Jill MacKay's BLOG: Travel Time

Well this is always the busiest time of the year for me. I just returned home from CHA where I presented to a sold out crowd on new materials and technologies that will be effecting the creative industries ( and almost everyone else for that matter!) As usual I had a blast seeing friends like Marie Browning, June Beach, Jim Scatena and Julie Stephannie, just to name a few and I really shouldn't as there are so many and I hate leaving anyone out! After 20 years in an industry you get to be good friends with many and I am blessed. LOVE my industry! The show was larger than last year and I will be interested to hear the attendance numbers. We had a Maker Space and Tony Ford of Artfire and Maker House was there.

I had some great meetings with some great companies...can't say anything yet! But I will keep you posted. New product lines in the works!

ON TO THE NEXT TRIP.............................

Only 11 days until I leave for my annual trip to the TUCSON GEM SHOW! Woo-Hoo! My favorite time of year! Talk about fun and seeing friends! Oh and let's not forget shopping! I found a tiny little guest house (space?) to rent and I don't care that it is little it only cost me $60 a night! This lets me shop more! It does have a hot tub for sore feet at the end of the day! It is only a couple of blocks for UofA so it has a nice convenient location in a great section of town. I love www.airbnb.com!

Looking forward to meeting up with Teresa Meister, Jill Wiseman, June Beach, Lexi Erickson and more!

Then at the end of Feb. I will be going to see my wonderful daughter in Atlanta for strictly fun time. LOVE! Not to mention a very close friend of mine from Pgh now lives 15 minutes from my daughter!

THEN if that weren't enough then off to MD to visit my dear brother/friend Peter for the Magnolia Blossoms with John & Sara who are my Colorado family. They have never been there and I cannot wait to share this with them. The blossoms for me are a religious experience their beauty is so great.

In between all the trips to DIA I have a Shift workshop with the Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR) and a couple of product lines to design (technical drawings to finish) and The Rocky Mountain Raptor Project fundraiser, concert tickets, hiking and visitors and my new studio furniture arrives! Which means a studio overhaul! Yikes! My life is full and wonderful. I am so very blessed.