Some time ago I read A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. It’s a good read about why right-brainers will rule the future.

The future, really today, is the “conceptual age.” Pink discusses the “six senses” that one uses to build a whole new mind to thrive in this conceptual age: design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. While I do not necessarily subscribe to his premise in total – I believe we need to engage both parts of our brain – he offers lots of great exercises to get your right brain working. And even though many artists are right-brained, you will find the exercises fun and expanding.

Onto ifs, ands, & buts. In his discussion on meaning, one of Pink’s suggestions for creating more meaning in your life is to replace the word “but” with “and.”

He says that “buts” can create roadblocks for creating more meaning in your life and suggests creating a list of what you are trying to accomplish and what is in your way.

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At the end of a year I like to take a look back at the year and see what I accomplished, what changed in my life, what lessons I learned. I usually do this in a journal. This year I decided to share some of it with you. I’d love to hear what your lessons were.

Don’t be afraid to stop a successful event

In 2010 I stepped out on a limb and decided to create the Creative Arts Business Summit.

I had been to events, knew what supported me, knew what didn’t, and I wanted to create something that would serve creatives to build a successful, sustainable business.

And by successful, I meant what was successful to you. I’d been to events where someone else decided what my success looked like. I didn’t want that.

That first event, known to those who come as CABS, was held in March of 2011. In the ensuing years, 100s of creatives have joined our tribe, shared their stories, and left transformed. They have found a home where they could share from the heart and not be judged. They felt supported, and changed their business and lives.

People who came to CABS left motivated. More importantly, they left with a plan to follow and a support team to back them up.

And, they kept coming back.

I absolutely LOVE CABS. Why would I want to stop doing it?

Is growing your email list on your list for the New Year?

“What email list?” you ask. “I’ve got loads of followers on Facebook and Instagram. Who needs a list?”

You do!

Without a list, your business will not produce profits on a consistent enough basis to sustain and grow your business. You might really just have a hobby and enjoy social media connecting. And that’s fine if that’s what you want.

If what you want instead is to build equity in your business, you need to look at building your list. Building a list is a way for people to get to know, like and trust you enough to spend money with you.

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It’s the start of a New Year. Maybe you spent time creating goals. Maybe you didn’t. Maybe you selected a word of the year or theme to guide you. Maybe you didn’t.

Setting goals and choosing a word to provide focus matter. But what matters even more is that you start each day with intention.

If you look at Webster’s, you can find six definitions for intention. A popular one would be “what one intends to do or bring about.” I prefer the definition that says “a determination to act in a certain way” or “resolve.”

You might even think of intention as the bridge between your words (your goals or theme) and your actions.

What’s in a word?

Many people choose a “word” as a focus tool for the year. I have been doing this since probably 2005 when Kathy, the owner of the yoga studio where I practiced, passed around a basket with words.

I chose “openness.” At the time I asked if I could pick a different word. After all, the woman next to me chose love, which seemed like a much better word. I remember Kathy telling me that I was stuck with openness because the word had chosen me.

I went home, taped the word onto my computer, and let it be an anchor as I went through the year. Looking back, I know that this made a tremendous difference in my year.

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December is often the month to look back at your year and plan ahead for the next one. In a recent blog, I discussed starting to plan by taking a look back at the good, the bad, and what you learned during the year.

This is the perfect time to evaluate what you learned and look for ways to reframe the challenges that you faced.

Reframing

What exactly is reframing? It’s a technique to help you look at a belief,  situation, person, or even a relationship to change its meaning in your mind. This shift in perspective can make a difference in your interpretation of a situation or belief.

Since we are artists, it’s easy to understand reframing in art terms. Any time we chose a new frame or a border for our work, it changes the look. It’s the same way with our minds.

Questions to ask yourself are:

What are the rules that you believe?

How could you change them to serve you better?

For example, if you believe that artists are not good with money, then it’s likely you won’t be good with money. If you try to create a rule that empowers or serves you better, you’ll see the results. In this example, you might reframe your rule as, “I’m smart enough to easily learn what I need to about money so that I can pursue my art and make a profit.” This puts you in charge of your results.

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International Quilt Market was filled with inspiration as usual. Fabric. Notions. Quilts. Friends.

I filmed several Facebook Lives during Market. They are on our Facebook Page, so take a look and get a closer view at some of what inspired me. I toured Moda Fabrics, FreeSpirit, Northcott, RJR, and Benartex on the Market side of the floor. I also did an interview with Cathy Wiggins about her leather saddles in the Festival side of the floor.

Overall, I found that while I still found some brights in familiar lines, eg, the lines from In the Beginning and Westminster/Free Spirit, I did notice that colors were more pastel and a bit dustier. Backgrounds had more cream/beige than whites, as in the past. I saw also saw more small prints.

Garment patterns continue to be a strong addition to Market.

And tuffets were everywhere. It seemed every designer had a specially created tuffet to match her/his new line.

Here’s just a bit of what I saw

Fabrics

Michael Miller introduced 38 new color ways to its Color Couture line, which now features 214 colors for 2019. The colors seem to be a bit dustier or toned down, so it’s a swing from the very brights that we’ve seen in the past. I did a tour of the booth showing several new lines, which you’ll see on Facebook.

Forest Gifts, from Axelle Design and Michael Miller, is based on a family walk through the woods. The prints feature mushrooms, nuts, berries, leaves, and birds.

Susan Emory’s fun new line with Michael Miller is called Goat Island. She was inspired by an island in the Lake Gaston (NC) area of Pea Hill Creak. The line features, of course, goats, as well as a plaid, small prints, fish and sailboats.

In the Beginning Fabrics has digitalized its Dit Dot collection with the Dit Dot Evolution line with 40 colorways. The tiny dots make a great blender fabric.

Paula Nadelstern is celebrating 20 years designing with Bernartex. Her newest collection is More is More. The 22-piece collection includes an exquisite medallion panel to cut apart, a complex “fusion” allover, an interesting stripe, and lots of rich, textured allovers in brilliant colors. To celebrate the designer’s 20 years, Benartex hosted a scavenger hunt throughout Market. In addition to the fabric, Paula had two of her quilts on display as well as some large opulent beaded ornaments. 

Modern Quilt Studio in conjunction with Bernartex’s Contempo Divison has released its 18-piece Warp + Weft collection. These yarn dyes are full of color — reds, pinks, yellows, and greens — and texture — plaids, stripes, and wovens. They pair wonderfully with MQS’ Dots Crazy and Printology collections.

Northcott Fabrics is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Stonehenge fabric brand. The newest collection is called Stonehenge Solstice. It features a panel representing the Stonehenge in England and 22 other complementary pieces. 

Linda Hahn introduced her first collection with Northcott’s Banyon Batiks brand. Titled Island Vibes, the nine pieces have a definite beachy vibe.

Machines + Notions

Bernina has introduced the Q 20 foldable table. This longarm sit-down machine opens to 47.25″ and folds to 9.” The size is perfect for those who need to put your machine out of the way at the end of the day. The SRP is $8999.

Quilters Select™ and Alex Anderson introduced Free Fuse, a semi-permanent fusible powder. This powder creates a semi-permanent bond between most fabrics, battings, and textiles. The bonding agent is activated by a medium heat iron and is needle-friendly and easy to use. It comes in a 2 ounce shaker and refills are available. Available in 2 ounce shakers.

Pudgie Parrot LLC has added four new colors  to its Your Nest™ line. Your Nest is now available in Martin, Flamingo, Hummingbird, Peacock, Bluebird, Cardinal, Raven. Your Nest is perfect for sewing or office supplies, even your phone, to keep yourself organized. It’s handy is so many places beside your sewing room. SRP is $18:95.

Special Exhibits

In addition to the premiere os Quilts: A World of Beauty, the judged show of the International Quilt Association, the show included nearly 50 special exhibits of quilts and more. Some of the exhibits that I enjoyed were the Power of Women; OURstory: Human Rights Stories in Fabric; the Best of Dinner at Eight Artists; Rising Stars — Jill Kerttula and Cecilia Koppmann; and Tactile Architecture™. You can see pictures of the winning quilts in the IQA exhibit here.

We were also treated to exhibits that were not quilts. Quilted Leather Art Saddles featured quilted, one-of-a-kind art saddles. You can see a video on our Facebook Page with Cathy Wiggins, the artist. And Cheryl Sleboda shared her Adventures in Comics and Cosplay. The exhibit featured Cheryl’s new cosplay-centric product line and her quilts, which were based on a series of techniques of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby and reinterpreted.

It’s your turn!

What did you see at Market that struck you?

You’ve probably heard people talk about leverage. And not the TV show of recent years. Leverage is about using a resource to its maximum advantage.

When I think of leverage in your business, I think of it as a triangle with Time, Money, and Knowledge + Talents + Passion as the three sides. When you start your business, you have all these elements in varying degrees. And likely some are limited.

As you grow your business, you begin to have more of each and can use each to its maximum advantage. And, you can leverage other people’s time, money and knowledge, too.

You invest in each of them because you want something back in your business. You have an expectation of a return on this investment.

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You’ve heard of ROI – return on your investment. It’s where you figure out if the amount of money you invest comes back to you at a greater return, whether that is a profit or cost savings. Technically your ROI could be negative, which means you lost money.

You may have heard of ROTI – return on your time invested. You look at where you are investing your time and determining whether or not it produces a return.

I have a new one to share: ROR – Return on Relationships.

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Quilt Market, the quilting and soft crafts industry trade show, starts in a few weeks. I’ve been going since 2004. I’ve gone as a vendor, a member of the press, and an educator. Today when I’m not teaching, I spend my time walking the floor, networking, and making connections.

I have always been a fan of trade shows, partly because I love all the tchotchkes. I have buttons, coffee cups, pens and even a couple of stuffed animals from the trade shows I have visited. I have developed quite the reputation among my family and friends for enjoying trade shows.

If you are on the fence about going to Quilt Market or any trade show, here are some reasons why you should make the time.

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