RootsTech Report #4 - Cool Family Tree Treasures for Your Home!

I've mostly recuperated from my whirlwind week at RootsTech 2019. Since I'm procrastinating working on my dollhouse book, doing "real" work, and haven't decided what to write for this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, it seems a great time to share some of the cool stuff I found in the Expo Hall.

I love the Expo Hall! There were more than 150 vendors ranging from the "Big 4" genealogy companies, genealogy apps, clothing, gifts, and games, to representatives of genealogy societies, and so much more.

I actually "stole" this from the RootsTech website but I don't think they will mind. (https://www.rootstech.org/expo-hall)

The Expo Hall opened Wednesday night at 6 p.m. for just two hours. It was also open Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m and on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. That may seem like plenty of time, but when you are also trying to fit in lectures, the Family History Library, and consultations, (Oh - and maybe eating and sleeping!), you quickly realize there's no much time to see it all.

In this post, I'll share with you some of the fun people we met and the cool things they are creating. I've done the "craft show" circuits for a long, long time and always seem to see the same (or variations) thing over and over. I was pleasantly surprised to find some new and creative things!

The tree on the lower right is vinyl on a steel sheet, so the picture frames hang on there too!
This style is a bit cheaper!!

These gorgeous steel trees are created by Forever Family Trees, LLC. They aren't cheap, but they are beautiful!!! (A 3x3 foot tree costs $1750 including tags and shipping.) Each tree comes with the little picture frames. If you don't have a picture for a person, you can use just the little square frame for name and info.

I found several companies that created family trees. The most affordable was made by Vector Innovations. It was only $25 but I honestly had no more room in my suitcase!!! I think I might order it online though. Too bad it's now $35!!! Still a good deal though.

Laser cut tree by Vector Innovation

My absolute fav item of all was the laser-cut wood plaques create by Echo Ink. These folks take any handwritten item, such as signatures or a quote and create wooden plaques. They also will make plaques from handwritten documents. Can you imagine having a permanent reminder of your Mom's favorite recipe hanging in your kitchen? So cool!!

The items created by these ladies at Echo Ink were my favorite!!

The ladies at The Family Art Shop create some of the nicest charts I've seen. I don't want the typical descendancy/ancestry type chart. I'm really looking for more of a decorative item, so the designs here are perfect. everything they do is customizable - colors, number of names, etc.

I forgot to take a picture of their display, so this example
s from The Family Art Shop Etsy shop site.

There were so many more great items but these are the ones that attracted me. Not only are these people super creative, they're also really nice. I hope they all had a great RootsTech experience. I'm doing my part by spreading the word!!