I just got back from Portland which was my very first Quilt Market. I thought I was prepared and knew was to expect, but it was still extremely overwhelming! So here are the basics…
What is International Quilt Market? This is the largest industry trade show targeted at the quilting industry. Spring Market is held in May at a different location each year and Fall Market is usually held in late October (this year it's in November) in Houston.
Who goes to Quilt Market? There are 3 different types of badges: Exhibitor, Buyer, and Industry Professional. If you are an exhibitor that means you have a booth at the show. A Buyer would be people that own or work at a quilt shop. Industry Professionals would be people that fall under the designers and media category. You must be a business and have credentials to get a badge, and it's not open to the general public.
I arrived in Portland Wednesday night and attended the Schoolhouse series on Thursday. Schoolhouse is a set of lecture type classes where different designers and manufacturers can show off new fabric lines and teach different topics such as social media usage, new tools/notions, wool, etc. Here are some of the photos that I took during the Schoolhouse series. To see all the photos I took during Quilt Market, check out the photo album on my Facebook Page.
Thursday night is the coveted event that you hear about called Sample Spree. Sample Spree is a shopping event which manufactures and other vendors will have limited product for sale, most of which has not been released. It gives the shop a chance to purchase new fabric lines to create samples for their shop prior to the fabric's release. I do not love the feeding frenzy, and this year's sample spree I heard was pretty tame compared to previous markets. But I was able to snag a few fabric bundles and some Aurifil thread!
Something that I didn't know prior to attending - not all the fabric manufacturers have a booth at sample spree. Windham, Art Gallery Fabrics, and several others did a pop-up shop during Market on the trade show floor. Here's everything that I ended up with!
There were hundreds of booths set up during this trade show. Since I was a newbie, I got invited to a newbie breakfast prior to the first day. During that breakfast, we were given a brief description of what we would find once the trade show opened and were given advice on how to systematically shop through the trade show. Then it was time to attend my first market!
Here are my thoughts/tips for attending market:
- It can be very overwhelming with the sheer amount of stuff to see. Give yourself time to walk through, see, and talk to people.
- Have a plan for which booths you would like to visit. For me, I marked down fabric designers and companies that I would like to collaborate with and made sure to visit those folks first.
- Set up appointments with people you would like to talk to. I did not have any official appointments set up because I didn't know that was a thing nor did I have contacts yet.
- Have LOTS of business cards handy. They are used for door prizes at Schoolhouse, and you want to make sure you can give your information to people you meet! I ended up with 2 left, and I thought I was going to run out!
- I brought a one-pager for my patterns and sample patterns for me to give as a packet to distributors. Others made a true packet or folder of information to submit. I gave myself a pat on the back for at least thinking of that (even though I could polish up my presentation a bit).
- NETWORK!!! Most of my work will be coming after market and following up with the people I would love to work with. I was so terrified to talk to people at first, but everything was fine once I mentally got over that hurdle.
Did you attend market? What other tips would you give?
Other fun things that I did at market:
Once I got all my business-y things out of the way I got to go visit and talk to my quilty friends. Some of the best collaborations are done with friends, so I'm really looking forward to working with these folks in the future! I also didn't take photos will all my other blogger and designer friends that I met up with. (whoops!)
I also got to fangirl a bit with some of my favorite designers. I was so proud I didn't run away! I mean I kind of did with Sassafras Lane Designs but I went back later and properly introduced myself. They were the first ones I talked to on day 1 and I was so nervous I don't even think I gave them my name! Definitely a facepalm moment!
In addition, I also got to see new product and books! I finally got to meet Dorie in person, I participated in her blog hop last fall to promote her book, Making Connections.
Dorie Hruska
Coolest thing that happened at Market: I went to the Moda Dinner on Friday Night with Pam from Serendipity Woods as her plus one. We were at a table with Moda employees, and I asked if a non-shop owner like me could ever tour their warehouse in Dallas. The guy we were sitting with pointed out the lady I needed to talk to for that to happen. However, later in the night he came back and told me he asked for me and he could help me get it set up for a tour! I'm already going to Dallas in June and we are getting it scheduled for that trip. How cool is that!
Best new product that I saw at Market: Odif Grippy. This product does not get released until July. The product is sprayed on the back of non-grip rulers to make them grippy. All of my rulers that don't have grip can be made grippy. Isn’t that mind-blowing?! If you dislike it, it'll wash off with soap and water. I cannot wait to try this product, I see it as a total game changer. Odif is also a company I am hoping to partner with in the future because they make some amazing products. (If you don't recognize the brand, Odif also make the 505 basting spray)
Biggest Powered By Quilting News to come out of market: I have finally decided to start streaming on Twitch once I'm in Kansas City. Once we have fiber internet both my husband and I could stream at the same time! If you don't know Twitch, it's a streaming website so think really long live videos. I will post more about what my schedule will look like and what I'll be streaming as it gets closer to launch date.
Last but not least, I'm going to leave you with my Pins+Needles Kit unboxing. I met the founders and they gave me a box to open, and it was SO HARD not to peek until I got home to film it! Enjoy!
Join me again on Friday for Friday Foto Fun and on Sunday for the #365DayOfArtPBQChallenge! Link up and share your progress on your own projects!
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