In the Summer 2012 issue of The Professional Quilter, Eileen Doughty profiled Celine Perkins, pattern designer and owner of Perkins Dry Goods. Here’s an excerpt of the article:

I advertise regularly in American Quilt Retailer. At Market, I do Schoolhouse workshop sessions and contribute to the FabShop Dinner as a table sponsor. (The Fabric Shop Network is a trade association for independent quilt and fabric retailers; they publish FabShop News. They have a dinner for shop owner members right before Market opens.) I’ve been a sponsor for several years, usually donating prize bags for two tables.

I have also participated as an organizer for two Booth Hop events at the 2010 Minneapolis and Kansas City Markets. Last fall in Houston, I joined in the Aurifil Booth Hop.

I have been to 13 Markets since spring of 2005. I try to go to every one, for several reasons. At Market, you have a unique opportunity to meet your customers, face-to-face. You have fantastic networking and educational opportunities. You see what’s new and trending. You get inspired.

After driving back from Kansas City this year, I’m not convinced that it’s easier to drive than to fly! I fly to the majority of markets with my “booth in a bag.” I get a half-booth space (affordable and manageable for one person). I share hotel and car expenses with two or three other designers that I’ve gotten to know. We make a trip to Sam’s Club and Target for booth accessories when we all arrive. I also request that my booth be placed near these designers so we can help each other during the show.

Once I vended at International Quilt Festival in Chicago just to see what it was like. I found that it takes a lot of single pattern sales to pay for a booth!  That convinced me that the independent quilt shop is my primary customer and that Market is the best place to sell my product, not at a retail venue.

That’s a really good question. My husband has always been impressed with how many plates I can keep in the air. I think this is kind of funny since I don’t always feel very organized, and sometimes I think being “over organized” is a defense mechanism. I make lists, sometimes too many, but lists nonetheless. And I am constantly thinking about what comes next.

My routine is to be in the office by 6:30 a.m. At about 8:30 a.m. I take a break (errands or the gym), then come back and work from 11:00 or so until 4:00 p.m., when I go to the post office or UPS. I work seven days a week, but go from one thing to the next, in and out of the studio, especially on weekends.

I try to stay connected with others in the quilt world, whether they are designer friends or shop owners. It can be very socially isolating to work for yourself in a one-man shop.

At dinner time, the computer is turned off, and the sewing machine is off-limits.

To relax, I go to the gym at least three times a week and walk with my husband after dinner every day that the weather allows. I lost a significant amount of weight in 2010-11 and through that process have learned to make my health more of a priority. It’s pretty amazing what happens when you get a little selfish with that kind of thing.

I also started knitting more seriously when a close friend opened a yarn shop. It’s a great excuse to spend time away from work with a good friend!

The “Studio and Family Time” came from a need to clear the calendar of business commitments during summer months. The kids are home from school, and there is usually a family vacation planned. My dad passed away a few years ago, and my mother now summers in Minneapolis. We spend a lot of time together. It’s a priority for me to be able to spend time with the family, and blocking out those months seemed like a good way to make that “public.”

If you would like to read more of Eileen’s article on Celine Perkins, it’s included in our Summer 2012 issue of The Professional Quilter and available to IAPQ members. The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Please share your thoughts below.

This weekend I wanted to do some sewing for myself. And, since I needed a new handbag, I found Margo from Joan Hawley and Lazy Girl Designs. I wanted to use some of the ever-expanding stash, too, and I found a group of fat eights from P&B Textiles. The line was Expressions, and it’s not available any longer. The challenge I had was that Joan calls for larger pieces than what I had in places, so I pieced the lining. It was great fun, learned some new techniques — Joan is great for that — and I love my new bag. Here are some pics of my finished girl.

Quilt Blocks Go WIld
Eleanor Levie and Celebrity Quilters
Leisure Arts; $19.95

I always enjoy books with a variety of techniques that stretch your skills and this is no exception. Eleanor along with five celebrity quilters (Karla Anderson, Pam Dinndorf, Malka Dubrawsky, Tonya Ricucci and Elizabeth Rosenberg) challenged themselves to take the classic quilt block and twist, tweak, slice and skew them. In other words start traditional and go wild. You’ll find the classic Drunkard’s Path with inset, random strips; an unorderly Rail Fence; a Log Cabin block split into a boomerang shape; and a wonky, winking traditional Star block. In all you have nine projects, and each can set you off on an adventure to try something new with a different traditional block. Elly also includes playbooks – hand-on exercises – for each block designed to jump start your creativity.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

On Monday I received a lovely email from a friend wishing me Happy Birthday and reminding me of all I had accomplished. She also said that I had influenced many more artists than I could imagine. That was a wonderful reminder for me to take some time during the day to reflect on those two thoughts.

I find as entrepreneurs that we often do not take time to look at our accomplishments. We tend to have the end goal in mind and just keep working toward that. We don’t look at all we accomplish, and we often don’t celebrate those we do. Last week I mentioned that I like – or try – to end my day with a review what I accomplished during the day. It’s nice to have a formal mechanism for this, whether it’s a journal you update daily or just notes and the check marks of completed items on your calendar page. What was fun for me was to go back through the year and see what I had accomplished and how I am in a different place today than I was in January.

The second part of my friend’s email was about the influence I had that I didn’t realize. Again, to some extent its the “not looking back” part. I talked some about this recently when I wrote about the ripple effect. Yes, I can see the influence I have on a direct basis. That’s easy. Someone makes more money because I made a suggestion for her business or she starts to build her list of followers because of another. I have a harder time seeing this on a larger scale. It could be an off-hand comment I make to a large group about trying something new. I may never realize that comment set something in motion for someone to create something new, whether that’s artwork or a product; to venture down an uncharted path; or to make positive changes in her life. I think that both the influence I know about AND the influence I don’t are the reasons I find so much joy in what I do.

So thank you, Christine, for the wonderful reminder. And, thank you to my clients, members, followers and e-zine readers for letting me share what I know with you.

When was the last time you looked at what you accomplished? And do you have a formal mechanism for doing this? Do you know who you are influencing?

Please share your thoughts below.

Quilt Blocks From Around the World
Debra Gabel
C&T Publishing; $21.95

Following up on the success of her first book, Quilt Blocks Across America, Debra takes you on a world tour, well, at least to 50 international cities. The finished six-inch square blocks can be used in a variety of applications, from small wall hangings to a sampler quilt of your travels. The book includes a CD so you can enlarge all the patterns, and almost all the gallery pieces are made at a large size. In fact Debra recommends enlarging 200%. You’ll also learn Debra’s Translucent Patterning technique that allows you to trace each piece and see color, positioning and overlap in one block.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon  if you would like to learn more about the book.

The Pumpkin Plan
Mike Michalowicz
Penguin Books; $26.95

This week’s book isn’t directly about quilting, it is about building and sustaining your entrepreneurial business. The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field is an entertaining read that you can really learn from.

In the book, author Mike Michalowicz uses the growth of a freakishly large pumpkin – you know the kind you hear about at state fairs in the fall – as a metaphor for how an entrepreneur can successfully manage and grow a business. He addresses entrepreneurial burn-out, how to handle clients that sap your energy, how to staff your entrepreneurial business, and how to recognize when it is time to make a change in your offering. And throughout the chapters, he includes “Work the Plan” sections that will help you to create great success in your business.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to  Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Do you toot your own horn? Or are you like many women – yes, it’s mostly women – who are reluctant to talk about their successes and talents? You probably don’t have any problem talking about the success of your loved ones. Why is it that we have that problem with ourselves?

This came up in a discussion with one of my clients about creating a personal brand. She felt uncomfortable about promoting herself on her blog, Facebook and Twitter. It was OK to talk about others and share their successes, but she downplayed her own. Why? She wasn’t ready to step into her own power.

How do you get beyond this? Here are a few ideas:

1. Pay attention to when you shy away from sharing your gifts or minimizing your talents in public, ie., with those who don’t know you. Awareness is the first step to changing.

2. Change your internal message about what you are doing. You have gifts that others don’t have. And, I know that you want to share those gifts. That’s why you started your quilt or fiber arts business. You need to share your successes so others can learn about you so that you are able to serve them. It’s really about providing a service to your customers, and you can’t do that if you hide your talents.

3. Start to put yourself – and your brand – out there in small ways. Take 30 minutes a day and look for ways to contribute. This could be by commenting on someone’s blog, writing your own blog post, sharing something on Twitter or your Facebook Fan page.

It gets easier as you go along, and the more people that know about you, the more people you can serve with your unique talents.

I’m sure you’ve read the following quote from Marianne Williamson. I love this quote and it’s pertinent to this discussion:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Please share your thoughts below.

Hexa-go-go
Tacha Bruecher
Stash Books; $23.95

Everything old is new again, and English paper piecing is seeing a resurgence. I love author, Tacha Bruecher’s take on it. She says, “Hexagons are so wonderfully portable – quilting’s answer to knitting! She starts you off with with detailed instructions on creating your paper templates, making the hexagons, and hand stitching them together. Once you’ve got the basics and a stack of hexagons, you’re ready to make any of the projects in the book. She offers you 18 projects ranging from a lovely rosette needle book to full-sized quilts. The projects are fun and I especially liked the “Stars and Stripes Quilt,” perfect for celebrating American holidays. If you decide to give hexagons a whirl, watch out. I hear they are addictive.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Whether your pace this summer is slower or not, it’s a good time to look at your business and see what you might be able to do with what you already have. It’s called repurposing and you see it all the time in other areas. Disney is a prime example. They often issue re-releases or special editions of their classics. They recreate the excitement, find additional audiences, and make more sales. How can you do this as a quilter or fiber artist? Here are some ideas:

1. If you are a pattern designer, go back to some of your older designs and remake them using different fabrics. Try a really traditional design in contemporary fabrics. Sometimes a fresh look is all that’s needed. Now you can re-issue and promote the pattern as a special or anniversary edition.

2. If you are a teacher, take a look at those classes you’ve been teaching. Do you need brighter samples to post with the descriptions? Could the class titles be jazzed up a bit? Do you have some faster methods you are now using? The new class, with the jazzed-up title is now Completely Revised or Now With Speed Sewing Techniques. This made me think of food manufacturers with the New, Improved signs on their products. If it works for them, it will work for you.

3. If you are a longarm quilter, look at your samples? Are they dated? Try making a set of sample strips using some of those new threads you purchased. You can add them to existing samples, making it all look new again.

4. If you are a shop owner, repurposing is easy and it’s something you are probably doing on a regular basis. When was the last time you redid your displays to give a new look to your shop? Just moving your existing displays can make a difference.

5. If you make and sell a product or notion, what can you do to update it? For example, if you sell hand-dyed fabrics, perhaps you can tweak the formula just a bit, and add a new color in a limited edition. Or take an existing color and rename it.

I’m sure you have lots of ideas about how to repurpose your existing product line. Please share them below.

Thread Magic Garden
Ellen Anne Eddy
C&T Publishing; $28.95

Award-winning quilter Ellen Anne Eddy is well known for her free-motion thread work. In this book, she teaches you how to thread paint your own beautiful garden of flowers and some surprise creatures. At first glance, it’s clear that Ellen is a teacher. Using simple step-by-step instructions, you’ll learn basic skills that build upon each other, for example, special stitch techniques, building edge-to-edge color and progressive shading. Then she offers more than 20 floral studies to understand the shapes of the flowers. She notes that you cannot create a flower through fabric without first seeing and studying a real one, so she includes close-up photographs for this purpose. She also includes a good discussion on color theory. If you are interested in learning or expanding your skills at machine embroidery, you’ll enjoy this book and appreciate Ellen’s attention to detail.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.