TS:       Tell me about how Convention Pros and New Found Events got started and what differentiates the two companies?

Bert:   I guess it was just two brothers looking to put on a tattoo convention and it went from there. Convention Pros will be focused more on the conventions and NFE will be directed to one-day events and parties

TS:       One of the first things I noticed about Jacksonville has a large and very active community of tattoo artists.  Why did it take till 2005 for someone to get a convention here?

Bert:   Yeah, that’s true.  The tattoo community is a major factor in the Jacksonville area, but was lacking an event to showcase what the city has to offer.  I am just stoked to see the great response from the event last year and that everyone had a great time.

TS:       What kind of challenges did you run into?

Bert:   Like any business or event, their are obstacles that come up every day. Some people think that it is easy putting on an event like this, but I can assure everyone that it takes more work then people would believe. If I had to pick out just a couple of things; finding a location was one of the speed-bumps we ran into. Many properties (although they would not say it out loud) were very hesitant to host a tattoo convention.   The Hyatt welcomed us with open arms and was thrilled to hold this again this year.  Another challenge was getting shops and artists to trust we would hold a convention that would be worth their time and money.   I am happy to say that almost everyone that attended last year has signed up with us again this year and have referred many others to us.   It’s a great endorsement to have repeat artists and shops saying good things about the convention and promoting it to other shops and artists.

TS:       What surprises did you have along the way?

Bert:   If there was one, it was how much people wanted to be involved and how much support we have been given.

TS:       What can we look forward to this year?

Bert:   This is an event that everyone can enjoy and we have things that will appeal to everyone.   We’re confident and very excited that when people show up this year they’ll be impressed.    There will be around twice the number of booths from last year so the amount of talent is going to be huge. We have also added some features that should be a huge hit.  The artists and evening parties are the headlines, but there are so many other things that we’ll be doing... people will definitely leave with a smile on their face.

TS:       What’s in the future for Convention Pros and NFE?

Bert:   We are looking at other locations for new tattoo convention or events. Not only are we putting on the Jacksonville Tattoo Convention again, we also helped with the first ever Iceland Tattoo Convention this past June. Our main goal is to put on solid events that will be around for years to come.