Woodworking In America 2015 Was AWESOME!

This was the first year I had the opportunity to go to any woodworking event and it happened to be Woodworking In America 2015. If you’re not familiar it’s a yearly show with a market place and some classes. I only went to the market place and actually had the opportunity to be part of the Video Woodworkers booth. The booth was a place for all of the YouTube content creators to get together and not only meet and hang out with each other but more importantly meet and chat with anyone who wanted to stop by and say hi.

Man what an experience it was. I met so many people, had so many great conversations, and really gathered a ton of information from the feedback everyone provided. Being able to look around at the market place and overhear so many conversations from other people to to other creators that started with “you inspired me to….” or “I learned this when you….” was a big testament of how powerful online media actually is. And the cool thing is every one of us making online media are just regular, every-day people like all of you reading this. Anyone and everyone with a camera and an internet connection can contribute and have a positive impact on other peoples lives. That’s so powerful.

While I do have a full weekend of awesomeness to reflect on I’m sure you will hear a ton on the subject in the coming days from other people. So instead I’ll share some pictures from the weekend and provide links to everyone so hopefully you might stumble upon someone new to you that you might be able to pick up a thing or two from. Also, to see a ton more pictures than what I can include here search for the hash tag #wia2015 or #wia15 on social media.

I talk to Bob Clagett from I Like To Make Stuff regularly but this was the first time I got to meet him in person. I didn’t get the chance to get a picture with him though so here’s one I snagged from the internet with another great dude I met, Doug Neiner.

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I didn’t get a chance to get a Making It pic but Shawn from Stone & Sons Workshop got one. Making It is a great podcast by the Diresta, Clagett, and Picciuto trio.

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Wes from Geeksmithing had an old school Nintendo Gameboy to take some pics. Never saw that before.

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I didn’t get a chance to take a pic with Steve Ramsey but I was able to get a quick conversation with him. Here’s him and Dema Gamayunov. Two cool dudes.

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April Wilkerson and Drew Short were both killing it at the booth. I saw a couple ibuildit.ca shirts as well! The kind dude in the middle is woodrodent on Instagram.

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Mr Epoxy himself, Peter Brown with Shawn Stone and Braxton Wirthlin. Super fun guys.

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Jack Houweling made the trip down from Canada. It was a pleasure to meet Jack and my wife ended up talking with him for quite a bit. She said she really enjoyed talking to him.

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Friday night just about all of us got a bite to eat. That’s just me sharing a table with Chop with Chris, Peter Brown, Andrew Klein, Jeff Ferguson, and Brian McCauley. I think I drank a little too much fun that night….I mean “had”. I had too much fun that night.

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Either Sterling Davis is super tall or I’m super short. I think it’s a little of both. Either way he’s a great guy. Just remember to be kind to one another ;)

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So this was a first for me and probably most of the others as well but there was an awesome kid getting his t-shirt signed. Many of us signed it and as you can see Diresta tagged the front. That was a very fun experience that I never imagined I would be a part of.

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Mike Fulton (another dude who I never pictured to be as tall as he is!) was kind enough to make a bunch of YouTube play button’s to pass out. Great guy and thanks again Mike!

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The Mr. Stumpy Nubs was rocking his own booth and getting it done with the big boys on the next aisle over. I couldn’t snag him for a pic though. Looked like he was non stop the whole time.

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It was great seeing Jason Rausch and Father Thomas as well. Glad they made the trip.

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I talked quite a bit with Brian McCauley.

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So glad to see this dude doing good. I’ve met David Picciuto in person once before and talk to him regularly. He’s a good friend of mine so it was absolutely great to get a copy of his new book and even better to see him sell every copy he brought to the show. Good stuff dude. Good stuff!

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We need to see more of this guy. Laney is just as cool, calm, and collective in person as he is in his videos.

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The always creative Mr. Steve Carmichael. Great to see him on Saturday.

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Great to see Matt Lane as well. Super nice dude and it was great to meet him and his brother.

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Mr Brian Grella from Garage Woodworks made an appearance. Great to meet him and his wife as well.

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Not only did the Video Woodworkers booth stay busy but it looked great as well. Kudos to April, Nick, and whoever else had a part in organizing and setting it up. I know I’m forgetting names here but you know who you are. Thank you!! This was definitely a success. It’s not official but I’m almost certain the Video Woodworkers booth will continue in future shows.

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Chris Shey was kind enough to duck down to my level for a pic. It’s crazy how tall most of these guys are and you don’t realize it until you’re standing next to them.

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Diresta. This dude is such a BOSS. Forget the Chuck Norris memes. Everyone needs to start dropping Diresta memes everywhere. Chuck who?

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There was only one pic my wife wanted and that was with Frank Howarth. He’s definitely her favorite. He’s taller than I thought as well. She was super excited to get this one.

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I wish I got to talk to this guy a little more. Here’s Ted Alexander. We did some trading last year and I got a hanging horseshoe planter that my wife absolutely loves. He was also the one who turned the drawer pulls for my recent chest of drawers build.

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There’s this one dude they call Nick Ferry. The guy’s got some hilarious jokes. Never a dull moment around him.

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Mark Christopher came down all the way from Nova Scotia. I’ve talked to him on G+ previously so it was great to see him in person.

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Sean Rubino was there. Great dude and is actually having a giveaway on his website right now.

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Good to meet Tim from woodworkingmaniak.com as well.

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Mr. Dema Gamayunov and Matt Cremona drove down together and actually got a chance to check out the Grizzly showroom a couple hours away. It was great to meet him.

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And of course it was great to finally meet Matt Cremona. I’m so amazed at this guy’s projects. Top notch craftsmanship and a great presenter.

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Somehow I managed to not get a picture of Kyle Toth. Another crazy talented and super nice guy. Definitely check out his channel. I’m sure I missed some others in all of the chaos so I do apologize if I accidentally left anyone out.

So it was obviously an amazing experience and I’m so glad I decided to go. If you ever get a chance to meet any one of these people I highly recommend it. They are all just great down to earth people. I’m sure the next big meet up will be here before you know it. Also, be sure to search for the hash tag #wia2015 or #wia15 on social media for tons more from the event and look out for any WIA content in the next couple days. You might even see a Public Service Announcement somewhere…

66 COMMENTS

  1. Jay, It was an absolute pleasure to meet you and your wife at the show. You are an awesome woodworker and I really appreciate everything you do to inspire me to get out and make stuff. Glad you got to come to my hometown and can’t wait to see you at the next show.

    • I have no clue. But honestly I’d like to attend a larger event. I’ve been told The Woodworking Shows are much larger. Who knows but I’m definitely going to more of these in the future.

  2. For me that I, on the other side of the planet, they’re all just dreams. Almost all know from Youtube, but talk to them live is certainly life experience. (Google translated :) )

  3. Thanks for the report, Jay – looks like it was memorable and a lot of fun. Loved your quote : “anyone and everyone with a camera and an internet connection can contribute and have a positive impact on other peoples lives. That’s so powerful.” Well put. That’s exactly it….

  4. I saw a few recognizable faces. These are some of the wood workers guru’s websites I love to watch. I see I have more to subscribe to asap. It’s great to see they are real people who enjoy their craft and share their blessing with each other like “Compades”. Great picks. I wish I was there. You guys are Great! Thanks for the lessons and many hours I’ve invested to learn from your skills, imagination and your craft.

  5. Wow! what an experience! You got to meet some of my favourite people on the internet. How cool is that!

    If one of these events could be held in Canada I would be all over that like a fat kid on a Smartie (that’s a Canadian version of an M & M for you folks in the excited states)

    Seriously, an event like that is now on my bucket list.

  6. Jay, I subscribe to all of you Video Woodworkers but yours is the first post to come to my email. I thank you for that and I hope this finds you well rested because I need you to get back out there with some more interesting things. In fact your updates and around-the-world vlogs are the ones I really look forward along with Izzy Swan’s amazing drill-powered tools and other creations. How does he continue to come up such brilliant innovations. And your use of your workspace boggles the mind. ok…I know I talk to much… something I used to tell my oldest daughter when she was in the “why” stage, some fifty years ago, oops, I’ve talked to much…. so I guess I’ll leave it at that and thank you again for all your videos and let you get back to work.

    Bill

  7. It was so cool to meet you and Jamie! Thanks so much for the advice, can’t wait to build that planer sled you talked about so I can surface boards w/o a jointer. Next project on my want-to-do list is a shadow box for the saw blade you and the others signed! Hope you had safe travel home!

  8. Couldn’t snag me for a pic? Dude, I would have dropped everything to get a picture with you! I think you did sign my Klacker, which isn’t as dirty as it sounds. I had four or five YouTubers on my “must meet” list, and you were one of them.

    -Stumpy Nubs

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