If you’re a quilter, chances are you’ve heard of the biggest event of the year: International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston, TX in the fall.
We’ve just returned from two weeks of amazing quilts, connections, and friends. Come take a look with us as we explore a day in the life of Market and Festival.
Quilt Market precedes Festival every year. It’s a chance for industry professionals to share upcoming patterns, tools, fabrics, and products with other professionals. It’s a feast of new and exciting things! We arrive a few days before Market begins to set up our booth.
There’s no describing the feeling in the convention center as the booths begin to take shape. So many gorgeous quilts, fabrics, and products just waiting to be presented. The excitement in the air is electric.
One day before the official Market opens, Schoolhouse sessions are offered. What’s a Schoolhouse session? It is a 15-to-30-minute presentation by different companies talking about their latest products. During our Schoolhouse sessions we talk about our upcoming fabric lines with Island Batik, our latest tools, and how to help fill classrooms at quilt shops. It’s a great way to get a general idea of what a company is about.
The next day the official Market opens. We love Quilt Market! The opportunity to share our love for what we do with quilt shops and vendors is such a wonderful time. We get to catch up with old friends and forge new connections. We also get a chance to see what our favorite companies are up to. We love to see all the bright and new ideas in the industry.
Once Market wraps, it’s time to prepare for Quilt Festival. Festival is the chance for quilters to come see all of the gorgeous quilts entered for judging, as well as what many think is the best part, the vendor hall!
Our booth gets reorganized for this part of the week. We set up all of the latest quilts, patterns, tools, technique sheets, and fabrics for people to see. Of course, we have our favorite area, Deb’s demos.
There is nothing like watching Deb demo her tools in action. Her enthusiasm is contagious! If you’ve ever been to Festival then you know that our booth is usually packed with quilters listening to Deb show how the tools work. They also love to tell her how the tools have changed their quilting life. It truly is the reason we do what we do!
There is no doubt that the days at Market and Festival are long ones. But it’s an experience like no other. We love to connect with industry professionals and quilters alike. They are the driving force for our company. Providing quilters with tools to make their lives easier is what we love.
If you ever get the chance to come to Quilt Festival, please stop by and say hello. Deb and the rest of us love to hear your stories of how you found our products, as well as why you love them. If you don’t get the chance to come, we will continue to share our experiences each year on our social media. It’s the next best thing to being there!
