The Western Design Conference is gone from the Rendezvous Royale.

But local organizers already are mobilizing to replace it with a “true Cody event.”

“The local artisans are passionate about this,” Buffalo Bill Historical Center executive director/CEO Bob Shimp said. “The design conference is an important part of the Royale and now we have the chance to return to its beginnings.”

The WDC, now in its 15th year, was sold last week by Western Interior & Designs magazine publisher Carol Decker of Jackson to the owners of the Jackson Hole News and Guide newspaper and Teton Home and Living magazine.

Teton Home will host the WDC at Jackson’s Snow King Center on Sept. 6-8 as part of the 23rd annual Fall Arts Festival

“I heard about the sale last Wednesday from Carol Decker,” Shimp said. “I learned about the move to Jackson in a press release the next day.

“We didn’t have the chance to talk to the new owners about staying,” he added. “They really had no interest in being in Cody.”

A steering committee met for the first time last Friday to begin the process of creating a new furniture show.

Committee members include Jimmy Covert, Jody Horvath, Thom Huge, Graham Jackson, Jay Moody, Jill Osiecki-Gleich, Wally Reber, K.T. Roes and Shimp.

“We are pretty excited about the chance to form a core group of artisans in this area,” Covert said. “This is a chance to keep the artisans from fragmenting and hopefully they realize they have a chance to impact the formation of a new show.”

Reber said despite persistent rumors and meetings to plan for the possible sale of the WDC, the group was taken by surprise.

“We had a meeting in December with the conference staff and this didn’t come up,” Reber said. “So we had relaxed a little bit and this came as a big surprise.

“But we have a chance now to return to our roots,” he added. “We wish Jackson luck, but we want to take a new course.”

Shimp said the Western furniture and design show is a “vital” part of the Royale and wants it to remain so.

“We have to remember the Royale is a three-legged stool,” Shimp said. “The Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale and the Patrons Ball are two strong legs.

“We have a chance to create a strong new third leg which the design show was for many years,” he added. “It will take time to restore that, but the new show will be based on the roots created here in Cody.”

While the new show will include furniture, plans for the annual fashion show that was part of the WDC is not settled.

“We want fashion to be part of the experience,” Reber said. “But we don’t yet know how big a part it will be.

“We are talking in that area,” he added. “It’s under consideration, but we don’t know if it will be a show with a runway and flashing lights or not.”

A new name for the furniture show has not been selected.

“We also have some new names for the Royale itself that came out of previous meetings about the possibility of this (WDC sale) happening,” Shimp said. “But we need to take our time and do this right.”

Covert said the help of local artists will be needed to create the show the committee envisions.

“Artists are typically ego-driven,” he said. “It usually takes something like this to bring them together.

“We have a 25-year history of furniture making in Cody,” he added. “They have become a voice through the years and we look forward to using that voice.”

Reber said the Switchback Ranch Purchase Award and other awards will continue to attract artists.

“The purchase award was a driving force with the WDC,” Reber said. “All the awards will continue to attract the top artists.”

The new show will be staged at the BBHC this year. The Royale events are planned Sept. 19-22.

“This may be a relatively small show the first year,” Covert said. “So keeping it in the BBHC with the other parts of the Royale will be important.

“Our goal isn’t to compete with the larger shows that have grown through the years,” he added. “We want to start with that core group of craftsmen and have a sophisticated show that will attract loyal artists from around the country.”

The three said the show had become too large and was struggling.

“It was just too big,” Reber said. “We want to work through that and get back to what Cody is good at.”

Source: www.codyenterprise.com

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