IMPACT 5

For good or bad, another show is in the can. Impact 5 in Tallinn, Estonia was a pretty good show, even if it was short (One day - just six hours), there were over 200 people attending from Europe, the Americas and Asia. Vendors were sparse (which, by the way, I love). Graphic Chemical and Caligo were there for those looking for inks, T.N. Lawrence representing the retail stores, John Purcell Papers out of the U.K. and a Finnish press manufacturer.

The city of Tallinn is remarkable. The old town area (seen at the left) was beautiful and the food was really great. We tried one Estonian and one Russian restaurant. One was great, and one was a restaurant. The people were outgoing and very friendly. It was, however, cold, cold, cold.

The balance of our trip was split between Western Europe, calling on distributors, and Lithuania, drumming up new business. There is a real need for quality printmaking supplies in some of these areas, and we're looking to fill the void - possibly even opening a store somewhere in Eastern Europe to help get materials to them more efficiently.

I did learn a valuable lesson while in Lithuania. I have often wondered how money donated to my church is used. After visiting a number of churches in the Baltics, I know the answer...they use my donations to heat the church! I have never been so uncomfortable in my life as during a memorial service for a relative of my wife's. Even the priest didn't take his coat off, and he beat a hasty retreat as soon as the graveside services were completed. One of the younger people pointed out that the newer churches were heated so that the younger generation would consider attending.

We visited with some who were restoring several churches in Vilnius the capital of the country, and were amazed that there was so much activity with very little in the way of private donations. These were some truly talented craftsmen that were spending years in restoring what was destroyed during the Soviet occupation.