For those of you that may not be aware, we had another hiccup with the website, however we are now back up and running thanks to the efforts of Karim Haddad. Karim has some very good ideas for the site, and as we get input from the members, we hope to expand the site to best promote the Guild. The bad news is that all of the info and pictures that had been sent in by the members was not able to be retrieved. So I would ask that you all please send in photos of your work, and yourself if you like, and a short bio. Now I know this is a pain in the butt, but there is no other way around it. We are also looking for articles on knife related topics or some basic “How to Articles”. Please send any info directly to Karim.

Since the site has been back up, I have had a number of enquiries. The majority about membership and were to get supplies. Visitors to the site can now download the application forms and send them in. I have not spoken to the secretary about this yet but we may need to get a P.O. Box for this purpose. We are also planning to have a list of suppliers on the site, so if you would like to be included, or know someone that should be included, please send in the details. I have also had a couple of calls from guys wanting knives made, and I passed on the details of makers that I felt matched the type of knives these guys were looking for. Not quite as easy a task as it seems. All the more reason for you guys to send in photos. You guys must be as sick of reading this as I am writing it.

Those of you who attended the last AGM will recall that I raised the idea of allowing makers to display other items on their table at the show. I have spoken to a few makers about this, and the most common item that comes up is jewellery, and so far there are more in favour than against. As those of you that have attended shows in the U.S. will be aware, it is quite common to see jewellery on quite a few of the maker’s tables, and it seems to work well. And before anyone jumps down my throat, yes I am aware we are not in America. The reason I am bringing this up is because there seems to be a bit of talk about the show becoming stale, and this may be a way of adding a little extra interest. Several years ago, one of our members was actually selling jewellery on his table at a Guild Show. While I am generally in favour of this, I do have some reservations. Please view the following as random thoughts, aimed mainly at generating debate.

Firstly I think the amount of other items should have to be strictly limited, for example if you had 6 knives
on your stable, you can only have 6 other items, up to a maximum of maybe 8-10. Any jewellery would
have to be hand made, by the maker, and not just assembled from commercially available parts. The
biggest problem that I could see arising from this is, if Bill can sell his jewellery, why can’t Joe sell his
woodwork or Fred sell his flower arrangements.

Once again, I would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on this. I will see if Karim can put another poll on
the web site so all you have to do is go to the site and tick the appropriate box. I would however like
to hear what you have to say, so just shoot me an e-mail.

Lastly, at the AGM, we discussed the possibility of holding a show in Canberra. Karim has done a lot of
leg work for this and has come up with a format that I think will work very well. Full details will be
available soon, but in the meantime, please go to the web Site and click “YES or NO” on the Canberra
show poll. The address is akg.org.au

All done, Doug