Houston Quilt Market - Day 2

Today was the first day of the actual Quilt Market and I was astounded at how many fabric companies there are. Having never been to a fabric market it was interesting to see how the store owners had comfortable chairs and a representative to assist them and show the fabrics and take orders. Some companies had very elaborate setups.



Here is Kim Bradley at her booth looking very happy as there has been a lot of interest in her templates.

Lots of other goodies to look at including some gorgeous vintage buttons.

The food hall is a very strange place with a variety of dishes offered but all seemed to have a mexican feel to them - even the Asian ones! Spied Sarah Fielke and Damian grabbing a quick bite too.

Interestingly I don't think it was all that busy. The aisles were relatively clear and many store holders looked distinctly bored. Many have big bowls of candy and biscuits on their stands which makes wandering around even better if you have a sweet tooth.

What I found interesting was all the famous quilting names who were just sitting in booths or standing around talking. I spied Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson, Elanor Burns, Kaffe Fassett all within a few minutes. Unsurprisingly - they just look liked us mere mortals.

Houston Quilt Market - Day 1

Setup day at Market. There are over 20 aisles each with over 50 booths! This is one seriously big show. I am really glad I have hired a scooter to get around as my poor feet would not cope at all. It already earned its keep today when I scooted back to my hotel room and managed a quick swim to refresh and renew myself before the Sample Spree.
This is what a small section looked like this morning but tomorrow it will be full of people and gorgeous products.

I was up at dawn to go to a lecture at 8am. While I was sitting and listening I also went through the massive Schoolhouse schedule to plan my day. Every 20 minutes there were about 20 different presentations to choose from. It was exhausting! I think I went to every session except one while I had lunch. Lots of new products and ways for stores to sell them. It was, obviously, geared to shop owners but designers were there in force too. I found myself sitting next to some really great ladies and have already lined up meetings for the next few days. My mind is absolutely swimming/flooded with different ideas already and it is only day one.

Schoolhouse went to 6pm and then at 8pm (till 10pm) it was Sample Spree. Now I wasn't sure what to expect but basically there were hundreds of Market traders selling everything from fabric sets to pattern packs to embellishments at special prices. I understand that there were a lot of bargains and that you could buy regular products at cheaper quantities to then sell in your shop. There were some very very full bags by the time I left.

There are lots of Aussies here and doing us proud. Here is Kim Bradley and her husband Dave. Kim had a terrible fear of flying and it was a really big deal for her to come all this way. She survived and I think now may have the travel bug. There will be no stopping her now. She has her really clever quilting and applique templates here and I am sure they will do really well.

Sarah Fielke is here with her new fabric line and patterns. I know that they will be really popular too.

Tomorrow another lecture at 8am and some appointments and I will start to go up and down the aisles slowly.

Looking Around Houston

Today I took the shop tour. The main reason I wanted to go was that it also went to NASA but I enjoyed the shops even though I didn't buy anything. This is the last Apollo Rocket made. This one was not launched but they have used the only bit that comes back to earth. It is the little rusty looking capsule at the top and was one that was recovered.

I ate some of the freeze dried icecream. They did taste like Cookies and Cream that they were supposed to but when they fell off the spoon (as they did because they were small and round) they melted just like icecream all over my clothes!

The shops were interesting with a big focus on childrens clothes made from patchwork cottons and bags bags bags! I did like these oversized buttons which were used on the bags.

One shop had different rooms like this Happy Room (with childrens fabrics) as well as a Repro room and a sale room etc.

All three shops we went to were very large and had good classroom areas. One did show signs of the lack of money generally around as the shelves were padded out with gimmicky nic nacs rather than fabric. Stock looked a bit tired too but the other two stores had good current ranges. One thing I did notice was the complete lack of anything to do with Art Quilting. A few token books and some bits and pieces but generally very traditional or the usual Kaffe ranges.

I did a little shopping tour to a local mall but it was a bit out of my price range. All the top line shops were there (and empty). I did like these Jimmy Chu ugg boots although I didn't bother to ask the price. I suspect they weren't cheap.

Tomorrow is Day One with an early start and lots to see and do in Schoolhouse and then Sample Spree which I believe is a manic experience.

Welcome to Houston - the Adventure Begins

Finally made it! Long flight with delays and queues, queues and more queues. Even witnessed a bit of queue rage with some particularly obnoxious queue jumpers.

Anyway - well and truly settled into my delicious room at the Hilton and this is the view out the window of (most of) the George Brown Convention Centre. About 3/4 of it I think - it is a very large building and tomorrow is setup day for Market. I must admit is great not to be thinking about setting up a stand and just being able to enjoy it all.

Tomorrow I am off on a tour of Patchwork shops and NASA. Actually more interested in NASA at this stage as from Friday on I will be totally in quilting overload - can't wait though.

I love this sculpture outside the convention centre - I am not sure of the scultptor but it looks very similar to ones in Paris which I also love. Will check it out next time I am passing.