We have just returned from exhibiting artwork at the DONA International conference, which was held at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet in St. Louis this year. What an amazing trip! The reception of our artwork was incredible. We were fortunate on this trip to be able to bring along my mother who provides the custom embroidery of my original artwork, and my father who creates custom frames for each of my canvas pieces. Having extra hands and laps turned out to be very helpful, since we also brought along our two 5 month old pug puppies! Did I mention we all traveled by car? What a trip!
Marvin (always the enthusiastic captain) navigated our way there, while I rambled on about artwork and mom and dad cuddled the kids in the back seat!
The hotel was gorgeous, and very accomodating. When we checked in with 2 puppies, they provided Sheraton Sweet Sleeper pet beds, and moved us into a ground floor room which opened out onto a patio by the lake and pool, so that we could easily walk the puppies. The gounds were absolutely beautiful, with a huge fountain in the center of the lake, a tiki bar by the pool, a stream flowing past our door, and walking trails everywhere! The mallards and Canadian geese provided hours of entertainment for the puppies, and the weather was beautiful throughout our stay.
We met a lot of fantastic people, made great contacts, and left wondering why it took us this long to exhibit at a DONA conference! Next year's conference will be in Vancouver, and we can't wait!
