QUILT, KNIT, STITCH!

QUILT, KNIT, STITCH! is over for this year and if you missed it, I will tell you all about it...

This event took place last weekend at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. There were about 200 quilting, knitting, and stitching vendors from all over the US, England, and Canada.  I went as a vendor and in order to go as a vendor I had to sign up and pay for my booth way last year.  If you are interested...go to Quilts.com to start the process.  It's definitely an event you have to plan for if you are wanting to go as a vendor.  I purchased a half booth which is 10' wide and 6' deep.  It was really quite small for all my quilts and bags, but due to the cost of the booth (which is enormously costly) I opted for the smaller option.  Set-up was last Tuesday and Wednesday and I opted to only set up on Wednesday which was ample time for me.  I drove from Salem to Portland which is about an hours drive, then I spent about 4 hours on set-up, then drove home.  The show opened Thursday and went until Saturday and was open each day from 10am - 6pm.  Anyone who has done a show like this will probably be able to relate...IT'S A LOT OF WORK.  From set up to take down, to greeting 1,000 people in the middle, it's tiring.  By Saturday evening, I fell into bed and didn't get out until sometime on Sunday after noon...I was so exhausted.  I think I was running on adrenaline and I definitely hit my wall.

This was the premier opening of this show and it sounds like it will run for at least 3 years.  I thought the show was well attended, but many vendors had mixed feelings about how it went.  Each day brought a good crowd in the morning, but by 2pm it was pretty quiet.  I chalk this up to it being the first show of it's kind and maybe when word gets around, the attendance will be up next year.  

I do have to make this very clear...there were some of the MOST top notch designers and shops at this show.  Here's a couple to name a few:

McKenna Ryan

Coloricious

Fabric Depot

EE Schenk

Jodie McDougall - beautiful glass buttons

and me, of course ;)

The verdict is still out if I will attend next year as a vendor.  The benefits to attending this year for me was to be seen by a few shops and distributors that I am trying to get in with so it was definitely a boost for my business.  As far as selling enough to pay for my booth....well, no.  But that's okay, sometimes you have to go to shows to get your name out there and to advertise.  

Thanks for reading my blog!