2019 APA Vegas Recap

Sandcarving Victory in Vegas

IKONICS Imaging started the year off with a BANG! Not only is the 2019 International Awards & Personalization the largest and busiest show of the year, the IKONICS Imaging crew was bustling and wrapping up the NBM Phoenix Showand the MBNA Monument Industry Show the week prior, all while exhibiting at the GlassVegas show during the International Awards & Personalization Expo – IKONICS Imaging barely got any rest in the Entertainment Capital of the World. As an integral part of the APA Expo and community, IKONICS Imaging was involved in two education classes, presenting at the Awards Associates of America meeting, exhibiting on the show floor, along with participating in after-show events. There’s no shortage of things to do, people to meet and connections to be made. Buckle-up and join us for a recap of the wild ride!

The IKONICS Imaging crew made it out to Las Vegas, NV in droves. As mentioned earlier, IKONICS Imaging was exhibiting at the GlassVegas show, Feb 11-13, 2019 which was during the first part of the APA Expo. Some of the IKONICS Reps started setting up the booth on Mon, Feb 11 at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino. The guys jammed away the afternoon setting up the booth and equipment. That evening the guys split up for dinner and festivities. The next day, Tues, Feb 12, is when the other half of the IKONICS crew finished putting the booth together and adding the final touches. Everyone got an early night’s sleep in preparation for the next day, the first day of the International Awards & Personalization Expo!

Education Day & Show Floor Opens – Feb 13! Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, the IKONICS Imaging crew headed down to the show floor and education rooms on Feb 13. Not only was this the first day of the exhibit hall opening, it was also education day for IKONICS! Darin Jones, Andy Hromatka and Mike VanOvermeiren geared up for the 8am education class, “Beginner Hands-On Sandcarving” and taught 40+ students about effective and unique sandcarving techniques that set businesses apart and stand out. After the students spent time in the classroom learning, the class continued out on the show floor. IKONICS Imaging booth was BOOMING! The booth wonderfully accommodated all students with the CrystalBlast line of sandcarvers for hands-on demonstrations.

Day one was one of the busiest days for IKONICS! It was wonderful reconnecting with customers along with acquiring and meeting new ones. There was a lot of commotion in the IKONICS Imaging booth, particularly with the CrystalBlast 4828 Artist Station, along with the CrystalBlast Summit, Elite and Pro X2 running. Attendees really enjoyed hands-on sandcarving demos using RapidMask photoresist film, along with IKONICS’ pre-imaged UltraPeel and R-Series photoresist films. Check out our online video gallery to see how simple sandcarving can be! Another exciting, new piece of equipment was IKONICS’ Quick Image Exposure Unit. Darin especially appreciated this on the show floor as he could expose over five 10”x12” sheets of artwork, all at once, in seconds. The Quick Image is nearly 4x faster than the Letralite UV exposure unit. After the expo was over, IKONICS imaging met up at the Viva Las Vegas After-Party with delicious appetizers and drinks. It was a fabulous event!

Thurs, Feb 14 – Day Two of the Expo! IKONICS was geared up for another busy day. Darin, Andy and Mike with IKONICS Imaging taught Advanced Sandcarving at 8am. The students moved beyond sandcarving basics and learned about multi-stage carving, professional halftones, deep carving and compound curved surfaces. After the classroom, the students joined IKONICS on the show floor for more hands-on sandcarving with the CrystalBlast line of sandcarvers. Overall, the booth experienced steady traffic the entire day. The hands-on sandcarving demos were a hit. The IKONICS booth had a lot of returning, interested customers, ready to make a purchase. After the show ended, the IKONICS crew cleaned up for the APA Awards Celebration dinner. Another beautiful event with appetizers, drinks and fabulous presentations highlighting the industry’s best and brightest. The Awards Celebration dinner honors those who have demonstrated immense dedication to the industry and the APA association. IKONICS Imaging Sales Director, Peter Norman, and past APA ARIEF President, son Luke Norman won part of the ARIEF Scholarship, congratulations! After the event was over, the IKONICS team met up with customers out on the Las Vegas Strip, the perfect ending to the evening.

Fri, Feb 15 – Third & Last Day of the Expo! Before the show floor opened, APA hosted the Member Breakfast & Annual meeting. The IKONICS crew joined in as APA honored and celebrated the Retail & Supplier Product contest winners, recognize members who’ve worked hard to earn their Certified Recognition Specialist and Certified Recognition Master designations; install the 2019–2020 Board of Directors; and share the latest association news. We also enjoyed Dr. Joel Tiemeyer, inspirational speaker, who shared the importance of passion, finding yours and inspiring others. Afterwards, off to the show floor, the end is near! The booth was a bit slower that day, as were both exhibit halls in general. Once the clock hit 3pm, the IKONICS crew was ready for tear-down. After all the crates arrived back to the booth, everything was taken down, re-packed and off to the next destination thanks to a couple of hard-working IKONICS Reps. By 10:00pm, everything was packed and ready for pick-up.

Overall, the 2019 International Awards & Personalization Expo never fails IKONICS Imaging. It’s one of the most exciting, involved and fun shows of the year for IKONICS. We look forward to next year’s show and new location, can’t wait! We are thrilled to see what 2020 holds for IKONICS Imaging!