How I went to Quilt Market and Survived (Mostly) – Day 1

When Ivete asked if I wanted to go to Quilt Market in Houston, I’m pretty sure I said “yes” before the words were all the way out of her mouth.  I may have said “duh”.  Who doesn’t want to go to Quilt Market?  It’s the most magical event in the quilting world, isn’t it?  I’ve heard about it since joining Instagram, years ago.  You favorite designers are there, you get Free Stuff, you get to see all of your online friends, and the streets are paved with fabric.  Not the low-end stuff, either.  Some of my beliefs were not entirely based on reality.

Let me debunk some of the myths, and talk about my experience as an introvert at Quilt Market.

First off, Houston is far away from my house.  I had to fly and stay in a hotel.  Hotels in downtown Houston are not inexpensive.  Neither is eating at a restaurant for every meal.  So, this was a pricey expedition for me.  That didn’t keep me from jumping at the opportunity to go, though.  I don’t have an exact figure, but I think I spent close to $1,500 this weekend, with hotel for 4 nights, airfare, food, and all of the stuff I had to have at the show.  It was totally worth it, and I hope that some of my networking there leads to growth of my business in the future.

I attended market as part of the Gotham Quilts team.  As such, I felt a strong responsibility to represent my shop and be productive.  It is actually better for me to have a mission than to just be wandering around.  Also, looking at things through the filter of “what would the shop want” instead of “what would I want” made a big difference for me.  I am a salesman’s wet dream.  If you want to sell something to me, I want to buy it.  Even if I don’t really like it, I will help you convince me that I need it.

Quilter’s Schoolhouse

Our first day of market started with Quilter’s Schoolhouse.  Ivete, Andrea and I went through the list of all of the sessions, then decided which ones to attend.  Sometimes I went to what was most exciting to me, and sometimes I went to one that they thought would be useful to the shop.  I’d tell you all about them, but I tossed the program after that day, and most weren’t all that informative.  Schoolhouse is a series of 1/2 hour sessions from 10-6.  In each one there is a fabric designer, pattern designer, or other educator basically trying to convince you to buy their stuff.  Sometimes the pitches seemed a little desperate.

My favorite session was Giucy Giuce announcing his new fabric line, Quantum.  He was adorable in his excitement, and his fabric is unbelievable.  I can’t wait for it to ship in the spring.  Ivete introduced me to him, and I offered up my longarm services.  Cross your fingers for me – he is in the NYC area, too.  (Ivete and Andrea know everyone.  Do yourself a favor – go to market with the cool kids.)

One session promised great information on social media sharing.  They explained using hashtags on Instagram and Pinterest.  Sigh.  Then they told us about their Youtube talk show.  I don’t really know how I feel about that.  If they can make a living doing a 40 minute weekly talkshow on Youtube, more power to them.

I was hopeful about the Wonderfil session, which was the only longarm related topic.  They talked about Decobobs prewound bobbins, and the importance of using a fine bobbin thread for good tension.  Unfortunately, I don’t think the person giving the talk was actually familiar with the intricacies of quilting.  He handed around samples to show us how great his threads were for quilting, and the tension was all over the place.  I did pick up some Decobobs to give them a try, but I am wary.

Sometimes the sessions have giveaways – a charm pack or a little kit.  Most of the time they don’t.  They do have door prizes, and everyone wants a business card.  I’m glad I remembered to bring all of my extras.

Sample Spree

The day finished off with Sample Spree.  I don’t know what you have heard about Sample Spree.  I’ve seen photos of bundles of fabrics, and heard about the mad crush of people frantically trying to score.  For some reason, I thought Sample Spree meant “Free Sample Spree”.  Why else would folks go so crazy to get in?  Well, I was mistaken.  There were no free samples.  The prices were wholesale, which is great, but it still adds up pretty quickly.

The purpose of Sample Spree is primarily to allow fabric companies to offer precut bundles of their new fabric lines to shop owners, well before they are released.  That way shops can have sample quilts made in new fabrics before they receive their shipments, and customers will be excited to buy the new fabrics.  The fabrics that are being sold there are from first runs, which I guess are only a few bolts of each print.  Consequently, there is a very limited amount of each line available.

We lined up a little late for Sample Spree, so it was pretty much a madhouse by the time we went in.  I’m too short to get a good photo of the insanity.  Ivete and Andrea had a very specific game plan about what they wanted to get, so I was on my own. I wandered around, overwhelmed by all of energy in the room.  So many people were giving off this frantic air, and I was swept up a bit.  I picked up thread from Wonderfil and Hab + Dash, as that is my thing.  I haven’t tried Wonderfil or Glide yet, and I’ve heard a lot about them.

Then I was drawn to the Moda table. The Moda table is big.  There were people crowded around like 5 deep.  I couldn’t even tell if there was fabric, or anyone alive in the middle of that crowd.  I did a loop around the room, noticing that the Robert Kaufman table was also a shit show.  Not every fabric company is there, either.  Free Spirit didn’t participate, which is a good thing, because I can’t imagine the insanity that a Tula Pink bundle would create.

After my first loop around, the fabric companies started to run out of bundles, and things calmed down.  I went to Moda and grabbed a bundle of yarn dyed plaids in red, white and blue, called Vive La France.  I think they will look great in a summer quilt. I also checked out Robert Kaufman.  I picked up a bundle of the new Violet Craft line – I knew Gotham would be carrying it, and it will be fun to make a shop sample that I get to keep.  I also snagged a bundle of the new Essex Linen colors.  Again, they will be useful at work.  I was surprised to see that there were kits available for the new Elizabeth Hartman patterns.  I didn’t buy those, though.

I also picked up a little wool pressing mat, to see what all of the fuss is about.  It came with wool dryer balls, which reminded me that I made wool dryer balls a while back, and they are still sitting in the bottom of my hamper.

Oh, and a jelly roll of solids (I have no idea why I grabbed that) and some Bloc Loc flying geese rulers, which I’ve been wanting to try for a while.

We left at 7:40, and I would say that the majority of the fabric that had been available was sold.  I’d love to know what it was like to be on the other side of the selling table.

Lots of women went out for drinks that night in Houston, I can tell you.