2010 Convention Page
Presentations
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A broad range of seminar topics are being prepared for the convention, and registered attendees will be able to enjoy them. The abstracts for those presentations will be posted here as they come in. |
Are You An Embarrassed Collector? Don't Be!
Maybe you've never articulated why you collect, what your collection "does" -- or maybe you have & you just don't think it's important in The Big Picture sort of a way. Maybe others have made you feel like a capitalistic consumer pig in your collecting pursuits. Whatever the reason, do you down-play your "junk," your hobby, and your passion?
It is my hope that in this session you will become a more confident collector, to learn to see your items beyond their materialistic cash value and appraise them for their cultural and intrinsic values, to see the very act of collecting itself and your contribution as a collector as significant. Because all collections, great and small -- all collectors, great and small -- are of incredible value.
Schedule: Not yet scheduled
Buying Antique Bookmarks On eBay
eBay is still the primary source for collectors who prefer to focus their collecting energies on antique and vintage bookmarks. But the online auction giant has made a number of changes to its system in the last few years that up the risk for both sellers and buyers. It is important to know how to protect yourself when buying and paying, how to evaluate sellers, how to bid effectively, how to judge bookmarks when you cannot handle the product in person, how to use the discussion forums to your advantage, and how to have fun! Lauren Roberts, a five-year veteran of eBay, will walk you through everything you should know. This course will be particularly useful for those who have not yet but want to buy on eBay as well as those who have been buying for a while (up to the intermediate level). Come one, come all. Learn how to use this useful auction site to your advantage.
Schedule: Not yet scheduled
Exhibiting Bookmarks - CANCELED
Due to an unexpected personal situation, this talk has had to be canceled.
How To Store And Display Your Bookmark Collection
Buying bookmarks is fun, but how do you show them off? Many of us keep them in boxes or drawers, but such "systems" do not allow for easy enjoyment or sharing. With the growth of ephemera collecting has come the growth of companies whose products are made for bookmark collectors. Whether you favor modern bookmarks or antique ones, paper ones or silk ones, two-dimensional ones or three-dimensional there are products for you. But how do you find them? What are their costs? What factors do you consider in choosing one or more? Is it necessary to buy archival products or will regular plastic do? How do you determine what will work best for you when you haven't tried any of the various products? Join Lauren Roberts for an informative, practical presentation on the various products that bookmark collectors can find useful. The emphasis will be on providing an overview and on helping attendees narrow their selections by determining what they are seeking in terms of storage and display for their particular collection.
Schedule: Not yet scheduled
The Making of an Embroidered Bookmark and the Stitching for Literacy Program
Embroidered "bookmarkers" were all the rage from 1840 to the1880s. Cards with holes punched by mechanical presses were a popular ground material, and Godey's Lady's Magazine and its rivals, Graham's Magazine and Peterson's, printed patterns. Girls practiced stitching on bookmarkers, making treasured gifts for family and friends.
Needleworkers today—male, female, young, old, hip, old-fashioned—still craft bookmarks and give them away, not only as gifts for family and friends, but as part of the Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy program to encourage young readers. We have more choices for ground materials and fibers and access to techniques from around the world. The result is a wide and exciting variety of bookmarks to make, share, collect, and enjoy.
This class explores the making of an embroidered bookmark. We'll experiment with modern materials and techniques and see how the Stitching for Literacy program uses bookmarks to promote literacy—while perhaps spawning collections for some young recipients.
A kit containing all necessary materials will be available for purchase, along with a pattern, instructions, mostly-helpful advice, and always-helpful encouragement.
Schedule: Not yet scheduled
Some Thoughts On Organizing a Bookmark Collection
by Don Baldwin
When one picks up that first colorful bit of paper, ribbon or other type of bookmark there isn’t even a thought of a collection. Then another takes your interest. Before long you have a hand full of these interesting and beautiful objects and you realize you have a collection! It’s probably still too soon to feel a need to arrange them in groups.
If your experience echos mine you probably have all kinds of bookmarks by the time a shoe box is full: paper, card stock, ribbon, leather, plastic, metal, wood, bone and maybe luck has brought you a piece of ivory.
Arrangement by message may work well for the numerous paper and card stock items, but the other types require more consideration. I will offer some ideas of organization based on physical characteristics.
Schedule: Not yet scheduled
Research For Your Bookmark Collection: Using the Internet and Beyond
by Laine Farley
As ephemeral objects, bookmarks can be challenging to discover as any collector knows. Once you get past admiring your collection, you may be curious about their origins and history or their subjects may entice you to learn more. Using a search engine is the logical next step, but how can you search effectively, especially when there is not much information to guide your search? This presentation will explore some less familiar techniques and other sources to consider for research. I will provide some general tips and then use a case study to follow a typical research adventure. Bring your research challenges and I’ll try to give you some hints to help unlock those hidden treasures.
Schedule: Not yet scheduled
Welcome To The Convention
by Alan Irwin
This opening presentation of the convention will welcome all of the attendees, introduce the presentations and presenters, and describe the services and activities available during the convention. This will also be a chance for attendees to practive interacting with presenters using their web browsers.
The rest of the presentation will be a discussion of the question "What Is Bookmark Collecting?" I have my perspective from publishing the weekly Bookmark Bookmarks survey of the internet, and I'd like to hear more from other collectors and aficionados. Having this discussion at the beginning of the convention will setup forum and chat room topics for the rest of the event, and give the organizers a chance to make changes based on suggestions.
Schedule: Not Yet Scheduled
