Quilt Biz News & Updates

2021 has been a year of growth for me as a quilter and pattern designer, as I’ve pursued some new opportunities and happily enjoyed some success!

My pattern sales for the first few years were overwhelmingly direct-to-consumer. But over the last year, I have expanded my offerings to include print copies in addition to PDF downloads. This was a big step! It requires spending money on printing and finding a place in my house to store my patterns and shipping supplies. It also requires me to stay on top of any orders, and make sure I get them shipped out promptly. It’s definitely more work than PDF downloads.

But on the flip side, it allows me to explore a new avenue for pattern sales by selling directly to shops and distributors. I have gotten a few wholesale orders from shops that reach out to me, and in November I was picked up by Checker Distributors. This was a huge milestone! My patterns are now part of Checker’s catalog, and can be ordered by shops around the country.

Teaching and workshops was also an entirely new avenue for me this year. I had previously taught 3 or 4 classes at my local quilt shop, but this year I’ve done more than two dozen lectures and workshops, and joined the QuiltCon faculty for the 2022 show. I really enjoy these engagements and definitely want to continue this.

These nitty-gritty business topics have been on my mind this week as I set up my virtual booth for the upcoming Quilt Pro Connection virtual trade show. This is a new event aimed at quilt shops and others in the quilting industry and will take place from January 7-9. I’m not aware of many previous events like this, and I suspect that success will depend heavily on the perseverance of the organizer and the effectiveness of their marketing.

That said, the vendor fee was only $100 (which is far, far, FAR less than the cost of a booth at an in-person show) so I decided to take a chance on the new event and see how it goes!

(I had planned to attend the annual Quilt Market in Houston this year, which would have provided opportunities to talk with shop owners and industry professionals in person, but it was cancelled.)

So! I’ve made some great strides in 2021 and have been thinking about new goals for 2022. I’ll have more on that before the end of the month.

I’m also working on this year’s “income report” post, which is something I’ve shared for the last couple years. (Here is last year’s report.) My income distribution changed quite a bit this year, and I have several thoughts to share on that!

p.s. If you are affiliated with a quilt shop or business and are interested in purchasing wholesale patterns, please contact me!

p.p.s. I’m doing a 31 day blogging challenge.