[Schermo]

Well said, Sharon and Sheila!

Another proud member here - for ten or eleven years now. A lot has changed since I first joined, but I believe many of the changes in our beadmaking world having to do with accessibility of information, development of products and standards of instruction have been directly or indirectly influenced by the ISGB and it's members.

I do understand why membership in the ISGB might not be for everyone. It really depends what your goals are, and what you want to get out of beadmaking. If you are a happy hobbiest, say, and you're content to just putter along, simply enjoying melting glass and being able to impress your friends and family with what you made, then you may not benefit from a membership, other than getting a really nice bead making magazine in the mail every so often. (That was not meant to in any way demean those who make beads for the sheer joy of it; simply that their need won't be as great for a professional organization to belong to.)

I think the ISGB has the most to offer bead makers who want to:
1. Sell their work
2. Develop themselves both as a business and a bead maker
3. Have opportunities to take classes and seminars for their professional development.
4. Be able to interact, meet, and share resources with others real time, at Gatherings, in local & regional chapter meetings (not every state has a chapter, but we have quite a few wonderful active chapters in many places) and through connections made through the organization.
5. Enter juried competitions to get your name out there and build a portfolio of your work and your progression as a bead maker.

There's many other ways the ISGB provides value to those who join, but it's late, and my mind stopped working a few sentences back, I think, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. Let me say tho, that I absolutely value and have learned and made friends through other resources as well, ESPECIALLY LE. However there are many things the ISGB provides that other websites / venues / organizations can not, and who I am (as a beadmaker - my parents have to take responsibility for the rest!) and how far I've come and many of the close friendships I've developed have been because of my membership and participation in the ISGB. And participation is the key; so many networking, friendships and educational opportunities depend on an active, not passive role as an ISGB member.

So, hey, yeah.... Give it a try and see what you think! Particularly if you're anywhere near upstate NY - next year's Gathering will be in Rochester. (Is it July yet?)

Schermo