From the Executive Director - August 2023Business vs. Busyness There’s business, and there’s busyness. Sometimes your daily tasks, roles, meetings, deliverables, and deadlines help advance your business. Other times, they just lead to a spiral of busyness. One way to escape from the hamster wheel of busyness and get back to focusing on your business is getting out of your workspace, and out of your head, for a few days. Enter the GCA Annual Workshop & Retreat. For three days, you can focus on your business and meet people striving to do the same. You’ll share information with fellow makers, learn from colleagues and industry experts, and connect with industry suppliers who can help your business by alleviating some of that busyness. Plus, where else can you find a built-in supply of people as obsessed with cards as you are?! I hope you’ll consider investing in yourself and your business by joining the GCA community in Kansas City October 18-20. You can check out the schedule of activities, sessions, and events here. The GCA community will also be able to connect and take care of business once again next year at *Noted: The Greeting Card Expo, April 17 & 18, 2024, at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. We’ll no longer be co-locating with SF NOW, and instead, GCA will expand the market under its own management to included Gifted: The Creative Gift & Home Expo. With a focus on community, camaraderie, and easy- to-set-up exhibit spaces starting at just 6’ x 6’, Noted + Gifted will offer a unique west coast market for greeting cards, stationery, gifts, and home décor. And, just like Noted, this will be a community event that fosters connections and focuses on the needs of exhibitors and attendees. GCA will need all our members’ energy and support to make the show an exciting destination for buyers. Keep an eye out for information on how to secure your space at discounted member rates starting in mid-September! There’s a lot on the horizon for GCA members, and hopefully the busyness of creating spaces for community will lead to the business members need to thrive. Sincerely, |