Those of you who have been attendees at Rio Grande's Catalog In Motion in Tucson received a letter this week from CEO Alan Bell.
"As you are a prior attendee at Catalog In Motion, I wanted you to be among the first to know that after 23 consecutive years, we won't be taking Catalog In Motion back to Tucson in 2011.
Our first Catalog In Motion® back in 1988 created a whole new way for you to see, touch and learn about jewelry-making products. The show has been hugely successful because of you and all the others who joined us in Tucson each year. We are grateful for your past attendance and hope you got as much out of Catalog In Motion® in Tucson as we did.
While we’ll no longer be taking Catalog In Motion® to Tucson, we’ll be bringing Catalog In Motion® to you every day of the year, any time of day.
As new technology continues to stride forward, we find ourselves in an ideal position to extend our availability to our customers worldwide. We can allocate the very same resources which made Catalog In Motion® so successful—expertise, passion and commitment to education—in a way that will ignite your collaborative spirit and nourish our industry like never before.
Our plans include the continued growth of our educational library, including instructional videos and creative projects that you can access whenever the need arises. We’ll produce webinars and visual training demonstrations that will be available to you any time the creative spark hits. Internet-based user groups for our high-tech equipment and specialized lines will invite and encourage collaboration and innovation. You will be able to gain a wealth of knowledge, network with colleagues and try new processes in the comfort of your own studio—you could be watching Phil Poirier’s Bonny Doon hydraulic press demonstration over your morning coffee while a fellow jeweler across the globe watches at the end of his day.
We’ll continue to offer the support and educational opportunities you’ve come to rely on. Get hands-on training at any one of our jewelry-making classes or events, or drop in anytime right here at our Albuquerque facility; we’ll be featuring the best experts available. Just a few weeks ago, Argentium® Silver expert, Ronda Coryell, joined us in Albuquerque to teach fusing and granulation! And of course, you can get live support for the tougher challenges by calling our expert Technical Support Team that boasts more than 15 decades of combined experience. And while we won’t be in Tucson, we’ll still offer special-pricing promotions on select items during the Tucson Gem & Mineral show.
We thank you for your prior participation in Catalog In Motion®. We’re excited to move forward with you, to be a growing part of the creative spirit that draws us all together and continues to move our industry forward.
Whether you come visit us here in Albuquerque or on the web, we’ll be here for you with products, service and know-how every day of the year."
What Rio Grande plans is to take advantage of the new technology available to produce instructional videos, webinars and visual training demonstrations as well as Internet based user groups and a continuation of live workshops in their Albuquerque workshops.
I have to say that this makes me very sad - I understand the costs of putting on a show the size of the Catalog In Motion is tremendous - but I personally was a convert to Rio following the 2008 CIM - I was able to get hands on time with the larger equipment as well as the opportunity to talk first hand with the people who create and invent the tools.
The one-on-one between you and the tool or the demonstrator - the relationship building...this is something that a video can't do.
So while I am sad today - I expect to see a change in these plans in 2012...this is such a unique concept and the results should be measurable...while I am wishing you the best Rio - I will miss your show immensely!
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