SDP Is Headed To Chicagoland!

SDP is headed to Chicagoland for the 2013 Conference & Expo! Mark your calendar today to join us for a week of decorative painting, learning, and fun.

The Conference will be held May 13–18, 2013, at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, ...Ill. (a northern suburb of Chicago). Pheasant Run Resort is the perfect place for SDP's 41st Conference—great classrooms, wonderful exhibit space, plenty of rooms, PLUS all the amenities of a resort—restaurants, swimming pools, golf course, a spa, and more. Plus, downtown Chicago is just a train ride away for all of the shops and museums that the city has to offer. The best part? We have worked out a deal with the resort to keep the cost of rooms low-just $109 for double occupancy. Reservations for the Conference will be available on June 1, 2012. Watch the SDP blog for more information on registration and the Conference.

Now that we have a time and place, we need a Conference theme. This year, we are opening up the naming of the Conference to you, our members.

All SDP members are invited to submit as many ideas as they can think of. If we use your theme idea, you will receive FREE REGISTRATION at the 2013 Conference, plus FREE 2013 MEMBERSHIP–a value of over $150.

To enter, simply email your theme idea to jay@decorativepainters.org before June 1, 2012 with subject line “2013 Conference Theme.” A committee will evaluate the themes for marketability and creativity. In the case of duplicate ideas, only the first submission to arrive at our offices will be eligible. The decision of the committee is final.

So put your painter’s brain to work and create our 2013 Conference theme—the deadline (June 1, 2012) is quickly approaching. Planning for the Conference is just getting started, so stay tuned to decorativepainters.org and the SDP Blog for all the details.

*Teachers: submission for for classes are due June 27th. The contract will be available online at decorativepainters.org on June 6th.

 

2012 SDP Conference Round Up

What a week we had at the 2012 SDP Conference.  We were so busy in our booth that we I could not take as many pictures as I normally snap.  However, we do have a few pictures here that will give you an idea what happened during the week.

Well the first thing that occurred before the show floor opened was a very busy Wednesday.  Mark and I attended the annual meeting that morning and I stood up and provided a little speech about me running for the Board Member At Large position and guess what?  I WON!.  I am now on SDP's Board as a Member-At-Large.  I would like to thank everyone that voted for me and supported me during this past year of campaigning.  The win was unexpected but I am truly honored to represent the members on the Board.  Thank you again so much.  Your support means a lot to me.
That Wednesday afternoon I was involved in teaching a class at the conference on "Conquering Your Fear of Cyberspace".  We had approximately 30 individuals in the class that came to learn about social networking using FaceBook, Twitter, NING, Pinterest, Blogs, etc.  What a great class we had with lots of interaction and great questions.  Pampered Palette was the sponsor of the event and we gave away as attendance prize to one individual a new Apple IPAD.  The Apple IPAD was won by Nancy Simpson.

Thursday the trade floor opened early (8 am) for registered users until 10 am and then the rest of the day for all.  We (Pampered Palette) were swamped with shoppers.  So much so that a fellow friend that was demo'ing in another booth sent an individual over to help us with bagging.  We had long lines of shoppers waiting to pay for purchases which was great.  However, I felt bad that shoppers had to stand so long to purchase their items so I learned a valuable lesson there.  For all of our shows from this point forward, we will have two cash register checkout areas and there will be a redesign of the booth in general.  Hopefully, we will be able to process our shoppers more expeditiously in the future (we are working on it).

That afternoon we were joined by none other than the OUTSTANDING Artist Priscilla Hauser.  Priscilla helps us celebrate SDP's Birthday by demonstrating items that she demonstrated 40 years ago at SDP's very first Conference.  Pampered Palette served a great RED VELVET cake to all attendees that join us at our booth.  We had a fantastic time serving cake, singing Happy Birthday to SDP and painting with Priscilla.  It was great.

Friday we had Judy Westegaard and Anne Hunter demonstrating in our booth using DecoArt Traditions acrylics.  We would like to thank each of them for joining us in our booth and celebrating 40 years of painting by demonstrating, meeting friends, and sharing their knowledge with all that attended.  What a great day.

The whole week was great.  Everywhere you looked you saw Pampered Palette.  Of course there is the trailer with all the lettering all over it, but there was also Pampered Palette buttons, Pampered Palette announcements. and Pampered Palette shopping tote bags.  They were everywhere you looked.  It was great.  Pampered Palette and the East Coast were very well represented at this conference.  Our Betty Caithness print was giving away on Saturday at 12 noon. The winner was Noreen Engelland and we even was able to get a couple of pictures of Noreen holding her new print.  Noreen just happened to be in the exhibit hall when we had Sue Bower (Past SDP President) draw the winning ticket.  Good for you Noreen.

A great week indeed.  We are looking forward to the 2013 SDP Conference in Chicago and have already made plans to be there.  However, our next Conference is Houston.
COME ON DOWN TO HOUSTON AND SEE US AT THE SHOW.  WHAT WILL WE DO THERE?  JUST WAIT AND SEE.  IT WILL BE BIG I CAN ASSURE YOU.  SEE YOU THERE.

HOUSTON HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bel Air Decorative Painters Chapter Article

We are so excited. This past weekend we had two individuals from the Bel Air Decorative Painter Chapter (Maryland) attend our Arlene Linton seminar and they wrote a fantastic review of their experience in the Chapter newsletter. We would like to share their comments with everyone. Thank you Bonnie and Debbie.

Please see below:

"Field Trip

Debbie and I had the opportunity this weekend to take our first seminar at The Pampered Palette in Gainesville, VA. The Pampered Palette is a jewel set in the rolling hills of northern Virginia, about 25 miles outside of Washington, DC. It is the perfect opportunity for you to go with your husband or your entire family to a location where you can take a day or two to paint at a seminar and they can be entertained all day touring the nation’s capital. There are other attractions nearby and also plenty of shopping and wonderful restaurants. The Pampered Palette is a painting spa! Comfortable studio with, yes, padded black rolling desk chairs!!! Yes!!! Somebody finally got it right! Coffee, tea, soda and water is provided. Fruit and coffee cakes in the morning, a wonderful lunch is provided, made for you by David and Mark. TV system in place so every seat is a good seat. And, should you desire, champagne. A glass should be raised to these two decorative artist visionaries for recognizing a comfortable atmosphere and an organized seminar experience equals a happy painter. All the supplies you could want or need are there at your fingertips and a wood room with treasure after treasure, sanded to perfection. Go to the website at www.pamperedpalette.com  and take a look around. Note all the big brushes David and Mark have lined up for 2013. Surely there is someone you have always wanted to paint with. . . now is the time. If you go nowhere else this year for a seminar, give yourself a treat and take a seminar at The Pampered Palette. Like Debbie and me, you will look forward to going back to your next one."

Bonnie

GETTING READY FOR SDP!

Getting Ready for SDP!

Mark and my former son-in-law spent the day Saturday (May 5) putting on our new trailer lettering. We are getting ready for the SDP Conference. Do you think they will know who we are as we drive down the road as we drive across the country? I am hoping that people in other cars will be able to read the lettering.......hope it is big enough.........lol......What do you think?  This is just another way of promoting decorative painting.