TRAVEL IN THE INTERIM

While the trip to Italy is still in the works, the world must go on in the interim. We were blissfully planning an idyllic trip to the Southern Hemisphere that could have included Australia, Hong Kong and Hawaii, when we received an e-mail from one of our favorite suppliers asking us to consider meeting with their staff at the Paperworld show in Frankfurt in January. January in Germany?

We'd done this a few years ago, and Susan and her sister did it last year, so it's not unprecedented - just cold. The skiiers out there would probably be drooling at the prospect, but alas I cannot really get into that mindset. Besides, very little skiing gets done in Frankfurt these days.

The Paperworld Fair is truly amazing! Numerous huge exhibit halls are located just outside if the city center. The Frankfurt commuter trains routinely stop at Messe, and a train pass comes with the Fair registration. In addition to the art materials sections, there are separate fairs for Beauty Supplies, Office Supplies, Christmas materials and who knows what else.

A few years ago, when I went with Susan, we were walking the show one day, and kept bumping into an acquaintence who became a greater pain in the %&^ with each meeting! When I saw him coming down the aisle late in the afternoon, I'd had all I could take of him, so I ducked into the first booth that I could, and pretended to be interested in their products!

It wasn't too long before I realized that I actually was interested in some of their supplies, and a serious conversation began about the brayers and hand tools. The acquaintence is long gone from the art materials industry, but we're still selling the German Brayers and tools. Sometimes you just get lucky.