Registration

February 15th, 2024, will be the official opening day for registration; however, forms may be mailed in at any time. Registrations can be submitted by surface mail or email the registration form in PDF or MSWord format along with payment confirmation from PayPal. Any forms received or postmarked on or before February 15th, 2024, will be considered as postmarked on February 15th, 2024, for the purpose of assigning classes. 

There is also an on-line registration form on the Convention website. Any on-line registration must be paid for either via PayPal within the next three business days or with a check mailed with a postmarked date no later than three business days after the registration was submitted. If the payment is not received within the 3-day time frame, the registration will be canceled and only reinstated after the payment is received and with the payment date used as the registration date for the purposes of assigning classes.  Registrations made on-line on or before February 15th, 2024, will be considered as registering by that day as long as the payment has been received on time (see above). Registration is $185 for members and $220 for non-members. Mini-registration fee is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.   

I.O.L.I. members are given preference over non-members. Non-I.O.L.I. members have the option to join I.O.L.I. for a $30 membership fee (for electronic versions of the Bulletin) prior to registration and then paying the member registration fee.  Membership forms are on the website at https://main.internationalorganizationoflace.org/organization/membership.

Class fees are $360 for 24-hour classes, $180 for all 12-hour classes, $90 for 6-hour classes, and $45 for all 3-hour classes.  A minimum of three class choices must be listed for each chosen time slot. If no second or third choice is listed and your single choice is filled, you will have to choose a different option based on availability. Acceptable payment options are PayPal, check, or a money order made payable to I.O.L.I. When using PayPal, proof of PayPal payment must accompany your registration. I.O.L.I. members are given preference over non-members in class assignments.

A Mini-Registration ($25 for members and $30 for non-members) gives access to all sponsored activities including the Sales Room and the Display Room for the Convention. Class fees and Convention meals are additional and not included in the Mini-Registration fee. Mini-Registration is required for those taking only a 3 or 6-hour class on Monday or Thursday. Mini-Registration is not necessary for these classes if a Full Registration fee is paid.  If you have a guest coming with you who would like access to the Vendor and Display rooms, please put in a mini-registration for them using the online form and note that the mini-registration is for your guest, and your name on the final comment line. 

Mini registration can be made in advance by sending in the registration form with payment. For more information, see: I.O.L.I. website: internationalorganizationoflace.org.

Cancellations

Fees for registration and classes canceled prior to May 1st, 2024, will be refunded MINUS $50 administration fee.  After May 1st, 2024, a refund MINUS $100 will be given OR the individual may find a substitute to assume the seat in the class of the original registrant. Any registration that is canceled after June 10, 2024, will only be refunded at the discretion of the Convention Committee. 

Filling out the Registration Form 

When filling out the paper registration form, please include your I.O.L.I. membership ID and expiration date (they are on your Bulletin above your address). If you want your name (with your city, state, and country only) listed in the Convention Handbook, you MUST check the box. To meet the EU privacy policy, we require people to opt-in to the sharing of their private information. 

Most of the classes are 12-hour classes, taught either in the morning or afternoon for three hours each day –Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. There is also one all-day class (24 hours) taught at the same time as the 12 hour classes. There are several pre-Convention 6-hour classes being taught on the Monday before the Convention starts and optional 3- and 6-hour classes being taught on Thursday, July 4th, 2024. 

If you didn’t register for a recent convention, the form is going to look very different for listing your class choices. There is a tutorial available on the convention website under “Registration,” which explains the change and how to work with it in more detail.

Over the last three Conventions, I have been trying to improve the methods for assigning registrants to their classes especially for those who sign up on the first day of registration. Invariably, there are some very popular classes and we have tried to be as unbiased and fair as possible. There are also people who really prefer to be with just one teacher and others who really want a particular class more than all the other classes. To help with this, we are ‘offering’ all day versions of classes where the teachers are happy to have students work on a project all day in their classes. These ‘bundled’ classes, AM-PM Bundles, are listed with the 12-hour classes with a class number, FD5xx6yy where the 5xx is the 12-hour am class, A5xx, and 6yy is the 12-hour pm class, P6yy.

Last Convention the way that you chose your classes was changed so that hopefully all your preferences would be listed in a way that wouldn’t be too confusing.  However, as it is a big change, it did cause some confusion. Here are some step-by-step instructions to help you fill out the form with your class choices.

Instructions

The registration form (paper or electronic) has 2 sections for entering your class preferences.

In the first section, select the class time slots you wish to sign up for. If you want to take both a morning and an afternoon class, please pick Full Day (24 hours) and put in the amount for both sessions. If you only want to take a class in the morning or only take a class in the afternoon, please pick ½ day (12 hours) and put in the cost for one half day class. Add the Monday and/or Thursday classes only if you want classes on those days. If you only want to take the half day Thursday class, pick that over the all-day Thursday class. Add the class costs for these desired classes in the cost line.  The total cost of the classes should go on the total line and be added to the summary of costs on the right half of the form.

In the second section, enter all the classes that you are interested in, in the order of your preferences. This includes the 12-hour classes, the all day and bundled classes (see above), and the Monday and/or Thursday classes. On the paper form, write in the class IDs in the blanks labeled 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc.

On the electronic form, choose classes from the dropdown lists labeled 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc.

Enter all your choices in one list, in the order of your preferences, regardless of time slot (AM, PM, etc.). For example, if you want PM601 more than AM501, then enter PM601 before AM501. (Note: This is different from the way it worked in previous years.)

Last year, there were two main confusions with the new system.  The first one was the need to include all the classes you are interested in for ALL the time slots. This seems to be a little mixed up to people who want everything in its slot, but it allows people to choose the classes that are most important to them. If I didn’t offer it up this way, everyone’s first preference would be the am or all day class even if the afternoon class might be their preference. Also, if there is a 6 hour class on Thursday that is VERY important to them to get into, even over their 12 hour choices, they can put it first and increase the chances  that they will get that class. 

The second confusion was bundled vs. unbundled. Basically, if you really want to work on one lace all day (maybe you don’t want to bring extra pillows for 2 different  lace classes, or you are more comfortable with learning just one lace), you want to concentrate your choices to the bundled class numbers. If you really want to learn two different laces, you want to use the AM and PM class numbers.

If you really want to work with one particular teacher, things are a little more complicated. Then you need to ask yourself what is more important to you - having that teacher for at least the morning or the afternoon, or having a single teacher all day. Either way, your first choice would be that teacher’s bundled class. It is the second and third choices that are a little more difficult. If getting that teacher for at least 12 hours is more important, your second and third choices should be the 12 hour classes for that teacher (e.g. your first choice is FD501601, your second choice would be A501 and your third choice would be P601). However, if being in a single 24 hour class with one teacher is more important, stick to FD5XX6YY class choices for your second and third choices.

It may be easier for you to work out your ranked choices on scratch paper before you start filling out the form.  If you have equal preferences for two classes, you must choose an order of preference.

PLEASE list at LEAST 3 choices for each time slot that you plan to take a class for. For example, if you want to take 24 hours of classes, list a minimum of either 1 all day class AND 2am classes AND 2pm classes; OR 3am classes AND 3pm classes. It can be a mixture of all day, am, and pm classes but it would be good to have at least three choices for each time slot. The same is true for Monday and Thursday classes.

Do you have something you want to donate to our Silent Auction? Maybe multiple somethings? Contact Christine Bridwell (931) 216-9737 or email her at 2024convlocalclasses@internationalorganizationoflace.org to arrange dropoff. 

We are so excited to have you join us. 

International Organization of Lace, Inc. Music City Lacers.