Valerie Head and Joe Kromer live in the world of New Media -- a world in which technology intersects with art and both intersect with commerce. It is a world lively with ideas, frequently shared over the Internet, but also presented in conferences in places such as New York or Toronto.

"It seemed like all the conferences would skip over Pittsburgh," Mr. Kromer said.

They spoke with their friends in the local community of software developers and designers, and found a consensus among them that there should be a conference in Pittsburgh.

"We said, instead of waiting for someone to bring it to us, let's create it," said Ms. Head.

Many hours of hard work later, the countdown is underway for FlashPitt 2008, a conference for developers who work with Adobe's Flash and other computer animation programs. The conference, being held Oct. 10 at the Sheraton Station Square, will feature seminars for developers from the beginner level to advanced on such topics as physical computing and ActionScript 3 games -- presenter Jose R. Rodriguez will deconstruct the classic arcade game, "Space Invaders."

Once they decided to try their hand at putting on a conference, "The first thing we did was look up people who had put on similar events around the country, and got in contact with a couple of those people for advice," Ms. Head said. "They did warn us that it was going to take a lot of time."

Still, Mr. Kromer said, "we never thought it would be nearly as time consuming as it is."

They formed a limited liability company, On the Fridge LLC, a name inspired by a decidedly nontechnical domestic ritual: "You do something, you're proud of it, you end up displaying it on the fridge."

The choice of Flash and related programs as the subject for the conference arose naturally from their own work and interests. Ms. Head, a 30-year-old Toronto native, is an interactive designer and developer at New Perspectives, a production studio in the Strip.

Mr. Kromer, 23, of Norwalk, Ohio, is a graphic artist at clothier American Eagle's South Side offices. They are both members of PittMFUG, a group for developers who work with Flash (the abbreviation is left over from the group's original name, the Pittsburgh Macromedia Flash Users Group, created before Adobe bought Macromedia).

Besides providing an educational event, Ms. Head said they hoped to "show off the amazing designer and developer community that we know we have in Pittsburgh" to outsiders who come into town for the event.

With nearly two weeks to go, registrations have already passed the halfway mark toward the 200-person limit, with registrants from Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; North Carolina -- and two from Portugal.

"I don't understand that one," Mr. Kromer said. "I don't know if they're here on vacation and thought, 'Hey, there's a conference, let's check it out,' or what."

As challenging as it has been to create their first conference, the pair say that On the Fridge will run more events for the tech community in the future, including FlashPitt 2009.

"I think the second time around will be a lot easier," Mr. Kromer said.

For more informaion, or to register, visit www.flashpitt.com.