reflections on Market...

Brace yourself for a wordy post!  I've been full of photos lately, but I've had a lot of time to mull over a few things that I would like to share... (but I won't judge if you can't deal with lack of visual stimulation! Just skip to the end of this post...).

I've had a few weeks to decompress and process all of the experience of the Spring International Quilt Market, which just happened a few weeks ago in Salt Lake City.  There were so many emotions, stimulations, people to meet, things to see, ideas to process after that crazy weekend that I'm just now beginning to articulate what I learned from Market and how it will impact my business in the future.

The most immediate impact that all of this will mean to many of you is that I have decided to no longer offer PDF patterns for sale on Etsy.  I am doing this for a variety of reasons.  Care to hear?

1. I want to support the local quilt shop.  When people know that they can purchase PDF patterns online for a few dollars less than in shops, it makes them more inclined to shop online instead of in their local shop.  Although this is good news for me, since my cut of the profit is higher, it isn't in line with my "shop local" philosophy.

2. PDF patterns are tricky, because they are easier to forward to friends via email.  This isn't great news for me, since it means that my patterns could be passed around and I wouldn't be compensated for all of the time and creativity it takes to develop a sewing pattern.

3. In the future, I plan to offer limited edition PDF patterns on Etsy, but they will be smaller, easier projects and will not compete with the paper patterns available in the shop.

4. I'm not sure if this should be a number, but I am still offering the printed patterns for sale in my shop, and at the same retail price that I suggest to quilt shops. If you have a quilt shop in your area that sells my pattern, by all means, purchase it there!  But for those of you who have no other way to get my patterns, come on over to my shop to purchase.


On that note, as many of you may know, I redesigned the look of my patterns just in time for Spring Market, and had them professionally printed and assembled.  (Goodbye folding and assembling patterns myself at the kitchen table -- YIPPEE!!).  The professional printing has caused me to reevaluate the price of my patterns, so you may have noticed a price increase.  This new price reflects the going rate for purse patterns these days, and is the price I need to maintain in order for designing patterns to pay off financially.  I'm as thrifty as the next person, but believe me, the difference in printing and the quality of the pattern makes the price totally worth it.

Here's a peak into the redesigned patterns:

pattern cover

pattern back

image of the pocket tote and classic messenger patterns

inside the pocket tote pattern

Anna Maria Horner's booth at Market

Anna Maria's booth at Market was just so beautiful, I couldn't take just one photo.  Unfortunately, every time I had a minute to sneak over to her booth to say hello, she was either gone or busy chatting up all her fans!  Boo.  Oh well, at least I got to gawk at her gorgeous booth in solitude.

some of my favorite fabric and pattern designers!

Joel Dewberry!

Amy Butler!

Lizzy House!

Alyssa from Penguin & Fish!

more quilt market photos...

I couldn't have done it without my friend Lindsey's help! (Thank you, Lindsey!)

I hung all of the bags, plus a printout of my fabric designs, from carabiners.  The carabiners attached to washers, which I stitched to canvas.  The canvas also had the names of each bag printed on it so that people could easily see which pattern belonged to which bag.

Close up of the huge applique logo!

first day at quilt market

My first day at Market was a success!  More about it later, when the craziness is all over :)

Hello, there!

Oh, look!  It's my mom!

The lovely finished quilt.... quilted by the amazing Sue Baddley of Summit Creek Quilts!

My logo is a giant applique!

Purses hanging from carbiners attached to washers and canvas.

spring (market) is in the air

I've been so busy with preparations for Quilt Market and for the Market itself (only one more day!!) that I haven't had a chance to post photos of my progress!

My fabric arrived from Spoonflower a week before Market... so I got cracking and sewed up all of my bags and had time to make a small quilt, too.  The quilt is the Kitchen Window quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork.

Smith & Edwards is the most amazing store ever!  Their slogan is "We have everything... if you can find it".  SO true.  It took me a bit, but I walked away with heavy canvas for my booth "walls" and carabiners and washers for hanging my bags.

Knee deep in canvas! 

Canvas is up, and now we can start hanging the bags...

meeting Joel Dewberry

In addition to creating my sewing patterns, I work for a professor in the Family & Consumer Sciences department on campus, and daily I find myself thinking I can't believe I get paid for this.  It's a quite wonderful feeling to have!

Case in point:  on Wednesday, my co-workers and I headed to Park City to assist at sewing conference.  We were fortunate enough to have Joel Dewberry as a speaker, and then we facilitated a sewing workshop creating little stuffed birds, which is a project from his latest book.

Oh. My. Goodness. SO adorable!

Of course, I cornered him after his presentation to ask him all about being a fabric designer, marketing himself, creating a brand, setting up a display at the International Quilt Market, etc.  And the great thing about all of this was that he was incredibly willing to share his knowledge, which means a lot to me as an aspiring textile designer.

So now my brain is buzzing with ideas, I'm sketching layout and presentation ideas for my booth at Quilt Market in May, and I'm finding inspiration everywhere I look.  I am headed full bore into my next round of designing, excited about the possibilities of where this all might take me :)

exciting news!

I just heard from the lovely folks who organize the International Quilt Market, and it's official!  I've been accepted to exhibit at the Market in May 2011 in Salt Lake City! I am unbelievably excited and intimidated all at once....

There are SO many amazingly talented people out there, and I'll be exhibiting right beside them. It's a daunting task!  So I'm starting to plan my booth now, and I'm hunting around for inspiring photos of past Quilt Market displays.  Here's a great one from Anna Maria Horner's booth: