Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Pleasantly surprised at Quilt Market! Loved Demo Alley!

Wish you could have been there with us! We had a great time. Actually, I am pleasantly surprised that we enjoyed ourselves as much as we did. Many beautiful fabrics and delightful quilts to take in. Not just the same old stuff!
I went with my sister Ann from Olive Ann Designs for every session of the Thursday School house classes. We learned tons about products and techniques and was definitely worth the time. Then Friday and Saturday we walked the show, taking our time to really study and talk with most every booth. 
Not vending this show was a smart idea - at least for us. With releasing so few patterns this time, a booth just didn't make sense. But walking the show anyway, getting the freedom to really look at the Quilt Market atmosphere, that was very enlightening. I do think that vendors saw the show as a little slow. Maybe so 'cause rarely did we feel we were in the way of a shop customer when talking with a vendor. So it gave us a lot of opportunity to pick brains and network. Worked well for us.
The part I liked most was the new Demo Alley. So Demo Alley is -- about three or for times a day, for about 45 minutes each, a vendor would  demo their product in Demo Alley, which was an area set aside on the Market floor with about 10 different stations. You could roam around to each station and watch the demo and then move on to another one. You got to ask questions and see the projects up close as compared to School House. And really meet the designer more personally. I think it's brilliant. And if I go to Market next time, I would do Demo Alley. Those that did Demo Alley probably saw a direct boost in sales because of it. Wouldn't doubt that at all!
Actually, the part I liked most was seeing so many of my Quilt Market friends that I have had for years. So so so good to see and embrace all of you once again. Keep up the good work. 
Made a special market satchel!


A new friend from Spring Market 2018.
Violet Craft - a definite favorite.
Elizabeth Hartman - another definite favorite!
Cute quilts for sure!
So simple and yet so adorable.