I survived!

Well, market's over and I just returned back home with loads of new samples to share with all of you. There are so many beautiful new fabrics, and the Shannon textures and pre-cuts are wonderful, too! I took quite a few pictures of the Kaufman and Shannon booths so will get them offloaded from the camera and onto the blog just as quickly as I can. I'm also going to post some photos of the new fabric lines for those of you who weren't able to attend market, so you can get a sneak peek before I make it to your shop, especially since the fabric companies don't have all the new products on their websites as yet.

Also, watch for information in my next Kaufman product post about a brand new line, licensed only to Robert Kaufman, that's a must have for your store. You won't want to miss it!

Be sure to keep your calendars handy, as either Bob or I will be contacting you for appointments in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

Tammy

Greetings from Minneapolis!

It's late Friday evening and I just got back to my hotel room from the first day of spring quilt market, and I have to say, there's a lot going on! I'm encouraged by the amount of activity I've seen so far, and the extraordinarily positive outlook you all have. I'm also excited that there continues to be new shops opening all the time, despite the current economic conditions. It just proves that quilting is here to stay, and that we are all resilient individuals.

After two very successful first schoolhouse sessions for Shannon Fabrics, the verdict is in on their new precuts, and it's just as we predicted - they're extremely popular. So popular, in fact, they are almost out of single precut kits here on the sales floor and they started with caseloads of them! Everywhere I look, I see Shannon bags filled with precuts; if you haven't picked one up yet, I suggest you stop over first thing in the morning and grab one before they're gone.

I spent the day today working in the Robert Kaufman booth (#3242) and boy, the booth was hopping! I was busy with back-to-back appointments all day, and the air was buzzing with excitement over all the new fabrics: a great children's panel and coordinates called Jungle Friends, luscious new batiks, a gorgeous, soft, new Shabby Chic line, a rich floral line called Under the Australian Sun featuring metallic floral prints in a variety of sizes offered in 3 different colorstories, adorable little ducks on either blue or green backgrounds that are just perfect for that newborn or juvenile quilt (Lil Ducky), another snuggly flannel line called Flitter Flannel from Monaluna that coordinates with our new basic flannel dots called Urban Blooms (which come in all sorts of great colors!), a funky, bright, contemporary little group called Tufted Tweets (little birds on sofas :o)), and we introduced our first organic fabrics - Free to Grow and Pure Organic - contemporary prints with coordinating solids - and much, much, more!!!

NOTEWORTHY . . . Last night we had our semi-annual sales meeting which is always held one of the evenings prior to market, and we had the opportunity to roast my predecessor, Bob Morrison. As you all know, Bob is retiring on June 30th after more than a quarter-century with Robert Kaufman Fabrics and a lifetime career in the textile industry. It was a fitting event for such a "big" man, and it's an honor to succeed him - I've got some awfully big shoes to fill. Bob has been my mentor and teacher for the past five months, as well as a great friend and an icon in the fabric/quilting industry. He was also my Robert Kaufman sales rep when I owned my quilt shop in Illinois. If you're at quilt market and you know Bob, please take a few moments to stop by and wish him good luck in his well-deserved retirement.

Well, I'm off to rest so I can hit the floor again early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned, and I'll try to post another update before market's over.

Tammy

Market Update

Hello and Happy Sunday everyone!

As promised, I wanted to pass along the details about RJR and market. So, here you go:

The RJR Fabrics booth number is 2930. Robyn Pandolph Studios and Thimbleberries will also have their own booths, however, I do not have those booth numbers.

RJR will have three different Schoolhouse sessions: Jinny Beyer 'Borders Made Easy', Robyn Pandolph 'A Charmed Life', and Debbie Beaves 'Get Progressive with Vintage Florals'. Each session will be offered twice; hopefully you'll be able to attend!

RJR will also have a table at Sample Spree on Thursday evening.

For those of you who are planning to stop by the Shannon Fabrics booth (#3131) to see the new products, I will be there on Sunday, 5/23, 9am-1pm.

Looking forward to seeing you all at market!

Tammy

Catching Up, and NEWS!

Well, it's been forever, it seems, since I've posted. The best laid plans . . .

Lots to catch you up on and some GREAT NEWS to share with all of you, too. I've been around to pretty much all the Illinois customers since the first of the year, and am working my way through Michigan now. The goal is to at least touch bases with all the MI quilt shops before market, so that's quite a lofty goal. I've been through the UP (met some absolutely wonderful folks UP there!) and am heading over to "the thumb" next week. Looking forward to seeing everyone over there real soon.

I'm also very busy getting ready for market - making appointments, getting all my sales meetings locked in, and checking out what's in store for everyone. Can you believe it, market's in 3 weeks!! That's not much time. If I haven't set up an appointment with you and you'd like to schedule one with me, please let me know. You can either e-mail or call me; my contact info is on our website http://www.isellfabric.com/. Yep, we actually have a website, too. I want to be sure everyone can find out whatever they need, whenever they need it.

Now for the NEWS! I have picked up another fabric line in Illinois - RJR Fabrics! So, for those in IL, I will now be bringing another case with me when I come to see you. I'm so excited! I've been in talks to do this for several weeks now and it was official last Saturday, so I can now share it with all of you.

ROBERT KAUFMAN NEWS:
We just got a brand new box of fabrics that will be officially introduced at market in Minneapolis. This box represents 1/2 of the new line; we won't see the other half until we get there. What's in it, you ask??? Lots of fun new stuff! A beautiful floral group called Mimosa in soft pastels, more header cards with kitchenware for the Metro Cafe group, more header cards of beautiful batiks have been added to the Blossom and ChopChop lines, fun foods in the Gourmet Grocer line, a very cool jacquard-like version of Kona Cotton called Kona Dimensions in a whole assortment of colors (who knew solids could be so beautiful???), some beautiful bright florals with gold accents and a wonderful stripe that's just perfect for that 60 degree table runner, more prints have been added to the Boy Scouts of America group, an adorable kids' line call Lil Ducky, and a wonderfully playful, bright kids' line called Wild Friends that you're sure to want on your shelves this summer. Lots of novelties, some gorgeous new specialty fabrics, gorgeous new flannels, and much, much more!!! And that's just SOME of what's new!! The list seems endless, with more to come at market. And if you find you just can't wait the three weeks, give me a call and I'll be happy to come in and give you a head start; I've been making the rounds with this new stuff and folks are loving it.

SHANNON FABRICS NEWS:
These folks continue to amaze me with the vast array of patterns and textures they manage to put out. The new Cuddle holiday patterns featuring prints from the Robert Kaufman Sparkle All The Way line are absolutely adorable and sure to add a twinkle to your customers' holiday quilts. Don't forget to stop by the Shannon booth at market to see what's new there, too.

AHHH, Market . . . let me give you some details about where I'll be, where to find all these great fabrics, Schoolhouse details, Sample Spree tidbits, etc:

ROBERT KAUFMAN FABRICS MARKET DETAILS:
------------------------------------------------------
Quilt Market Booth Numbers: 3135, 3143, 3234-3243, 3334, 3342
Appointments: will be noted as Booth #3242, fyi
Sample Spree: Robert Kaufman Fabrics will be at Sample Spree
Schoolhouse: Robert Kaufman will be sponsoring 4 different schoolhouse sessions:

1. Darlene Zimmerman's Clothesline Club - Responding to Your Feedback:
A cost-effective program for building sales with a 1930's club in your store
- improvements and format changes going forward. Handouts include
fabric samples, free pattern, and marketing tools.

2. Nancy Mims: How to Make Green by Going Green: Nancy Mims of
Mod Green Pod reveals quilting's first cost-comparable organic cotton
printed line of fabrics, and explains the benefits of organic to both the
environment and to your business. Handouts include fabric samples and
marketing tools.

3. Leesa Chandler - adding Culture to Your Quilts: Meet Australian
designer Leesa Chandler and learn how to run educational, value-added
retail promotions around cultural influences. Handouts include
fabric samples and Australian recipe cards.

4. Lunn Studios - Even More About How Batiks Are Made: Michael
and Debra are back from Java with even more photos of the batik-making
process, and now, even video! Handouts include shop-display batik-
process tutorial, fabric samples, and a free pattern.

SHANNON FABRICS MARKET DETAILS:
--------------------------------------------
Quilt Market Booth Numbers: 3131 - right next to Robert Kaufman Fabrics, and coincidentally, the number of Shannon's street address :o)
Appointments will be at Booth 3131 also
Sample Spree: Shannon Fabrics will be at Sample Spree and for those of you interested in getting single kits of the new precuts being introduced at market, this is the place to do it! You'll want to head there right away, as soon as you get through the doors, because I'm telling you guys, this stuff is going to FLY off the tables!

RJR FABRICS MARKET DETAILS:
-------------------------------------
I'm still working on getting all the quilt market details and will pass them along just as soon as I get them, but I can tell you there will be three booths: RJR, Robyn Pandolph Studio, and Thinbleberries, and also three Schoolhouse Series. I'll include more info in the next blog post, hopefully within the next few days.

That's it for now - mark your calendars and jot down the sessions you want to attend.

Well, I'm off to continue working on some of my market preparations. I look forward to seeing everyone soon and will be in touch with reminders, RJR market details, updates, and more.

Tammy

Shannon Sales Meeting

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I've just returned from a short trip out to LA for a sales meeting with the folks at Shannon Fabrics and the other sales reps. What a great time! I can't thank Arvin and his team enough for all their hospitality during our stay. They were wonderful! We were only there for a couple of days, but used them to the max. I took loads of photos with my cell phone, so I'll apologize in advance if the color or the clarity isn't perfect, but I was trying to capture the moments to share them with all of you.

We got together for an initial meet-and-greet dinner with Arvin and his wife, Shirley (an absolutely delightful woman - did you know they're still newlyweds???), the "inside" folks at Shannon's headquarters, and the rest of the sales representatives. It was great to meet everyone, share stories, and exchange ideas.

Arvin also gave us an update on the new products coming out soon; you're going to love the holiday stuff! and I'll leave this one up to your imagination, but just the name says it all: Ice Cream Cuddle!!! Yummy!!!

Ever wonder what it looks like inside a fabric warehouse? I know, you're thinking yeah, it looks like my store! Well, not quite, but here's a peek at a portion of the Shannon warehouse.



And, another, just to give you a feeling of what it's like there . . .




After our tour of the warehouse, Arvin shared some new patterns and samples of items made using their trademark Cuddle fabrics. Here are just a few!







Finally, we got a sneak preview of what's in store for spring quilt market and I know you're all going to love this stuff!!! There are three different prepackaged items that will be available:

* Cuddle Hugs (adorable soft little blankie-type kits that can be made in literally 20 minutes),

* Cuddle Cubes (bundles of 19" squares of various coordinating Cuddle prints, along with a free pattern), and

* Cuddle Strips (bundles of 5" strips of various coordinating Cuddle fabrics, along with a free pattern) - all of which are absolutely to die for and can be made up very, very quickly.

I'm only going to post a couple of pictures to whet your whistle for now. Shannon will be having a schoolhouse session to show off these great new creations, and will also be at Sample Spree. I highly recommend that those of you who will be at Sample Spree head over to the Shannon tables right away, because I guarantee you they will sell out in record time!

Cuddle Hugs:


and Cuddle Cubes:


and a sample of one of the great "guy quilts" that can be made using one color version of the Cuddle Cubes . . .



Finally, did you know you can embroider with Cuddle? If not, just take a look at this adorable quilt:



I'd show you the entire quilt, but I'm afraid it's proprietary, so can only show you a portion of the quit to give you an idea of how versatile this product really is!

I'm off to an appointment right now so will have to end here for this particular post. Watch for another post tomorrow with a list of some of the patterns out on the market that are made using Shannon Cuddle products.

Tammy

On The Road . . .

Greetings from Central/Southern Illinois . . .

I must apologize for not posting for quite a while, especially since I'm just getting the blog going; I've been on the road for the past four weeks with the new releases I received on January 18th and the days have just been flying by! At the moment I'm sitting in my hotel room wishing I had all the tools needed to upload photos of everything new but unfortunately I haven't even had the time to take photos. I can tell you that all of the new Robert Kaufman Fabrics are available on their website @ www.robertkaufman.com. For those of you whom I haven't yet gotten around to see, I'll tell you about some of the collections:

> HOLIDAY FLOURISH 3: This is a beautiful and very traditional holiday line, complete with gold metallic embellishments sure to delight your customers. It makes up into beautiful holiday quilts, table runners, wall hangings, you name it, and includes a print that can be made into a quick table runner or fast borders in no time at all. This is the third holiday line from Peggy Toole and is a favorite among shop owners. This collection is available for delivery in May/2010.

> NORTHWOODS: This is a gorgeous group of batiks featuring two different colorways: 1) a cool palette of colors in blues, purples, and whites with silver metallic accents, and 2) a warm color palette of greens, rusts, reds, and creams with gold metallic accents. Check out the Winter Wonderland quilt made from the cool palette of this collection.

The quilt is made from a pattern designed by Abbey Lane Quilts, and can be purchased directly from them at www.abbeylanequilts.com. I fell in love with these batiks as soon as I saw them (but then, I love all batiks, so what can I say??) Delivery on this collection is June/2010.

> PLAYDAY AND ON A WHIM 2: For those of you who want some adorable kids' prints, check out these two collections. Playday by S.E.I., an outside design studio, is really sweet, and On A Whim 2 by Amy Schimler, who's designed quite a few collections for us, can be mixed with some of her previous collections. In addition, some of the shops are mixing fabrics from these two new collections, and they're looking really great together. These two collections are available shortly.

> MIXMASTERS - FIZZ: is the latest collection from Patrick Lose, and the fifth Mixmasters collection he's done for Robert Kaufman. This group features a bubble/circle print in an assortment of bright colors - a total of 17 in all.



It's a great addition to your color wall, and can also be purchased in fat quarter bundles, or 10-yard bolts, if buying the entire collection.

> MAXINE: This character, licensed from Hallmark, is sure to be a hit in quilt shops across the country. With witty sayings and her trademarked "BLAH BLAH BLAH" commentary all captured on fabric, these prints will be great for bags, aprons, and wall hangings, in addition to traditional quilts. Many of the great Robert Kaufman basics (i.e. Fusions) will also coordinate with this group. Delivery on this line is May/2010.

> GROOVE: is a great selection of fun prints available in six color stories, many of which can be coordinated with the other new Kaufman collections, such as PlayDay, On A Whim 2, Nutmeg, and Sparkle All The Way, for example. Check them out on the Robert Kaufman website to see all the possibilities!

> GLAM GARDEN: A bright and funky collection by Josephine Kimberling, these prints will definitely liven up any store. I can see lots of bags made from these fabrics, and teen and tween quilts, and I've already sold them to shops who are planning to make baby quilts from them. These happy prints are sure to make you smile and your customers will enjoy sewing with them. Several patterns come to mind for these prints, but the ones that popped into my mind immediately were from Blue Underground Studios. This fabric line is available for shipment in February.

I've only mentioned eight of the new Robert Kaufman collections and there are sooooo many more on the list. Next week I'll take some time to feature a few more of them for you, and I should have more photos available as well. I also promised to share some Shannon updates with you, so stop back next week to see what's in store with them.

Finally, I'd like to thank all of the shopowners I've met and stores I've visited these past several weeks, for your hospitality and your patience. I've so enjoyed meeting all of you, I've absolutely loved visiting your stores and meeting your staff, and I'm looking forward to working with all of you more in the future. For those shops I haven't yet gotten to, I can hardly wait to see you, and I'm working fast and furiously to get to everyone . . . please hang in there. It may be just a challenge of logistics and trying to accommodate everyone's schedule that's kept me from seeing you, so please be patient and I'll be there as quickly as possible.

I'm having such a great time and can truly say I love my job. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can help out in any way, or if you'd like to place an order/reorder. I want you to be satisfied, and I hope you'll choose Robert Kaufman and Shannon Fabrics for your shop.

Stay warm and make time to sew a little.
Tammy

This just in! New Samples of Shannon Fabrics en route!!!

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Just wanted to let you in on the latest news from Shannon Fabrics . . . just got an e-mail that new "soft" fabric samples were shipped from Shannon yesterday via UPS, and should arrive at my office by the end of the upcoming week. This means I'll have new samples to show everyone beginning January 25th. I can hardly wait to see what's new - I'm so excited!!! Watch for some photos on the blog shortly.

Tammy