Good SNAG Conference Swaps?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Ah, the SNAG conference, in beautiful Chicago, is just 5 little
months away, time to start working on my swaps.

What are the criteria for a good swap? They should be interesting,
creative… It seems that the challenge is to make them cool while
keeping the cost down.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

2 
What are the criteria for a good swap? They should be interesting,
creative... It seems that the challenge is to make them cool while
keeping the cost down.

Yup. That’s always the challenge. But you wouldn’t want us to
pollute your head with our ideas instead of you dreaming up your own,
now would you? What fun would THAT be? (grin)

Peter

3

For those of you who might be new to the list and to SNAG, Elaine is
speaking about the annual conference for the Society of North
American Goldsmiths. Each year, they hold a pin swap. Attendees make
about 30 inexpensive pins to swap. I have literally hundreds of pins
which I have collected from the past 15 years.

If you want to learn more about the conference, check out:

The conference lasts Wed-Saturday and includes lectures, visual
presentations, gallery tours, the pin swap, a vendor room and the
Saturday night banquet.

For goldsmiths, I think it is the counterpart to Tucson as its focus
is about contemporary metalsmithing rather than commercial. SNAG
conferences have about 750 metalsmiths in attendance. I have been to
every conference since 1991 and wouldn’t miss it.

-k

4 
But you wouldn't want us to pollute your head with our ideas
instead of you dreaming up your own, now would you? What fun would
THAT be? (grin)

Oh, no, I wasn’t asking for ideas, that would spoil the fun. I was
aiming for a discussion on what makes a good swap – as in the
criteria.

Elaine

Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

5

Many thanks to Karen Christians for responding about swaps at SNAG
Conferences! My name is Kristin Shiga, and I am SNAG’s Conference
Manager. Thought you all might like to know that for the 2006 SNAG
Conference in Chicago, we are “thinking outside the pin.”

This year SNAG’s traditional icebreaker social gathering will be a
Pendant Swap (cord will be provided), opening the conference on
the evening of Wednesday, May 24, 2006. Swap your pendants with other
conference-goers over hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Let your
imagination run wild! As Karen said, we recommend you make 10-75
inexpensive pendants to swap. The more you make, the more you can
swap, and anything (materials, format, etc.) goes! It’s a great way
to meet people and see some really inspiring work, to boot.

If you would like to find out more details about the 2006 SNAG
Conference, please visit the Current Conference pages of SNAG’s web
site at www.snagmetalsmith.org.

Hope to see you at the Pendant Swap in Chicago! Best, Kristin

Kristin Shiga - SNAG Conference Manager
tel: 503.329.2352 / fax: 503.286.8679 / @snagconference

The 2006 SNAG Conference, “Mind & Matter: From Thought to Object,” will
be held from May 24-27 in Chicago, Illinois. For more on
this and other SNAG Conferences, please visit www.snagmetalmith.org and
click on the “SNAG Conferences” tab.