…and then came Quilt Market

 

(this is the 5th, and final, post in a series about exhibiting at my first Quilt Market. Be sure to read the first, second, third and fourth posts.)

When I left off in my previous post, everything was packed up and ready (or as ready as it was ever going to be) to fly down to Houston. Jason and I flew out super early (6am early) from New York and arrived in Houston at 9am. We had two full days to coordinate final details and get the booth set up.

DAY 1 of set up we accomplished the following (in this order):
• picked up rental car and navigated around Houston
• dropped off all of the luggage at our hotel (so that we had PLENTY of room to fit LOTS more stuff)
• picked up the 4 heavy boxes I shipped via FedEx the week before
• made a quick Ikea shopping trip of items that were cheaper to buy in Houston then they were to buy at my local Ikea and ship
• navigated to and through the loading dock/yard at the Convention Center
• loaded-in everything we picked up and started assembling the booth
• made a trip to Home Depot (last minute things) and to a friend of a friend’s house about an hour north of Houston to pick up borrowed furniture for the booth

Day 1 started at 4am EST and ended about 10pm CST. Here are some highlights in photos:

What the booth space looked like when we arrived.
Putting the booth floor together.
Jason confirming that his homemade light clamps would work with the rented pipe.
Progress at the end of Day 1.

DAY 2 of set up:

After unpacking the drapes and quilts, it took us hours of ironing and steaming to make everything look good.
{photo courtesy: Craftsy}
{photo courtesy: Craftsy}
{photo courtesy: Craftsy}
The drapes were pinned to the floor in order to achieve a clean look.
{photo courtesy: Craftsy}
Remember that rendering I created in September?
Yup–the final booth looked pretty close to that!
{photo courtesy: Craftsy}
Photo taken at the end of Day 2. Time to go get a good night’s sleep to prepare for the launch of Market!

Highlights from our first booth at Fall Quilt Market 2016:

{photo courtesy: Craftsy}

Facebook Live tour of my booth.
Spotted my patterns in the United Notions/Moda booth.

Many friends stopped by the booth…

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3
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8

1. Lizzy House @lizzyhouse, 2. Christa Watson @christaquilts,
3. Denyse Schmidt @dsquilts, 4. Sarah Thomas @sariditty,
5. Vivika DeNegre @vdenegre, 6. Leah Day @leahdayquilting,
7. Alex Veronelli @alexveronelli, 8. Swan Sheridan @swanamity (dressed up as a beekeeper for Halloween)

Exhibiting at my first Quilt Market was an amazing experience!
Have you experienced a Market? If so, what was your favorite part?
Preparing to participate at an upcoming Market? If so, what are you curious about and/or looking forward to the most?

(If you haven’t already, be sure to read the first and second and third and fourth posts in this series.)

 

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8 Comments

  1. Wow, what an amazing job Sheri and Jason. Your quilts are beautiful and the presentation outstanding. Congratulations!

  2. I have recently started following you so went back and read your quilt market journey from the beginning. Congratulations! This is a dream come true! Your booth looked so welcoming and inspiring. Your husband is also a great support to you and your career. Best wishes on continued successes.

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