TL;DR
Get pool and patio gear delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
The inaugural DIY CON ran Nov. 6-8 in Dallas, bringing HGTV personalities, DIY creators, makers and vendors together for workshops, product demonstrations and stage events. Organizers said the event aimed to help attendees turn online inspiration into practical skills and project confidence; attendance figures and plans for a future edition were not provided.
The inaugural DIY CON brought HGTV personalities, social media creators, woodworking experts and product vendors to Dallas from Nov. 6-8 for three days of workshops, demonstrations and stage programming. The event was designed to help DIYers move from watching project ideas online to learning practical techniques and choosing products for work at home.
DIY CON combined Main Stage conversations with hands-on sessions aimed at beginners, intermediate DIYers and experienced makers. HGTV personalities Drew Scott, Jonathan Scott, Ty Pennington, Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt, and Cole and Chelsea DeBoer appeared on stage. Workshops covered topics including deck-building fundamentals, making a live-edge charcuterie board and using pocket-hole techniques.
The showfloor featured more than 75 vendors and manufacturers, according to the event report, with product demonstrations and special show offers. The North American Hardware and Paint Association also brought products from its 2026 Retailers’ Choice Awards for attendees to see. Other event spaces included The Den, where attendees could meet makers and create a keepsake, and a Backyard area with a beer garden and a kid-friendly hangout. A Kids Zone offered activities and experiments.
Event director Hector Morfin-Chong said the event responded to a changing challenge for consumers: finding project content is easier than deciding which advice, tools and projects to trust. He described DIY CON’s purpose as giving attendees access to creators and experts in person, along with opportunities to test products and learn techniques. The report did not provide attendance totals or an overall financial result for the event.
Turning Online Ideas Into Skills
The event’s central proposition was to connect project inspiration with practical instruction. Viewers can find a large volume of DIY videos online, but in-person workshops offer a chance to ask questions, watch techniques demonstrated and try tools before buying them. That can help attendees judge whether a project matches their skills and resources.
The format also brought consumer-facing brands and independent retailers into the same space as DIY creators. For hardware businesses, that creates a venue to show products directly to potential customers and hear what they want to make. The report quoted an attendee from Alaska who said the visit was intended to generate ideas for workshops at her store and ways to reach more DIY customers.
Those aims are not the same as proof of lasting impact. The source described the event’s programming and participant feedback, but did not give independent measures of skills gained, sales across the show or changes in retailer customer traffic. The practical significance will depend in part on whether participants use what they learned and whether the event can sustain a community around hands-on projects.
Products Worth Considering
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 16GB, 7-Inch Display, Graphite
Samsonite Tour Deluxe Hard-Shell Golf Travel Case
GoPro HERO Compact Waterproof 4K Action Camera
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
A New Event for DIY Consumers
DIY CON was presented as a new event bringing together personalities from television, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram with makers and home-improvement businesses. Lifestyle expert Kathryn Emery compared its mix of creators and fan gatherings to Comic-Con, while describing a more informal atmosphere with meetups, live music and a beer garden. That comparison was her characterization, not an official measure of the event’s scale.
Morfin-Chong said consumers now face an abundance of project ideas but may have difficulty judging the reliability of advice, selecting tools and deciding whether a job is realistic to do themselves. The event’s programming reflected that concern through a mix of demonstrations and sessions for different experience levels. Speakers Drew and Jonathan Scott also urged attendees to seek guidance from qualified sources and to admit when they do not know how to do something.
One example of the event’s potential retail connection came from Madison Lumber & Hardware in Ketchikan, Alaska. CEO Sterling Cherry and controller Caitlin Driscoll traveled to Dallas seeking ideas for the store’s DIY workshop. Driscoll said about 60% of the store’s customers are professionals and contractors, and the business wants to attract more DIY customers. This is one retailer’s stated goal, not evidence of a broader industry trend.
“Today, the challenge is deciding which advice to trust, which tool is right, whether a project is realistic and how to get started.”
— Hector Morfin-Chong, DIY CON event director
Attendance and Future Plans
The source report does not give attendance numbers, exhibitor sales totals or an overall evaluation of whether the event met its goals. It includes positive comments from participants and an exhibitor, but those individual statements do not establish results for the event as a whole. The report’s final account of exhibitor Rick Goren’s sales is cut off, so no complete sales figure or comparison can be confirmed.
It is also unclear whether DIY CON will return, where a future edition might take place, or whether organizers plan to change its format. No dates for another event or formal post-event results were included in the source material.
Results and a Possible Return
The next useful indicators will be any post-event figures or organizer announcement covering attendance, exhibitor outcomes and plans for another edition. Such information would help establish whether the first event’s mix of celebrity appearances, workshops and retail demonstrations can continue beyond its opening year.
For attendees and retailers, the immediate follow-through is practical: apply workshop skills, use new contacts and develop projects or store programming based on what they learned. The source report does not specify a schedule for those outcomes or confirm a second DIY CON.
Key Questions
When and where did DIY CON 2026 take place?
The inaugural event took place in Dallas from Nov. 6-8, 2026.
What could attendees do at DIY CON?
Attendees could hear from HGTV personalities and other creators, take hands-on workshops, see product demonstrations, meet makers and visit a showfloor with more than 75 vendors and manufacturers.
Who appeared on the Main Stage?
The reported lineup included Drew Scott, Jonathan Scott, Ty Pennington, Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt, and Cole and Chelsea DeBoer.
Did organizers announce another DIY CON?
The source report did not provide a date or confirmation for a future edition. Any return plans remain unreported in the material available here.
Were attendance or sales results reported?
No attendance total or complete event-wide sales figure was provided. The report included participant and exhibitor comments, but those do not establish overall results.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
