The exhibits industry is known to be tight knit, everyone seems to know everyone and has often worked with each other at various companies. Despite, or perhaps because of this, clients and relationships are protected and guarded. It can often be difficult to put those guards down and open your doors to competitors, but great things are possible when you meet for a greater cause.

Over the past few months I’ve been hard at work with a group of incredible advocates at getting the local chapter of the EDPA up and running again. The Exhibit Designers and Producers Association mission statement is to advance the interests of members engaged in the design, production, and service of exhibits, events and experimental environments. Our goal is to meet, excite and educate professionals across Southern California that are active in trade shows, events, and experimental environments. Being in the entertainment center of the world, a unique blend of combined qualities and knowledge can amount to industry changing effects.

The EDPA is THE network for leaders in the customer experience industry. Its members combine marketing, design and production leadership to help organizations create effective face-to face customer experiences & environments for tradeshows, events, corporate environments, museums, retailers, education and entertainment. This unique blend of designers, producers and vendors creates a powerful networking group where knowledge can be shared, friendships formed and

We enjoyed our first meeting, hosted here at Muse, with over 30 new friends in December. Mark Watson of Measure Inc gave a thought provoking presentation on taking into account how we shape and measure the experience of exhibit attendees. Shortly after the meeting the newly elected board met to plan the events calendar for 2015. We’ll be joining up again in early May at 760 Display in San Diego, and we’ve got a pair of great events scheduled for later in the year.

In addition to networking and educational activities, our board has been working with a local university to create a specialized track to prepare students for a career in exhibit design, something extremely rare in scholastics at this time.

If you’d like to be kept up to date and take part visit the chapter website for a list of contacts.