There is an old Welsh proverb that seems to work particularly well with International Quilt Market…
“In like a lion, out like a lamb”
Market prep is always a beast, working on those last minute details, setting up promotions, confirming collaborations, and preparing booth activities. It often seems that the industry comes to a collective standstill for a week, but in fact we’re all running around furiously for 4 days to make sure that everything runs smoothly and that we’re able to visit with as many of our friends and colleagues as possible. And then… just like that… it’s over! It’s always hard to believe and we always find ourselves sifting through photos, trying to recapture the pure inspiration felt while walking the aisles of the show.
We’ve been back for a little over a week and have been bursting with excitement over new ideas, still reeling from the wonder of the demos and events we were able to share. We wanted to take some time over the next few days to share some of the magnificent madness with all of you, in hopes that you might all feel as inspired as we do!
SAMPLE SPREE
What would Market be without Sample Spree? The frenzy and the excitement… the walking away with 10 boxes of thread and 10 new Fat Quarter bundles;). We’ve always loved seeing photos of the loot after the fact and love the buzz of energy that rolls through the room. This time around, we brought a mix of House & Designer Collections in a variety of weights, including a handful of our 80wt Best Selection 45-spool boxes — a HUGE hit!
AURIFIL BOOTH
We expanded our booth this year to allow for a bit more space to showcase displays, offer a separate meeting space, and introduce a demo/event area. We absolutely love how everything turned out and are looking forward to improving on the space even more for our Fall Market booth in Houston.
We absolutely love the opportunity to showcase completed pieces by some incredibly talented Designers. This year’s showcases pieces were by Heather Givans, Pat Sloan and the 2016 Aurifil Designer of the Month team, Karen Miller, the Designers of Art Gallery Fabrics, Sari Thomas of Sariditty, Jenni Smith, AnnieMarie Chany of GenX Quilters, and our Sew Many Colors contest winners, Laura Piland, Jenny Nault Meeker, and Nicole Buckley. Thank you to all for so generously loaning us your art!
Full disclosure… the lighting in the convention center was terrible! I can’t help but share a few other images of the feature projects so you catch just how magnificent they actually are;).
Here is our Facebook Live tour for a little peek into the full booth layout and all that was presented there! I may have missed a few collections, but have no fear… we’ll be sharing more of that info with you soon!
DEMO TABLE
Our demo table was one of our new additions and a focal point through Market. We had embroidery hoops ready for a bit of slow-stitching and loved that so many people popped by to join in, including our very own Elena Gregotti and Alexander Winton!
We were incredibly lucky to partner with Bernina to have a few machines at the table. Without their generosity, our demos would have been a total bust!! We also loved that Alex Veronelli spent a few moments at the machine! Thanks Bernina!!
We were so honored to welcome a top-notch list of Aurifil Designers throughout the weekend — Heather Givans, Pat Sloan, Karen Miller, Jenni Smith, Carolyn Friedlander, and Annie Smith showcased projects & collections, gave us tips & tricks, and even taught a few mini classes! It was such a delight and we were thrilled to broadcast each one out on Facebook Live to give everyone an opportunity to join in on the fun!
Heather Givans:
Pat Sloan:
Karen Miller:
Jenni Smith:
Carolyn Friedlander:
Annie Smith:
BOOK SIGNING
We welcomed Aurifil Designer and Author Kathy Flowers to the booth on Saturday for a meet & greet and book signing in partner with Martingale. Kathy was at Market to launch her new book and coordinating thread collection, Oh Glory. The signing was a hit and Kathy quickly ran out of books! Thank you so much to all who attended!
At the end of the weekend, the booth got torn down and looked like this:
Everything is now packed and sorted and back in our US warehouse, ready and waiting for Houston;). We can’t wait!!
Enjoyed seeing your beautiful items and displays along with all the people involved with aurifil.
Thanks Estie! Thanks so much for following along with us!
So cool to see all the market items and hear all about it. Those thread boxes look super cool. Have a wonderful day!!
Thanks so much Angela!
Thanks for sharing insights on your booth at Market. I love your demo area to play with your threads as well as book signing in your very inviting booth. Of course, I think it would be fun to have an area set up that might showcase the tips & tricks for best selling Aurifil stores to help others learn the art of displaying and selling such fine threads.
QuiltShopGal
http://www.quiltshopgal.com
Thanks so much, and that is a wonderful idea! I know that a few of our demo designers touched on that a bit, but we can work on making it a greater focus for the in booth events.
LOVE the feedback:). Have a great weekend!
What a fantastic booth! Loved seeing the market recap!
Thanks for following along with us Paige!! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! What a wonderful, colorful, inspiring madhouse!
Thanks CJ! A perfect description:)
Oh the Joys of Market — thanks so much for giving us awesome threads to create with — and for hosting the great array of demos. It was an honor to be a part of it 😉
Karen
http://www.redbirdquiltco.com
Marketing is a hard thing to do and be right in the swing of the top hit products . But staying up with your designers, & them
With you, keepingbup with the latest tools, fabrics, and sewing & quilting flings & swings is what makes Aurifil so. Good!
I think that the concept of tips & tricks at your demo would be awesome! The teams sure have everything going good. Love the big new booth & ideas!! Keep rollin’. AURIFIL!
My dream trip isn’t to Hawaii or a cruise,but to one day to get to go to Quilt Market!! It would be a dream come true for me!! Unless a huge miracle occurs in my life,I will probably never get to go but every year I dream about it!!!