Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Market Finale: Go Team Tiny!

Are you ready? This is going to be a really long post. :) Sunday was our last day and although it started out very quiet, things picked up very quickly. I spoke a little bit of the neighboring booths that we had, but now I'll show some pics. This first one is Cara. We loooove Cara, she has your back no matter what (wink, wink) and her quilt designs are simply fab.
And Susan (who is not pictured for some strange reason...Susan, where were you?) had the booth on the other side of us. She invented an incredible quilting tool that is taking the world by storm, she also taught me a few techniques and quilting terms that I had no knowledge of. We had a blast next to her and now we can't stop talking like her...don't ya know?
This sweet bunch of girls and Elliote (can you find him?) were a great group to become acquainted with. Amanda (in the middle) from the Quilted Fish, tried to kill us on our first encounter with her mad driving skills, but once we got over the initial shock, we found them all to be a pleasant bunch.
I dropped by the booth of Bonnie and Camille. I've met Bonnie a few times, but this was my first time meeting Camille...both super sweet.
Also on this day, Sandi from Portabellopixie (I got in trouble for not posting that earlier...sorry Roni) stopped and said hello on her way around.
And the Izzy & Ivy bunch in their booth...by the end we shared lots of laughs...they're a fun bunch.
And towards the end of the show I really thought things couldn't get any better, until...Mark came strolling down our aisle. OK, this man is hilarious!
I have to set the scene for you or you totally won't understand what's happening. I came wondering back to my booth where there was a crowd forming and Roni was panicking...I was worried because this wasn't the first time this had happened at market. I walked up to her and she started pointing and saying, "I can't get his attention." Well, lucky for her, Mark and I share a very common trait...we're both really loud. I hollered over to him and somehow Roni captured this photo of his face when he saw me. :)
He ran over to my booth and plopped down, while Roni just kept snapping photos. This is us posing like we're at prom...seriously I have a prom photo like this where we're sitting on a moon.
And then we start chatting and he discovers that I'm LDS...(I love his face)...
And then he asks if he can have my Mormon kidney that's so clean and pure! I was dying. I told him he could, but he'd have to convert first. And then he said some things that I can't repeat because although it's completely hilarious, it's entirely inappropriate for my family-friendly blog. Seriously funny guy...seriously. As he left our aisle, he waved goodbye to everyone and hollered, "Goodbye Mormon girl! Goodbye!" Mark, you made my day! (I say that as if he's ever going to read my blog).
And here we are celebrating our success at market...happy as two little clams can be.
This is our sad booth take down. All that hard work, just to be stuffed back into boxes and shipped home.
We were able to make a quick stop at the Mall of America. We hit every toy store and left loaded with gifts for our kiddos. And thank you Susan for keeping us safe!
This is the fun collection we collected at sample spree...you'll notice the huge bundle of Bliss that doesn't even hit stores until October...I keep drooling over it.
And then my book from Sandi...
And Roni hanging out in the hotel (thanks Brett for scoring us such a great room)...
And this super awesome designer guy we met in the airport who works for Michael Miller. I look like crap because my flight had been delayed and cancelled and whatever else, so at this point I'd been sobbing...I ended up flying straight to Boise (my mom's) because they couldn't get my flight figured out to Salt Lake. And they lost my luggage, but now it's found. Whew.
It was a great trip as I've said a million times and I'm certain you're all sick of hearing about it, but I have to document it all because this will be my only FIRST trip to market. It will never happen again, every market after this will be an entirely different experience. So thanks for hanging in there!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Market: Days Two and Three

So, here we are shortly before leaving the hotel to make our grand debut to the quilt industry. We were so excited and super nervous because we had no idea what the day would bring.
The night before was Sample Spree (where, if you're lucky and know the right people, which we totally did (Thanks Amy!) you're able to get in and purchase lots of goods at wholesale prices before they're even released to the public...more on that later). The reason I'm telling you about this now, is because while we were there Roni spotted Dana and Vanessa and went nuts. She had to meet them, so we chased them for nearly a mile (I know seriously, stalking) and never caught them. :) But on this lucky day, Dana was passing our booth and Roni had her moment...
Vanessa wasn't with her at the time, but we were able to meet her later (we forgot the pics though). Both fun girls. Hi Dana! Hi V!
I had planned on just really selling from my booth the first two days, but my plans sort of took a turn. Emily, Shari, and Jina from Riley Blake all stopped by my booth, as well as a few distributors (people who buy your stuff in really large quantities) and some Westminster folks (I was even given a little tour around their booths). The thing about market is you never know who you're talking to. People drop by and half the time their checking you out to see if they want to work with you, but we never knew who we were talking to until the end of the conversation. Lucky for me, we were able to stay in high spirits the whole time. :) This picture below is me with Jina from Riley Blake, she was super sweet and so fun to meet (No that rhyme was not intentional).
Occassionally, I'd have to step out to meet with people or just take a breather. On this particular day I was anxious to visit people. So I headed on down to Amy's booth. Melda took the camera from me and this is what happened:
Then I took the camera back:
And then...it happened. OK, so I was dying to meet Sandi, DYING, I tell you. I walked up to her booth the very first day and saw her, but then I just walked away...lame, I know. My pal Shari convinced me to just head on over and say hello. So I did and she wasn't there. But I did have a nice conversation with her husband Dustin, he's a funny guy. I stopped by again later that day and she WAS there. So we chatted a bit (she's so humble) and then we took a photo in her booth. That was fun. And so, here's my memory-making-moment with Sandi:
Sandi and I do meet again...so stay tuned. I'm just sort of filling you in here and there on the trip, but I know I'm missing a lot of it too, it's all such a blur...a really good blur. And I really shouldn't be blogging because I have so many orders to fill. My double visit to the post office today was a little frightening for the ladies there. :) So...more tomorrow. I have to stuff patterns.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Market: Day One

Ok, so I'm laying this out one day at a time for my dear sweet mother and Roni, who left her camera at home with the kids. It starts out a bit boring, but hang in there with me this week and things will get more exciting and perhaps unusually crazy as you hear about our market weekend. First off, I have to say this trip was the most incredible adventure of my life. We met people from all over the world, opportunities came, happy tears and frightened tears were shed, and life took a whole new turn for Miss Roni and I. BUT let's begin with Day One.
We arrived in Minneapolis around 6:30 pm, where we then had an interesting shuttle ride to the hotel with other Marketeers. We met up with Amy and Melda at the hotel and had a lovely dining experience. The next morning we headed straight to the convention center for set up. Here we are with a whole lot of crap and no sense of what to do with it:
Then I started bossing Roni around. Being that she was the only one able to hang anything, it was a little easier that way. :)
Then things started to fall into place. And the lower work began. This is where she started bossing me around. :(
And then 5 hours later, this happened:
It was still a bit messy, but you'll see more of it as the days pass and it will look better. We didn't consider the fact that the curtains would be completely wrinkled from the packaging until everything was hung...oh well.

I blew up a few pics of the bags and they seemed to be real eye catchers. Thank goodness.
The Glam Bags were a hit! They flew off the shelf so quickly. Every single bag sold and all of the patterns too...I'm folding more as we speak. Actually, we were lucky because we sold out of practicly everything in the booth.
Here's an upclose, from down "low" shot of the banner:
This is our attempt to take a pic of us:
This was a pic taken by the nice gentleman from across the way. OH, I have to say this, we had some incredible neighbors. Most of us were new and we just had a great time hanging out, causing trouble, and cheering each other on..ya know, all the good stuff!
So that's all for Day One...like I said, a little boring, but things will pick up tomorrow! :) Sweet Dreams.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Spring Collection 2010

Are you ready for this? I'm not sure I am. I'm so excited about this little collection! It's very curvy. Every single pattern comes with templates, for easy-breezy-ness.
This first bag is called, Seamstressed. It's my absolute favorite bag thus far! It's bucket-like structure makes for easy access to everything and the handles come off, allowing it to form into whatever style of bag you want to use it as. The pockets wrap all the way around the bag and are so convenient, it's almost too easy. I just love it! You have all seen this one before...cause it's on my sidebar. :) I should have named it the funky clutch instead of the Tiny Clutch. The closure coming from the bottom instead of the top has seemed to draw more attention than ever expected. It's actually my favorite feature, aside from the fact that the bag is actually folded in half. It's a little bigger than tiny and fits just right for date night with your hubbie.
The next pattern is called Diaper Savvy. I wanted to offer something that would match my other bags. There is one to coordinate with Simply Legendary and one for the Jumbo Glam bag. Each holds about 4 diapers and wipes. And don't be fooled by the elastic, those diapers are super secure inside.
And the Legendary Mini. This bag, if you do recall, was originated in the Tiny Seamstress Throwdown. It's had quite a few adjustments made though, making it a much more useful bag. My little niece Rylie (who looves to read) sports it everywhere with all of her books in it...so adorable.
So there you have it! These are all in my Etsy shop and to celebrate the fact that I'm actually following through with a goal by going to market, I'm having an introductory sale. Every pattern is $6 for a very limited time. So hop on over and grab 'em before they're gone....ok they'll never be gone, just the price will be gone. :)
Happy Sewing!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Just one more quilt...

I know...I sew bags, it's true I really do, but lately you wouldn't think so would you? I started this quilt back in August and just barely finished it last week. It was another practice for my banner, but I actually really love this quilt. I got a little confident in the cutting process and screwed up, so the pattern isn't quite as it should be, but that's ok, sometimes error adds character.
Ruger became really attached to it, which is good because I also purchased the pattern for the larger version, and I was planning to make the boys each one after market. Score! :)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Birthday Madness!

This picture was sent to me a few weeks back and I nearly peed my pants when I saw it. I'm quite certain she was bored out of her mind to think of this, but it made my day! Roni sent this to me with a header that read, "It's me and you!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RONI!
Roni, I thought of a million stories to share on this blog but every single one had some completely embarrassing moment and I just couldn't bring myself to do it! :) But I hope you get a super big Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi today, with Cookies and Cream candy bars, and watch a good run of Avatar or even The Hills (see that, that's embarrassing...we shouldn't tell people we watch that! I guess Ashlee will understand). Maybe I will wear my PB&J shirt today...cause we go together like peanut butter and jelly, with our white bread husbands out on the sidelines. hahahahahahaha. Again embarrassing, I better stop now before I lose all of my readers! Happy Birthday BFF!