This Thing Called INATS: A Newbie’s Perspective

Waylaid by Beauty
I’m crossing through the main stage/food area at the Denver Merchandise Mart, INATS West, on an important quick mission from my booth in the Expo room to the COVR booth in the Pavilion room. My partner is watching our booth and I’ve promised I’ll be just a few minutes.

Two hours later I stumble back to our booth in a daze. On my way to the COVR booth I was waylaid by Beauty, Artistry, and Spirit! I’ve completely forgotten to finish my original errand. I’m stunned and amazed at this thing called INATS.

What happened?

First, while crossing through the stage area, this resonating, softly echoing guitar music grabs my attention. Wow, what is that!? I look and there sits cross-legged this veritable god all in white, playing a stunning electric guitar, his eyes closed, his smile serene, singing with the voice of . . . could it be an Angel? I can’t continue on my hurried way. I have to stop. I reroute myself down to a seat in front and sit, promising myself I’ll only listen for a moment.

Just when I feel I can barely tear myself away from the music of this creature from another world, off the side of the stage I see this ethereal-yet-earthly beauty in velvet and beads and bare feet, cupping white flower petals in her hands, creeping onto the stage in a slow-motion dance while the man in white continues to play and sing. If he’s the veritable god, she’s the veritable goddess! I’m completely transported, buzzing, floating.

Only guilt at leaving my partner all alone in the booth tears me away. She’ll need a break soon, it’s been too long. I renew my focus and continue my errand into the front room of the merchandise mart.

Oh dear, I must stop and look at this – the exotic clothes, the cunning icons, the fascinating books. Incredible! The worlds of music, the artwork! The faces! Beautiful people abounding . . . and how open they are! Smiles! Eye contact! Here is the artist who does those cards I’ve always loved and bought! There is the musician whose CDs I’ve always given to friends for Yule gifts! Oh goddess, the Avalon jewelry! And the stories! So many weavers and spinners of Spiritual fantasy and reality, every time I turn around. I’m spinning with wonder and excitement!

But I have to hurry back. She’s waiting, I can feel her foot tap-tap-tapping. NOW I understand why she kept going for coffee breaks yesterday and then would be gone a whole hour, returning with no coffee at all! Now I understand why that pile of brochures and business cards is spilling out from under our chairs!

Finally I arrive back at our booth, the tell-tale aura photo dangling from around my neck (the photographer gathered every passer-by around while my photo developed, calling for bets on what color it would be, oh how embarrassing! And they were all right, every color in the rainbow was in my photo! What does it mean?), a guilty assortment of brochures, soap and incense samples, free CDs, books and business cards spilling out from the wonderful freebie tote bag I was handed, and a very enterprising and upbeat photographer following me to take pictures of our booth — I arrive contrite, ready to apologize profusely —

Only to find that my partner hasn’t missed me at all! Her eyes are sparkling, she’s laughing, engaged in fascinating conversations with purveyors of scent, music, books, jewelry, incense, she has samples for me to smell and touch and listen to, and stories of her own about amazing human beings that have crossed her path in the last hour — some of which, I must admit, I sent her way when I met them in the other room. Oh, and she did connect with some folks who want to orders books and CDs, by the way!

And so it goes, the whole weekend. Connections, synchronicity, kismet, artistry, amazing tales. Over and over again. People we’ve needed to meet; people who’ve needed to find us.

Finding My Tribe
To give you context, I have to insert here that 2002-2003 was the most difficult year in my life. In August 2002 I lost my soul mate to cancer, after a year’s struggle. In fact, had it not been for that loss, I wouldn’t have even heard of INATS, much less have been part of it. To honor my husband, his musician friends and I finished the bardic poetry CD he had started, about his lifelong search for the Divine Feminine . . . and in seeking out its market, and a market for my New Age novel, had been directed to INATS by our mutual friend, Jean Redman of The Mystic Bear in Albuquerque. A book event at her New Age store had convinced me that this was our true audience, the world of the "cultural creatives", the folks to whom you don’t have to explain terms like "soul mate", "afterlife", "Spirit" and "reincarnation"!

In the months that followed my first investigation into INATS, my application and preparations to attend, there had been a lot of anxiety. We were such a small production & distribution company, all we had were two books and a CD to offer at this point, ours such labors of love and spirit, there was so much about the business world we didn’t even know yet! Were we mad to go to such a huge event as INATS? How would we put together an attractive booth to show this, in midst all the no-doubt professional bigger companies who would have the funds to put together stunning displays, to hand out copious full-color printed materials?

When the package of information arrived from INATS, my partner and I exchanged nightly emails of anxiety over fireproofing our display materials, whether to ship or carry, whether to order special chairs, how small exactly WAS a half-booth, how far away would the motel be from the trade center, etc.

Finally we decided the only way to go to INATS was to see it as an adventure into the unknown, a trip to OZ, and to assume that if we made one good connection there, it was going to be worth the trip. And to get rid of preconceived notions of what INATS might be.

Just as well, because INATS far surpassed any expectations I could have entertained! We came back to New Mexico with shots of faith, hope and adrenalin, and a daunting stack of follow-ups to do, plus the glow of having made new friends whom we hope to see again on the road, here and there, and at the next INATS.

At INATS I met the artisans and producers and distributors of some of my favorite products in the world, those pieces of art, music, books, icons and jewelry that were so much a part of my life with my husband, and still are important to me as I go on without him. I could feel his spirit with me all weekend, laughing and hugging me in excitement as I met the artists who created those things he so loved, the Celtic folk who were his soul family. Every time I got to tell his story, we all shared chill-bumps, that sign of his presence (I call INATS The Chill-Bump Convention). I didn’t have to apologize or explain my beliefs about afterlife and the importance of Spirit, as I so often have to do in "the real world". And when I spoke with strangers about my books, I didn’t have to hold back from words like "channeler" and "soul clusters". At INATS I found my family! Like a gypsy who had been on her own for too long, I found my tribe!

Living Our Dreams
INATS was more than just a "trade convention" to me. It was a reaffirmation of the one thing that has become more important to me than anything since my soul mate’s death: his message was and is that we should do what we love and love what we do. That creativity is our weapon to counteract the destructive forces in the world. In Denver I met so many people who are living their dreams, creating from their center, not just “in it for a buck” but believing in their art, their product, their offering. The energy that I felt from a gathering of hundreds of such individuals — who are focused in this manner, to whom Spirit is vital — was palpable.

In this time in our country and the world, to have that many people come together despite the economics, despite the "political mood", to affirm and confirm their belief and hope, was so energizing. There was a collaborative, cooperative spirit at INATS. When people stopped at our booth, I was happy they wanted to know about our products, but I was equally curious to know about theirs, about their stores, their services. About WHO they were and WHY they were here. I felt no destructive competitive spirit all weekend. In this world, there was room for everyone.

I liked walking around in the evenings, during that last hour after the buyers had left and most vendors were off having dinner or recuperating from the day . . . to quietly appreciate everyone’s booths and get impressions of how they were put together, of the spirits and people behind them. Those times I felt in touch with so many people’s dreams, also, and that was magical for me.

I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but I would so encourage any New Age vendor or buyer to come to INATS, no matter how young or small. It was amazing to me that it was not only a business ad-venture, but it fed my soul, like a “Spirit Spa” which left me rejuvenated, with a renewed appreciation for life. For someone in mourning, this was a Big Deal.

All my trepidation — about whether my booth would be too small or too simple, how complicated would it be to set up and tear down — turned out to be irrelevant. Setting up was simple, we fit in, and the spirit of the event and of the people there . . . both the COVR folks and INATS folks and vendors and attendees . . . was so cooperative; they made everything easy and fun. It simply seemed that a lot of people were very happy to be there, no matter what their function.

Even at the end, when we all tore down our booths on Monday night and packed up our cars and trucks to leave, Oz didn’t lose its enchantment for me. The trappings of the "magic" were being packed away in boxes and crates, the decorative banners and draping came down. It was, after all, just a merchandise mart, and next day probably some auto parts or insurance trade show would take over.  Instead of serving tofu and veggies, the trade mart caterers would be serving burgers and fries, no doubt. Musak would probably replace our beautiful live musicians.

But the magic, the Spirit was still alive as we drove away. Because it’s not in a place, it’s in a gathering of minds and hearts and spirits, and the making of new friends. Now, back at home in New Mexico, it’s there every time I open one of the books or put on one of the CDs or look through the copious reading material I brought home from INATS. 

I do hope that INATS and COVR continue to grow and prosper. Things are difficult for many of us now, economically, a reflection of how things are going in the nation/world. But I do believe it is a cycle that will come around. When we can see sunny skies again, those of us who survive the darkness will be there, ready and waiting, and the world will be ready for the Spirit that we help bring to it through the tools of our tangible gifts, services and products.

—Michelle Miller Allen (c) 2003

Michelle Miller Allen is a New Age writer and President of Green Phoenix Productions. Her novel, "Journey From the Keep of Bones" received #1 Runner Up for Best Visionary Fiction in the 2003 COVR awards.  [This article appeared in the Summer 2003 Issue of INSIDE COVR Newsletter.]

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