This beautiful dress designed by NCA Board Member Linda Foat was one of four costumes in the NCA booth and lounge at the HPE.
By Ed Avis
I've been tangentially involved in the costume industry for about the past five years, as publisher of Costumer, NCA's member publication. And Kathy Furore, my wife, has been equally involved as editor of Costumer. But now that we are also managing the association, we finally got to attend the Halloween & Party Expo. And what a great learning experience it was!
First off, I was overwhelmed by the enormous variety of costumes and accessories on display at the show. The creativity and business acumen of the vendors to this industry is truly remarkable. And of course I loved meeting so many NCA Vendor Members -- your businesses form the structure that our Buyer Members count on (click here to view a gallery of photos I made while we walked the trade show floor).
We are working on a number of initiatives to connect our Vendors and Buyers more closely -- expect to hear from us soon about those.
Kathy and I also truly enjoyed meeting so many Buyer Members in the NCA booth. Hearing stories about your shops, your challenges, and your hopes for the future was inspiring. Our aim is to make NCA the resource you can count on to take your businesses to the next level.
Successful Meetings
NCA Business Meeting
The NCA Meet-n-Greet and Business Meeting on Saturday night drew a small but devoted crowd. It was a treat to hear from three generations of owners of Arlene's Costumes and the new owners of Performance Studios, Ryan and TJ. And of course all of the costumers whose businesses are between those extremes.
We also all enjoyed hearing a little about Kalan, Beistle, Mehron, Kryolan and Halco from those companies' representatives. Thank you so much for sharing with us that evening!
The NCA Board Meeting on Monday covered a lot of ground. We discussed everything from
NCA Board members, left to right: Marion Bradley, Linda Foat, Tyler Volz, Lori Hammes and Pam Markel.
how we can make NCA's contribution to the 2021 HPE even greater to many ideas on improving the association's education efforts. Trust me - we are committed to helping our members succeed!
Thank you to everyone who made Kathy and me feel so welcome during this past weekend. We look forward to many more such meetings in the coming years!