I am trying to decide whether or not to attend Vogue Knitting Live in New York, February 2023. As an Adelaidean it is a significant financial investment that involves about $1000 AUD entry ticket, flights of approx $1500 and ??$800 or so on accomodation for the 3-4 nights of the event. But as a knitter, designer and knitrepreneur it is an amazing opportunity to meet some of my knitting design idols including Norah Gaughan. The professional learning opportunities are awesome too: so many workshops to continue to develop my knitting and design skills.
Vogue Knitting Live 2023 will also be the first face to face VKL event in New York since the pandemic. The last face to face event was in January 2020: the 10th anniversary event. I was lucky enough to attend this event and was so inspired! I set a goal to return the following year as a knitting teacher…but history happened (I know: some designers have springboard from this- I have more bounced, but I am making progress!!)
When evaluating this decision with hubby, Nick, I was surprised by his response: “What would a Pokemon Trainer do?..Go.”
I am not a trainer, but over the past 6 or so years I have overheard Nick regularly watching The Trainer Club, Trainer Tips and Reversal on YouTube. If there was a Pokefest, they would make sure they were there, live-streaming, blogging, doing all the things.
In fact, and you might be surprised to hear this, but The Knitrepreneurs is inspired by these guys. They are vibrant, informative, intrepid and engaging (even to a non-trainer like me!). While I enjoy indulging in knitting vlogs like Fruity Knitting and FibreBound from time to time, I prefer the pace and short format of these Pokemon vlogs. I even set Jess homework to watch some episodes in prep for our own shiny, snack-sized vlog, sliced from the weekly loaf of Dear Pru and Yarn Trail Victoria‘s knitting biz meeting.
So: I am still undecided. Investing some of my buffer in this trip is scary as a small business. There is an opportunity cost here I need to consider carefully…thoughts?