After Quilt Market Show

The Spring Quilt Market was in Portland, Oregon this year. Last Sunday Northcott hosted an After Quilt Market Show in Richmond, Virginia. Six of my reps were in attendance, along with two regional sales managers. Reps are representatives from quilt fabric manufacturers that show new fabric lines, and older lines that are staples to the buyers at the shops in their territory. A group of reps joining forces to have a show is a fairly new thing, and it is the first time it has been done in this area. 

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The main focus is to give the small quilt shop owners and buyers an opportunity to see lines from manufacturers whose reps don’t call upon them. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to see what is available and expand their inventory. 

KIm from Hoffman in the background

One of my reps, Larry, told me twice that his wife would be there. I have heard about Julie for twelve years. I decided to take this opportunity to meet her.  We talked for about fifteen to twenty minutes.

Sarah, from Sarah’s Thimble and I went up together. We normally see each other no more than once a year at the Tidewater Quilters Guild Vendor’s Day, so this gave us a chance to get to know each other better. We hit it off and enjoyed our time on the road together.

Shirley from Northcott and Sarah from Sarah's Thimble

The new items that stood out for me were minkie in chevron, both printed and embossed, and Jenny Beyer branching out into batiks with a group of blenders!!! That was quite a surprise!!

I had lunch with two small shop owners and their husbands. One of them has shopped with us. One purchased her shop last year and has taken it from one hundred bolts to four hundred. I think the other one said her shop is a house of 1,400 square feet including the kitchen. Neither of them knew all of the reps. I found it interesting that one owner didn’t intend to introduce herself and look over the lines from the ones she didn’t know. I tried to encourage her to do so, but she didn’t change her mind. A rep who lives further north, might come down as far as Virginia, and one who lives in the south, might come up as far as Virginia. Therefore a buyer from Maryland probably wouldn’t have a rep that lives in South Carolina. There were shop owners there from as far away as Maryland and Georgia. I knew all of the reps and one of the regional sales managers. I had heard about the other sales manager and met him while I was there.

I loved seeing all of my reps in one room. I had a great time.