May 27, 2010
Spring Quilt Market in Minneapolis was fabulous! The energy and excitement level was so much more like it used to be — all the way through the last day. And, check this out!
Karey Bresenhan, founder and director of International Quilt Market, always gives the opening talk before the Schoolhouse session and look at this room! It’s packed! Pre-registration for Minneapolis was the third highest pre-registration ever for Spring Quilt Market! The ranking may have even increased with the on-site registration count. I’ll be posting more thoughts and, of course, you need to read the next issue of American Quilt Retailer for a full market review, but I wanted to post some of our fun pictures. It was a blast and thanks to everyone who made the weekend possible!
Deb Luttrell of Stitchin’ Heaven in Quitman, Texas, talks about her “Boot Camp” for retailers in the first American Quilt Retailer Schoolhouse. The room was packed!
Rick Kizer and Georganne Bender gave two Schoolhouse talks for AQR. Kizer & Bender are top-notch speakers and funny — oh my goodness — they are funny! The room was jam-packed for both sessions, with folks even sitting on the floor and spilling out the door. The oxygen level in the room was diminishing rapidly and it’s probably a good thing they only did two sessions. Kizer and Bender emphasized that you need to make your shop “fun” and they sure set the example! I think everyone enjoyed meeting them. “Thank you” to everyone who stopped by the booth to tell us so! And “thank you,” Rich and Georganne!
Roseann Kermes, owner of Rosebud’s Cottage in White Bear Lake, Minn., me, Becky Couch, the person I could not function without, Georganne Bender and Rich Kizer — it was good!
Thursday afternoon, with new curtains, all set up and ready to go!
Almost all the “Totally Cool AQR Columnists!” What a great, talented group! We were only missing Beth Ferrier and Linda Griepentrog. So glad we could get together!
On Friday Kizer and Bender held consultations in the AQR booth with nine lucky retail shops. Shown here are Brenda Lou Scott, “Mr. Scottie Dog” and their daughter, Liz Adams, of Scottie Dog Quilts in Eureka, Calif., and Jerry Stube of Quilter’s Quarters, Inc. in Leavenworth, Kan.
More booth pics with Becky Couch and Jennifer Lokey — you are both wonderful!
After tearing down the booth Sunday afternoon and a good night’s sleep, on Monday morning Becky and I rented a car for a day of exploring. On Roseann Kermes’ recommendation, we drove to a local haunt aptly called “Hunt & Gather.” It was a co-op kind of antique shop full of vintage finds from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s — and many shop owners fresh from Quilt Market. What an atmosphere with all my dad’s favorite music pipped in — I loved it!
We ran into Roseann as we pulled in the parking lot. I’m so envious she gets to go here all the time for shop props and inspiration!
Here’s a good idea of the color and flavor of the place!
After the long weekend, here’s Becky reminding me where in the world we are!
All the children were happy today!
Yes, it’s a chin!
What can I say?
An early kit? And, I discovered my new favorite verb — glamorize!
My purchase — a framed artifact called “97 buttons.” Don’t you just love the square one in the middle? What does it mean?
What a simple thing — paint your buckets ladies!
Wish things would grow like this in Texas!
For lunch, and the rest of the afternoon, we headed to White Bear Lake. Had lunch at the Keys Bakery (yum!) then headed across the street to Bear Patch Quilting.
Deb Engh and Laurel Riter — we loved seeing your beautiful shop! Deb said Bear Patch Quilting was on the bus tour right before market and the town was so busy, even the saleswomen at the Chicos across the street came and thanked them for boosting the day’s business! That’s the way to draw attention to quilting!
We also loved visiting Roseann Kermes Rosebud’s Cottage. A very cute shop with lots of Roseann’s personality (and props from Hunt & Gather!). Roseann and Pat Sloan were conducting Pat Sloan’s Creative Talk Radio show while we were there, so I got to hear all about what was new at Quilt Market! Thanks for the tips gals!
The boxes just arrived home from market and Magic has “jumped right on it” — cats are so dependable! So, now it’s really time to unpack and start the next issue!
More to come — Susan
May 18, 2010
Is there anyone else out there who likes to rewrite their “to-do” list? I always have several lists going — an AQR to-do list for today and one for the next issue. Then there is a personal to-do list — get cleaning, dog food, return library books, clean out the closets — nothing very monumental. As soon as things get scratched off the list, and it gets too messy-looking, I like to neatly rewrite the list adding the scribbles from the margins of the last one. It never bothers me that with this process, my list is never empty. I mean really, what would life be like if there was really nothing on your to-do list? I like putting things on my lists, so I don’t have to keep them in my head. On my lists these tasks are handy and I have a plan for my life — or I like to think I do.
Well, the “before-market” list is almost done — there’s not much more I can think to add. I’m about to organize my “at-market” list and I have already started my “after-market” list, which for any of you who have planned and exhibited at market, you know this is sort of like “the-first-day-of-the-rest-of-my-life” list!
Here are a few things you need to add to your “things-to-do-at-market” list. AQR columnist Deb Luttrell has two lectures. The first on Friday evening is called “Two ‘Ps’ in a Pod — Policies and Procedures” and second on Sunday morning is called “I Bought It, Now What?”
Amy Barickman introduces her new book Vintage Notions (you can read more about this in American Quilt Retailer, Issue 92, page 24) and the coordinated shop program/sweepstakes called “Sew You Want to Build a Business.” Amy is giving a lecture on Thursday morning called “Sewing Success: Let Vintage Notions and The Woman’s Institute Inspire Your Customers.” Don’t miss learning about Amy’s new book and program. She’s also in booth 1335.
Look for lectures details at market.
There’s a group of Minnesota designers exhibiting at Quilt Market and they have organized a booth-hop that works like a shop-hop only you get to be the guests! How fun is that? Attend the “Passport to Minnesota” Schoolhouse at 1:30 in room 101AB.
Then don’t forget to attend our American Quilt Retailer Schoolhouse sessions starting at 3:05 in room 205C. The first one is by Deb Luttrell, followed back-to-back in the same room with two different talks by Kizer & Bender. Come early — the room may be packed to the walls! See you there! — Susan
May 17, 2010
On a recent “pre-Quilt Market-let’s-decorate-the-booth” trip to Hobby Lobby, I overheard a conversation at the fabric counter. A customer asked a question that not everyone would know off the top of their head. The salesperson shrugged her shoulders, and said “I don’t know,” instead of a cheerful “I don’t know, but let’s see if we can figure it out.” I’m being sort of picky here — it’s a curse of writing a publication that speaks frequently of customer service. My standards are pretty high.
Great customer service and knowledgeable helpful employees are a strong draw for your shop. Your people know of what they speak, or at least hopefully they know how to find the answers. I read a small piece in today’s business section that said Lowe’s, the home improvement store, is switching it’s advertising emphasis from low prices to an emphasis on knowledgeable sales people. Do you talk up your knowledgeable staff? You could do this as a whole or feature different employees individually. Call them your “color” specialists, “applique” specialists or “garment specialists.” But, what ever you call them — talk them up!
And, on the same topic check out his link: Each month Kizer and Bender have a short video called a “Fresh Ideas” on their blog. This month it is all about rewarding your “associates” or “team members” — Bellagio style! — Susan
May 11, 2010
In my post last week about the new American Quilt Retailer FREE-to-use pattern, there was something I forgot to mention. As I’m designing each pattern, I always have all these ideas on ways you can use the pattern to promote sales and I try to keep good notes, but this idea got left off somewhere. If you’re going to work with the pattern “Woven as One,” the Simplicity Bias Tape Maker is something you can use and sell. It will easily fold and press pre-cut strips and Mimi Shimp from Simplicity confirmed the Simplicity Bias Tape Maker will work with strips that are not cut on the bias. You may need to use a different width strip, but the concept of weaving folded strips still works. Then yesterday, Linda Griepentrog, our freelance “Snippets” columnist, suggested using the various sizes of Clover’s Bias Tape Maker to press and fold the strips. And — if you use Clover’s Fusible Bias Tape Maker the task might even be easier! All these tools can make great add-on sales items to go along with this issue’s pattern. Have fun! — Susan
May 5, 2010
As I mentioned in “Moda sure knows how to put on a good party,” the blog post below from April 13, I had the opportunity to meet Kaari Meng of French General. I came home from Moda University and reread all her books becoming more enthralled with her gentle French styling. I don’t know how the subject came up, except we were at a fabric company talking textiles, but Kaari explained to me how wonderful it was to sleep on linen or hemp sheets — especially old linen or hemp sheets. I had recently been on a search for good, sturdy cotton sheets like my grandmother used to have — you know the kind that will last 30 years, not just a couple. So, after meeting Kaari, I began searching eBay and etsy for French linens. Not only can you buy French linens but you can buy hand-woven, 100-year-old french linens! Although they are not exactly sized for today’s mattresses, they could be made to work. The thought of owning and using something that is already 100 years old woven by another woman’s hands, and usable is very appealing.
I still have not found the perfect bed linens, but I did purchase a smaller piece of 100-plus-year-old, unused, hand-woven French linen. It is still stiff and needs to be loved some, but what I found so appealing was being able to easily see the weaving. The texture of the individual threads — the warp and the weft — is fascinating. They are uneven, full of slubs and imperfections, yet woven together as one into a fine, sturdy cloth meant to last almost an eternity, getting even better and better with age despite its individual handwoven irregularities.
Anyway, where this story is going is — seeing the interweaving, the texture, the pattern, I wondered, what it would look like if I tried weaving strips of printed fabric, and this is where the idea for the FREE-to-use pattern in the current issue of American Quilt Retailer came from. You were curious weren’t you?
Many fabric companies now offer pre-cut strips, and many designers have patterns for sewing these strips in pieced quilts. But, weaving with them is something different! And the results are wonderful — I can’t wait to actually finish mine! A simple way to market this idea, is to make a small sample. You need not make the entire piece to generate interest. I used a large cork bulletin board as a support while I did the weaving. You could use a small cork board and make a smaller piece to demonstrate the process. Leave the strips pinned on the board (this is where mine still are!), and prop the board up on a small tabletop easel. Select a simple, plain fabric for the table cover. The weaving and the baskets will be visually busy enough.
Stack a lot of pre-cuts next to the display. Be sure to read Joanna Figueroa’s OnDisplay in this issue — it’s all about grouping items in large quantities for maximum impact (and, yes, there is a typo in the headline — stuff happens, and these imperfections keep me humble). Put some of the pre-cuts in baskets. Try to find baskets which have a heavily-textured weave to accentuate the weaving process. I’ve seen baskets like this in the Pottery Barn catalog, but I’ll bet you can find less-expensive ones at a place like Hobby Lobby or Garden Ridge. Texture is big right now!
If you have a strip cutter in the shop, you could pre-cut and kit strips, making use of some slower moving fabric or fabrics that have out-lived the rest of their “group.” You might even let customers make fabric selections, and you could use the cutter to custom cut the strips for them to pick up later. Do be sure to charge extra for the service, it’s a valuable time-saver allowing someone to get right down to the fun part — the weaving! You might even rent time on your cutter. Allow customers to cut their own strips from their own stash — if they can diminish their stash, they may need more fabric!
There is something sort of magical about weaving — it’s a wonderful metaphor for so many things in life. The individual threads are nothing until they are joined together “woven as one.” My chance meeting with Kaari Meng of French General, sparked this pattern design. It in turn is hopefully something you can share with your customers. You can teach someone a new skill, sell them some fabric or help them use up their stash — in a way — weaving us all together.
Susan
PS —The new American Quilt Retailer is mailing today! And, so you won’t miss anything, remember to click in the upper right-hand corner of this page to receive a notice whenever there’s a new blog post .
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