Quilt Marketing, that is!
What a whirlwind it's been! We spent all day Friday walking through the vendors from aisle 1100 through aisle 2900. Not sure about the total number of vendors, but we'll just say it's a lot. I had already purchased a few things at Sample Spree on Thursday night, so we went onto the market floor with fresh eyes, ready for everything.
Here's the word from market this time: APPLIQUE! There are so many fun things I'm going to share, but for me the summary of this market is applique. Cotton, wool, cotton AND wool together and an exciting block of the month for a wonderful cause.
So, here's a summary of the things we found (some are repeats from the last post):
The Twister - an awesome technique using an awesome ruler to make funky pinwheels;
Crazy Curves - also awesome rulers for cutting and sewing curved blocks;
ZIPPERS - This is so awesome you'll have to see the NEW 36 COLORS in the shop when we get home and all the new little bag patterns we've got to go with them;
Bali Pop Patterns - new for placemats/tablerunners and 2 full size quilts;
Double Stitch - this is actually a very old hand sewing technique from Appalachia;
Fabric Crochet Rugs - an easy, user friendly pattern for quilters who don't already crochet;
MYSTERIES - 3 brand new mysteries from Debbie Caffrey;
NEW PATTERNS - new from our favorite designers GE Designs, Atkinson, Debbie's Creative Moments, Quilt Moments (kaleidoscope), Marlous Designs (bags), Teacher's Pet (Take 5) and more!
And so many other great things that if my brain wasn't totally fried, I'm sure I could remember.
So, prepare yourselves for some fun new classes, MCQS-U sessions and demos to come in the next few weeks and months. ALSO we picked up great things that you won't get to see or hear about until our Christmas in June Open House on Saturday 6/19/2010, so make sure you've got your calendar marked!
Tomorrow is Wendy's book signing for Zero, Zilch, Nada - Counting to None, her third children's book, at the Red Balloon in St. Paul. Visit mom's blog next week for info about her books and ways to have her visit an elementary school near you.
More to come tomorrow!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
To Market, To Market (a fun contest)!
So, we're psyched to be here and run this fun little contest again! We'll offer 2 drawings this time, each for a market gift. One will be drawn from the comments made to the blog posts today (Friday), Saturday and Sunday. The other drawing will be from comments left on our Facebook page. This means you can enter both if you use both programs. ALSO, don't forget that we'll have a third drawing of all our Facebook fans, once we reach 100 fans! Just leave a comment to enter the drawings. One comment, per post, per person, per program, per day.
Yesterday we attended Schoolhouse -the day-long cram session of 30-minute presentations made by designers, fabric companies, authors and famous folk. It's a really big shameless self promotion event (which you all know I think is the best way to build business!). After 12 sessions our brains were pretty well fried. But we learned and saw some great things including: a new "double stitch" technique to make it look like you handquilted your project; new ethnic fabrics and a contact with folks who produce fabrics in New Zealand; Eleanor Burns' new book featuring Barn Quilts and her son wearing a flying pig outfit (seriously); Valori Wells' new fabrics from Westminster called Nest; a new book from the woman who designed the 4-Patch Kaleidoscope technique and a block of the month to go with; new charm patterns from This & That and a new BOM; a GORGEOUS applique BOM done with Island Batiks-maybe it's time to bring our shop into the age of applique; and more, but I'd have to find my notes and everyone is still asleep...
After Schoolhouse, we sat in line, on a cold, hard floor for 2 1/2 hours waiting for Sample Spree. Imagine the release of the Cabbage Patch Kids and Macy's $99 Wedding Dress Sale all with a quilting twist. MAYHEM. People are crazy! And how, with no prior info, can everyone know where the Moda booth is? So, Sample Spree is a way for the vendors to get a jump start on their sales and offer their latest and greatest at a better deal than they will offer on the show floor. We found new fabrics by Paula Nadelstern, fun holiday embroideries, an awesome quilt-as-you-go batik tablerunner/placemat pattern and already made sample (woohoo!), wonderful bitty bag patterns with AMAZING ZIPPERS that anyone can use (I promise), and more.
So today we're off to walk the floor. Over 2000 booths to see. We'll do our recon mission today, make notes and then make purchases tomorrow. I'll also be attending a buyer's meeting with Timeless Treasures tomorrow and an appointment with our Moda rep.
Here's the best thing I learned yesterday...My customers perceive my shop differently than I do. Shop owners need to take time to step back and pretend to be a customer. And if you're a scrapbooking store, it's really important that the S in your sign is always lit!
I'll report back later tonight with our findings!
Yesterday we attended Schoolhouse -the day-long cram session of 30-minute presentations made by designers, fabric companies, authors and famous folk. It's a really big shameless self promotion event (which you all know I think is the best way to build business!). After 12 sessions our brains were pretty well fried. But we learned and saw some great things including: a new "double stitch" technique to make it look like you handquilted your project; new ethnic fabrics and a contact with folks who produce fabrics in New Zealand; Eleanor Burns' new book featuring Barn Quilts and her son wearing a flying pig outfit (seriously); Valori Wells' new fabrics from Westminster called Nest; a new book from the woman who designed the 4-Patch Kaleidoscope technique and a block of the month to go with; new charm patterns from This & That and a new BOM; a GORGEOUS applique BOM done with Island Batiks-maybe it's time to bring our shop into the age of applique; and more, but I'd have to find my notes and everyone is still asleep...
After Schoolhouse, we sat in line, on a cold, hard floor for 2 1/2 hours waiting for Sample Spree. Imagine the release of the Cabbage Patch Kids and Macy's $99 Wedding Dress Sale all with a quilting twist. MAYHEM. People are crazy! And how, with no prior info, can everyone know where the Moda booth is? So, Sample Spree is a way for the vendors to get a jump start on their sales and offer their latest and greatest at a better deal than they will offer on the show floor. We found new fabrics by Paula Nadelstern, fun holiday embroideries, an awesome quilt-as-you-go batik tablerunner/placemat pattern and already made sample (woohoo!), wonderful bitty bag patterns with AMAZING ZIPPERS that anyone can use (I promise), and more.
So today we're off to walk the floor. Over 2000 booths to see. We'll do our recon mission today, make notes and then make purchases tomorrow. I'll also be attending a buyer's meeting with Timeless Treasures tomorrow and an appointment with our Moda rep.
Here's the best thing I learned yesterday...My customers perceive my shop differently than I do. Shop owners need to take time to step back and pretend to be a customer. And if you're a scrapbooking store, it's really important that the S in your sign is always lit!
I'll report back later tonight with our findings!
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