You don't need to feel completely left out, keep in mind that Quilts Inc hosts Quilt Festival in Houston each fall (following Market) a spring show in Chicago and another in California that are open to consumers. You could attend any of those and feel the same rush, the same excitement, and see the same products and people from the consumers viewpoint. If you have the opportunity – JUMP at the chance to attend. The energy in the air is enough to keep you excited about sewing for years!
I have snitched some photos from the websites of my friends to give you some idea of what the big deal is all about. This is a glimpse of the convention floor in Houston. This represents only a tiny fraction of the 26 aisles and 1000+ booths that we need to cover.
I have snitched some photos from the websites of my friends to give you some idea of what the big deal is all about. This is a glimpse of the convention floor in Houston. This represents only a tiny fraction of the 26 aisles and 1000+ booths that we need to cover.If you are going to be effective covering the sales floor, it helps to have extra sets of eyes and ears to help you find the treasures.
I always take Debby, my store manager with me. We work well together, but have different taste. Quite often one of us will point something out, only to be met with a totally confused look and all the other can say is "really"? At which point someone needs to take a second look!
In addition to Deb, I have a unique and talented group of friends that also own shops. They too are scouring booths to find the best-of-the-best. Luckily everyone in the group is willing to share all of their favorite finds.Our stores are spread out all over the country and it is always fascinating to see what is attractive to quilters in different regions. This is Mary Wilberg checking things out in the American Jane booth. Mary owns Quilting Treasures in Rogers Minnesota. Mary's opinion helped me make a $1000 commitment to Aurofil thread. - what are friends for if they don't help you spend your money wisely?
Karen Snyder is another member of our group and her ears should be burning on a regular basis. I am using the International Mystery program she created in my BlockWatchers Club. We talk about her every month! She is a great friend and a fellow fabric designer. Karen specializes in 30's reproduction fabrics and I am thrilled to have her as part of the Timeless team.Karen is in the process of closing her store in Long Beach, Washington and taking on the responsibility of being the spokesperson for Elna Sewing Machines. We are all getting a kick out of seeing "our" Karen's face plastered on posters, magazine ads and Elna's promotional materials.
We stopped by the Krause booth to support, .... ok, to harass her durring her book signings, but she was gracious enough to autograph a copy of her "Quilts From My Garden" book for us to use in our auction anyway.
Those of us that make up the stores at http://www.myquiltvillage.com/ had a "town meeting" to do a little town planning, select a block of the month that will start in January and discuss the new - and exciting- editions to the site. I think you are going to want to check in on the village often, right now we are blogging every other day, and it is fun to track what each of us are doing.Now it is time to get ready for Christmas.
Yes, Christmas.
It's time to plan demo's and projects, sample gift giving ideas, decorate.......... ho ho ho.
Karen
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