> $25 discount) - but now that you mention it... :) The "normal" > conferences you're talking about are for *professionals*; IOLI > conference, in contrast, is for people pursuing a hobby. We are not > attending a conference and the workshops because - armed with all we > learn there - we hope to make big bucks in the future... We go for > personal enrichment, yes, but it has a different face :)
This is an interesting point. It's true we are a bunch of (basically) hobbyists getting together to mess around, socialize, and learn some new stuff about lace (not to mention arousing that pocket snake in the sales room). But, I don't think that makes any difference to the hotel. They're gonna charge us professional rates because they can. So, there is a difference and yet there isn't, if you follow me. Just because we don't have an employer to pay for our hobby/obssession/convention doesn't make the experience less expensive on the planning end. If we want to attend convention, we just have to buck it up and pay for it. I know! We get a government grant to study the IOLI conventions. Say a couple of million dollars. That would cut down on our out of pocket expenses. :-> I think we should all apply for different government grants. One of my ideas has been to study fat cats to see if their whiskers are longer than thin cats. Think anyone would pay for that? ;-> I'm actually enjoying this thread - it's brought up a lot of really great issues and ideas. Discussion is always good. Vasna Zago "thank god I'm a hot chick with superpowers" - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
