Wonky One-Block Quilts
Marlous Carter
C&T Publishing; $21.95

If you or your students are looking for a way to add another level of interest to your quilts, give the wonky technique a try. The basics are simple: traditional blocks are created and then cut at a new angle. Once the blocks are all cut, they are pieced into a quilt. Sometimes you can easily find the original block; sometimes it’s difficult. Once you’ve got the technique down, Marlous Carter offers you eight projects plus a variety of creative borders. This would be a fun way to use a stack of blocks you’ve not put into a quilt yet.

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

Procrastination. We all know what it is: putting obstacles in our own way by handling those low-priority tasks instead of taking action on the high-priority tasks. The Latin roots of the word mean “in favor of” and “tomorrow.”

Dr. Piers Steel, a researcher on the science of motivation and procrastination and the author of The Procrastination Equation, says that procrastination is pervasive, with at least 95% of us procrastinating on a occasional basis. Count me in that group, as I found several ways to extend writing this article.

And we pay a price for procrastination. We miss out on opportunities, we cause ourselves unnecessary suffering, and procrastination also has an economic price. Steel says that procrastination falls into three different categories:

1. Expectancy, i.e., we expect to fail;
2. Value, i.e., we don’t value our work;
3. Time, i.e, we let momentary impulses rule us.

So how do we get beyond procrastination? Here are five tips:

1. Eliminating procrastination is tied to goals. Be sure you have set, clear goals and that you know why you want to accomplish them. You have to know why – your “Big Why.” What value do you attribute to completing these goals? It can also help you to break your big goal into smaller doable goals. And, if you need an extra push, consider finding an accountability partner to work as an external deadline for yourself. I’ve found this to be effective for completing the small doable tasks with my goals.

2. Learn how to prioritize. When you look at your list of activities for the day, which are most important? And, of the most important, are any urgent? One source to consider here is Stephen Covey’s matrix for prioritizing work. He classifies your tasks as urgent and non-urgent and then as important or not important. The problem with procrastination is that we neglect the important but not urgent until they become the fires we need to put out, i.e., important and urgent. We do this by focusing too much time in the not important quadrants.

3. Reward yourself. You can create a system whereby you earn points for each task that is accomplished as you set out, or you can pick a reward for completing the task. This should help focus you on the goal.

4. If low expectancy is one of your problems, try replacing your language. Expect that you will achieve your goals. That in turn will lead to self-confidence and optimism.

5. If impulsivity is your problem, try a technique Dr. Steel calls the “unschedule.”  He asks you to schedule play time into your calendar, being sure the amount of time is reasonable. He also suggests that “you should schedule an activity that represents the temptation you indulge in when you procrastinate.” For example, if you find that when you procrastinate, you surf the Internet, update your Facebook status or watch television, schedule time for that. Steel found that people that he worked with who “unscheduled” were better able to work on the task at hand.

6. Look for reminders that procrastination is a problem. I found the following quote from Victor Kiam – you may remember him as the man who “liked the shaver so much, he bought the company” – that I read periodically to remind myself that I might miss out on something good. Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin. 

Please share your ideas on dealing with procrastination below.

Orange Peel: New Quilts From Old Favorites
Linda Baxter Lasco, ed.
AQS Publishing; $26.95

I always look forward to each year’s release of the book showcasing the winning quilts in The National Quilt Museum’s annual New Quilts From Old Favorites Contest. The contest features creativity and innovation of individual quilters as they interpret a traditional block with their own design, this year being the year of the Orange Peel block. Each of the 18 winning and finalist quilts is featured in full color along with comments from the quiltmaker. What I like best about the book is that you learn about the quiltmaker’s design decisions, inspiration and techniques in constructing the quilt. I would not have thought about an Orange Peel block incorporating stained glass or Mola techniques. A terrific inspirational and learning resource.

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

Defining your product is key to creating a good marketing plan. To define your product, you consider both its features and its benefits. One of the keys to marketing is to sell the benefits not the features. How do you know the difference?

Features characterize the product; benefits are why we buy the product. Features are easy to describe. Examples could include size, color, design, hours of business, fabric content, years of business experience.

Benefits are more difficult to define. They do, however, answer your customer’s question, “What’s in it for me?” When you buy products, you don’t buy because of a feature; you buy because of a benefit. Benefit is the value attributed to the feature of the product; in other words, it’s the result of the feature. Benefits are not as easy to describe and are often intangible. The most compelling benefits are those that deliver emotional or financial rewards. Emotional rewards let the buyer feel good. Examples could be shopping at an online retailer who donates a percentage of your purchase to a charity you choose or sending a quilt to someone to let you express love. Products that offer financial rewards usually save time or money, offer convenience or make you money.

How do you determine the benefits of your product or service? Start by knowing who your customers are and then look at your product from their point of view. Who are your customers? Are they baby boomers with expendable income? Are they Gen Xers? Are they teens and tweens? Are they working mothers with little free time? You might be trying to reach a variety of groups and need to consider benefits for each of them. Consider also who has purchased your product or service in the past. What does your customer profile tell you about your product? For example, do you sell your product to customers who might be retired and have extra time for long-range projects? Do you sell your product to working mothers who want something quick and easy? Do most of your store’s customers shop after 5 p.m. and on weekends? Ask your customers to help identify your product’s benefits. You could do this informally or with a survey. Your customers might even identify benefits you didn’t consider.

Developing your benefits statement is an ongoing process. As you continue to market your product, be aware of additional benefits. You might ask your customers for suggestions to your product or service. Pay attention to complaints or unsolicited comments about your product. Also, consider what your competition is doing. Additionally, consider how you’ll package your product. You might find a benefit there.

Once you’ve established your benefits statements, you will be able to describe your products in ways that are important to your customer. You will do this in all aspects of promotion, whether that is in creating your marketing collateral, advertising your product, writing articles or speaking one-on-one to customers about your product. You will also be able to differentiate your product from that of your competitors. You will be able to provide a benefit to your customers that your competition cannot. Now you’re on your way to a successful marketing strategy.

Please  share your thoughts on creating your product’s or service’s benefits below on our blog.

The Quilter’s Color Club

Christine E. Barnes
C&T Publishing; $27.95

Most quilters at some point need help with color and Christine Barnes offers the perfect way for you to gain color confidence. She found that when students took her workshops they wanted more color help, particularly in a group setting. That led to her creating a “color club,” where you can work with friends to explore color concepts and get feedback. She even offers tips if you want to work as a “color club of one.” The club works by following 12 hands-on exercises titled “Give It a Try!” In addition to the 12 exercises, Christine offers eight projects that build on what you’ve learned about color, including value, intensity, visual temperature, luminosity and more. The gallery section of the book features 35 examples of quilts and vests that demonstrate the color qualities. Christine also answers questions that she frequently gets from quilters about color. I loved Christine’s practical, easy-to-follow approach to understanding color concepts, and anyone who “joins the club” will see positive results in the color in her quilts.

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

Testimonials are a terrific way to help market your quilt or creative arts business. It’s word-of-mouth advertising, only you get to decide who hears it and what is heard. While you may get unsolicited testimonials, it’s a good idea for you to actually ask for a response. In some cases you might want to offer a thank you gift for the comment. Here are some ideas to try:

1. For the fiber artist or longarm quilter who has finished a commission, include a self-addressed stamped reply postcard with the work. Ask for comments that will help you in the future. You might try: Was the communication between quilter and customer adequate? Was the project completed in an appropriate time frame? Encourage the buyer to send you a photo of the quilt in use and ask for any other comments. If you want to thank the person giving you the testimonial, perhaps a small discount on a future order is possible.

2. For the teacher, include an additional comments line on your evaluation form. You’ll not only get ideas to improve your classes, but you’ll also get wonderful and heartfelt comments to use as testimonials.

3. Any book author can tell you how valuable the testimonial blurbs are on the back cover of their book. You will need to ask someone if he or she would be willing to write a blurb and then provide a galley copy of your book for reading. A published book might be a nice thank you for the testimonial.

4. If you sell a product to the general public, you can include a comment card in your packaging. You can request that someone leave a comment on your website or return the comment card via regular mail. Another idea would be to encourage feedback from the user. All products include some written material. You can add a couple sentences about how excited you’ll be to hear back from the user about their experiences with the product. You’ll be surprised at the response you’ll get. I think this would be quite effective for pattern designers.

5. For shop owners it’s easy to get testimonials either with a return card with a purchase or a comment card box somewhere in the store.

After you start receiving these comments, don’t forget to pat yourself on the back. You are delivering a great product and building an ongoing relationship with your customers.

What do you do with the testimonials as you get them? Be sure to include them in all your advertising. Here are some specific ideas:

1. Create a page for testimonials on your website. We have one we call Success Stories. You could also intersperse them throughout your site.

2. Include testimonials in your catalog. For example, a pattern designer might include a testimonial about how easy to follow her instructions are.

3. Include testimonials in your tri-fold brochure if you are are teacher or do commission work. It lets potential customers know the value of your work.

4. Include testimonials in any of your print ads. Study ads in magazines to see how testimonials are used.

5. Include testimonials on your product packaging, if space permits. It might be limited to just a few lines, but it could make a difference in someone buying the product.

Lastly, remember you don’t have to use the whole testimonial. You can use an excerpt, just be sure to keep it in context.

How do you gather and use testimonials in your business? Please leave a reply and share your experiences.

Lots of our IAPQ members have published books, whether that’s through a traditional book publisher or self-published. Today we can go even further and skip the printed page and publish solely in an e-book format. Regardless of the format you use, marketing is key. Yes, if you use a traditional book publisher, they do much of the marketing. To ensure the highest level of success for your book, you need to do marketing on your own. Here are tips to market your book.

1. Call your local quilt and book shops and ask if they’ll host a book signing for you. Look for unusual places to do signings. For example, maybe your quilt book features quilts with dessert names. Try a signing at a local bakery. I remember talking with a novelist who was doing signings at the airport. Talk about a captive audience. Don’t forget to promote the signing with news releases.

2. Sponsor a contest. If your book is about adding embellishments to quilts, have entrants post photos of their work on your website and award a prize. You could even have viewers vote to get more people involved.

3. Set up a blog hop to promote your book. I mentioned the blog hop recently in conjunction with a post on blogging. You approach several other bloggers and ask them to review your book or interview you about your book on their blogs, introducing you to a wider audience.

4. Print bookmarks that include the cover image, details about the book and a link to your website. Leave these on tables at shows, and ask your local shop owner if she’ll put them out with other literature. Be sure to include a link to your site on the bookmark in case someone wants more information.

5. Look for opportunities where you can be interviewed about your book. I can think of three right off the top of my head: Art & Soul Radio, American Patchwork & Quilting Radio Show (previously Pat Sloan’s Creative Talk Network), and Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski.

6. Get others to sell your book for you. Many other teachers or lecturers offer books to their students. If your book compliments their topic, ask if they would consider carrying your book. Several years ago I sold books in the IAPQ booth for one of our members who gave a “Meet the Teacher” talk in Houston. She didn’t have a booth and wanted to offer her students a place to purchase the book. As soon as her talk ended, I was inundated with buyers. This was definitely win-win for both of us.

7. Create a Fan Page on Facebook just for your book. This lets you promote the book and encourage conversation among the book’s fans. Encourage sharing of photos of quilts made from the book. Share your tips for success with the projects.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.

Quilt Market can be daunting and overwhelming, especially for the first time attendee. Here are some tips to make your experience more productive.

1. Pack comfortable clothes and shoes. You can easily be on your feet for eight hours or more. Take to heart the Quilts Inc. admonition, “Remember at Market, fashion stops at the knees!”

2. Take some healthy snacks with you, like fruits and nuts. All the booths will have snacks of the chocolate variety and while a bit is fine, you want to be sure to keep your stamina up. Once you start walking the floor, it’s hard to leave. Something new or an old friend catches your eye. That sugar rush just won’t sustain you. And, don’t forget to bring water or an empty water bottle to keep hydrated.

3. Take advantage of the learning opportunities. Quilts Inc. has lectures and classes the day before Market opens and then the mornings and evenings when the vendor floor is closed. This is a wonderful opportunity to take back knowledge to share with your staff and customers and to build your business.

4. Don’t wait in line for Sample Spree. I always check the lines for Sample Spree and often find the same people at the front of the line every show. They get in line at 2 pm for an event that starts at 8 pm. They missed half of the Schoolhouse Sessions. Once the doors open, most everyone in line gets in within five to 10 minutes. Even latecomers get in. Last I heard they weren’t giving a prize for first one in the door!

5. Don’t forget your business cards. You are going to meet shop owners and quilt business owners from around the world in addition to ordering for your business. A good tip is to make a note or two on the back of the card as a memory jogger for when you get home. And, to make it easy for ordering, try printing the information on labels to make filling out forms easier.

6. Start with a plan to shop the floor. Spend time the night before going through the show program, marking those you must see. Set a schedule that includes any appointments you have with fabric companies or distributors. If you are shopping with a group, be sure everyone knows the schedule. Many shop owners walk the floor and collect literature during the first day, go over the material at night and then buy the second or third day. Other shop owners know what their shop needs and buy on the first walk through. Figure out the plan that will work best for you.

7. If you are traveling with a group, be sure you’ve got everyone’s phone numbers programmed in to  your phones. Market is really big, and it’s easy to get separated from your group.

8. Look for ways to connect. Everyone has to have lunch and/or dinner. Look for someone at a table, go join them. You’ll probably pick up a business tip and be able to share one, too.

9. Don’t forget to stop by our IAPQ booth and say hi. We’re in 2413.

Please share your tips on blogging here on our blog.

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.

Have you ever gone to a terrific seminar and left wondering if you could take that experience and improve on it, running your own seminar? That’s what happened to Alice Kolb and partner Barbara Quinby when they decided to join forces to host the annual Texas-style quilter’s seminar, now known as Quilting Adventures. The annual seminar started in the early 2000s when Barbara built on her experience from her business career to invite four to six national quilting teachers per week to a classy, yet casual resort to offer students a week of learning from one teacher, good food and lodging. Today the seminar receives rave reviews for its attention to detail and the enriching experiences of its participants. If you, too, think putting on a seminar can be rewarding, here are some tips from Alice’s article in the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter.

1. Analyze yourself. Critique your strengths and energy – both financially and physically – and check your enthusiasm record for a long-term project.

2. Determine your level of commitment. Do you want to own a seminar company, either by yourself or with a partner? It’s a job with responsibilities that last all year from hiring teachers to handling student queries.

3.  Put together a business plan. You need to determine how much time and money are needed to bring your seminar idea to fruition. You will need to make payments well before you ever bring in any funds and you need to be sure you can handle this financial responsibility. You also need to clearly identify the market you want to reach.

4. Research potential site locations. Do they match the style of your event? Will they meet the needs of potential students identified in the business plan? Can the faculty and students easily get to the locations?

5. Personalize your event. Consider the student you identified in your business plan and how you can make the event unique for them.

6. Consider how you will attract students. This could include advertising, personal trips to shops or shows for promotion, printed material and a website. Most important, determine how much time and money you can invest to do this.

To read the article in its entirety, you can join the International Association of Professional Quilters. This issue will be the first one that you receive as one of your member benefits.

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.

Are you a New Year’s resolution maker? I used to be, and probably like many of you some resolutions fell by the wayside.

Several years ago I decided to try something new. I’ve picked a word or two to reflect and act on for the year; it is my intention for all I do. I started this practice in my yoga class. Kathy, the owner of the yoga studio, passes around a basket with words, and we each draw one. This year I missed the first day of class, and Kathy saved the basket, as she knew I would want my word. Yesterday in class, I picked my 2011 word.

The word I drew is mindfulness, which I think is a good one. Those in our Setting and Achieving Goals call last week may remember I mentioned being present in certain goal areas. This will keep that in the forefront for me.

I also like to pick a word on my own that I think will influence my work towards my goals. The word I chose early this year is abundance. For me this means I want to earn abundantly, to share abundantly and to give abundantly. They are all tied together. I can’t give abundantly if I don’t earn abundantly. I can’t earn abundantly if I don’t share abundantly. I also like how mindfulness can tie into this.

I’ve taken both words and have them on notes at my computer so I can reflect on them as I work. Last year, several readers of this e-zine told me they made fiber art of their words. If you did that this year, please share links to your words on our blog.

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