Spring Quilt Market Recap (Friday Foto Fun #85)
This week has been a bit of a blur of catching up at my day job and a complete Quilt Market hangover! But it's Friday and all is well in the world. This is the 3rd Quilt Market I've attended, and the second Spring one.
For this recap, I wanted to share my thoughts and observations rather than focus on the fun things I saw. If you want to see my photos from Quilt Market, check out this photo album on my Facebook Page.
It's been reported several times in the past that Quilt Market is shrinking and while that is true, I still think the face-to-face connections are priceless. It's twice a year that I get to see people and network like you cannot do from behind your phone or computer. Now I do think we are going through a period of unknown in the industry of where we all are headed. As more things move online, is it really necessary to bring all the projects and samples to an industry trade show? Where are we headed with digital fabric printing? Does that just speed up the pace of fabric designs and output to the consumers in an already saturated market? Is a Quilt Market booth just part of the dues you have to pay to break into the industry? I have so many questions and so few answers.
So let's start with the observations:
- There were fewer booths at this Quilt Market than in years past.
- Each fabric manufacturer (minus Moda) had smaller booths and fewer total booths.
- There are new exhibitors that still show up and showcase their products.
- There are fewer popup booths at Market, and some vendors opt-ed out of Sample Spree that has participated in the past.
- Quilt Market still caters to brick and mortar shops first, with a second thought to online shops.
- The last day of Market is still way slower than the other two days.
Questions with no answers:
- Art Gallery's pop-up shop only had curated bundles and color masters, just like at Fall Market. What happened to new lines? Where is Pat Bravo? Since she came out last year discussing her depression, I hope she is doing okay because she has not been active on social media and I didn't see her at Market. Her company needs her. Showcasing color bundles and color masters only signals that they are not moving their fabric out of the warehouse and need to resort to other ways to move the fabric.
- Digital printing of fabric is a new trend even with very established fabric companies. This will shake up the industry in ways we can't even imagine. Fabric ordering is no longer limited by the number of colors or a minimum order of yardage. With Spoonflower and other print on demand fabric places, do we still need fabric manufacturers in the capacity they exist today?
- RJR and Cotton + Steel... what. the. heck. is. going. on? They had a booth that pretty much had a sign that was pretty with paper and nothing else. With the original Cotton + Steel women leaving for systemic issues, was that major foreshadowing of the dysfunction and what's to come for RJR?
- How do we get more people into sewing to grow the industry?
The last rhetorical question of how we get more people into sewing to grow the industry is a fun one for me and what's prompting me to start a video blog later this year. Tentatively starting in July, I am going to do a set of 5-minute shorts about how to start quilting with the very basics, and they are geared to help beginners and seasoned quilters leapfrog some of the steep learning curves with sewing and quilting.
As for the rest of the observations and questions above, I'm not sure what's coming but we will find out together! The one thing that digital fabric printing cannot touch is batik fabrics. The process of making batik fabric is pretty special that I don't think it'll be able to be replicated with digital printing. This just makes me more proud to be included in the Island Batik group of Designers. We even took a group photo at the start of the show.
As for the connections that I made during Market, they are invaluable. I feel like I made so many more connections to collaborate with in the future as well as garnered ideas for what I need to do to have my own booth one year.
For Fall, there is a new program called Threads of Success that will be going on at the same time as Fall Market. Threads of Success is an educational program for anyone that is looking to break into the industry with the last day walking the Market show floor. I will be in attendance and look forward to learning about all the other opportunities this industry has to offer.
What do you guys think of my thoughts? Any questions to add?
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Very interesting, Sherry! I enjoyed reading your recap. I’ve been hearing about Market shrinking for awhile now, and I wonder if a similar shrinkage in the consumer trade show is what prompted Quilts Inc to close their Chicago show after so long.
So many interesting thoughts, Sherry. Wish we could sit down over coffee and chat about this. Too many thoughts to put into a comment. Steve & Nita noticed similar things — like Bernina wasn’t even there, and a few other bigger companies. As to growing the industry, I think your video idea is great, but I think a great addition to that would be to host a beginning quilters class on a small scale (like maybe 4-5/class) and walk them through the first steps of quilting. This takes a big commitment on the part of the instructor, but I think some individuals like a hands on approach. The videos could be a great partner to the class. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but I’ve never gotten it off the ground. Lots more thoughts, too many for this comment.
Can’t imagine how different it will look in a few years. I definitely think digital printing is going to change a whole lot of things. I am sorry to hear of the loss of major participants – that is disconcerting. The personalities and the way vendors/designers/consumers get treated makes things work or not….it sounds like a lot more change is in the wind. Good luck with your new series – it sounds like a great idea!