.

Tennessee Scrollsaw Picnic:

David and Rhonda Sloan (Sloan's Woodworking) held their second Scrollsaw Picnic at the local fairgrounds this year. In spite of the larger location, they still gathered major crowds of people attending. It was a fantastic event and had more vendors than before. Two rooms of vendors. There was plenty of room for people to move around and see and talk to everyone they wished to.  The contest held a lot of interest also and was very well received.

Pennsylvania Scrollsaw Picnic:

Dale was not blessed with good weather this year, but in spite of the rain, everyone had a fantastic time. Dale has such a nice location to hold his picnic, but for the first time "Mother Nature" did not comply with his request for good weather. Almost 50 items were entered into the Scrollsaw Contest. Attendance at the picnic was low, probably because of the weather, but everyone who came had a fantastic time.

Illinois Scrollsaw Picnic:

Joe and Sarah Diveley held their picnic in early August.  SAW was in attendance and sponsored the Scrollsaw Contest with CWWC magazine. It became very obvious early in the day that we had not planned enough space for the number of items that were being entered in the contest. Luckily we managed to squeeze another 15 feet of space along a wall. Thanks to all of the vendors who gave us a little extra room to make this possible.  We were overwhelmed by this contest in a couple of ways. First of all, the sheer number of entries. And secondly, by the quality of the items being entered.  The newsletter had printed several articles on what kinds of things judges were looking for in a contest. Rick Hutcheson had written an article which he placed on his web site on the same subject. This particular contest was a milestone. Apparently people had been watching and learning. The bar for quality was definitely raised at this contest.  From the time of the first official contest sponsored by SAW at SAW Conference the year before to now was like night and day.  Only the judges were dismayed by this. The process of judging took only about an hour to an hour and a half at previous contests. They spent over two hours determining the winner of this contest.  They were forced to get very, very, very picky in order to select a winner.  Somehow I think it is going to get more difficult to find judges in the future as a result. They really had to work this time around.

Swedish Scrollsaw Picnic:

Gunnar Asplund hosted this event in Sweden.  We were unable to attend personally, but the pictures that Gunnar sent were magnificent.  More people are learning of Gunnar's picnic and the size of the crowd he is drawing is growing. They moved to a different location this year and still filled the available space. You will have to look at the pictures that Gunnar sent to judge for yourself. SAW again sent door prizes to help support this event in Sweden. Someday we will actually be able to send someone to attend.