There are people who realize that conformation is just another game to play with your dog, and not the end all be all of "preserving the breed". And then there are people who don't share such a reasonable attitude, LOL.
Ideally I would look for a breeder who shows. The dogs don't have to have a championship, but something that actually looks like the breed would be nice. My main concern is health testing and temperament - everything else would take a backseat.
In theory I would take a puppy from a breeding where one parent wasn't showed. If it's something like a silly fault (think Revy's blue eye) that has no bearing on temperament or structure and the dog is healthy and drivey and otherwise beautiful? Sure, why the hell not? It's my money and I would get to decide what to do with it.
I don't like the show extremes dogs are bred to, and I don't want a straight up working dog, either - not unless that working dog has one hell of an off-switch.