If you follow my blog, you would have heard me mention CHA and the Designer Showcase before. But have you ever wondered what a Designer Showcase actually is? Well, it's anything that the Designer wants it to be. In the past, I've always displayed my work so that Showcase visitors could get a feel for my style and what it is that I do. But this year, I decided to take a different approach. You see, CHA provided us with a gallery-style pedestal instead of a table, so I created a very minimalist display. And unlike past years where I've had lots of my designs on display, this year I had just ONE finished piece. But, that piece is the hero of my display. I hope it will all make sense by the time you reach the end of the post. In the meantime, follow the pics to see how my Showcase took shape. Let's start with the props for the display. I wanted three round, white boxes which nested inside each other. But having left it until just two days before jetting out to the US to put......

It's just 3 days before I jet out to LA for the CHA Winter Trade Show and Conference and I'm working on the finishing touches for my Designer Showcase at the moment. Each Show I tease you with some sneak peeks of my showcase but you never get to actually see the final display and this year is no different. But instead of teasing you this time, I' sharing photos of one of the pieces on my Showcase as I make it. You might recall the posts about the LED light strings that decorated my dining room last year for my birthday dinner bash. If not, you can check them out here . I'm going to put those lights to use as a decorative feature on my showcase this year by dressing them up a little. Originally, I thought I'd change the colour because they are quite a bright purple. It would have been easy enough to do - a swipe with methylated spirits would have removed the alcohol ink. But I've decided that the purple works quite well with my "all black and white" the......

Part of my preparations for each CHA show involves putting together a Designer Showcase. I've written about these preparations on previous occasions but you might be wondering exactly what a Designer Showcase is. Well, it's an event where CHA Designers showcase their services and design skills to potential clients in a table top format. Essentially it's a room full of some of the most amazing three-dimensional craft portfolios from some incredibly talented designers. Well that might explain what a Showcase is but the next question is, what do you include in a showcase? Well, that's up to the individual designer. There are no rules and what works for one designer doesn't suit another. For me, I'm still formulating my idea of what a good showcase for me is. I laugh when I think back to my first showcase which had SO MUCH going on in it that it looked more like a craft stall than a Designer Showcase and all that was missing was price tags! It was still successful b......