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Quilting Articles and Quilting Product Reviews

Online Advertising for Your Quilting Business
Over the past few months, I have been receiving more and more questions about how to advertise a quilting business – whether it’s a machine quilting business, a quilt shop, selling quilts, or even an online quilt store – via the Internet.  It seems that more and more people are taking their offline businesses into the online world.

For the complete article, click here

How to Price Your Quilts - Part Three
Over and over, I receive questions about pricing your quilting. This is probably the area where most quilting businesses either "get it" and make a good profit, or they tend to underprice feeling that people will not pay top dollar for quality products.

I recently received another question about pricing, and here's my answer.
For the complete article, click here

Finding Your Quilting Business Niche
I recently received the following question about how to define a target audience and also the secrets to creating your own niche...

Hi there Chuck,

I have just signed up for your seven-day e-mail course, but wanted to ask a quick question with regards to defining a target audience... How would you describe the kind of people / customers that will buy patchwork quilts?

Also, is their a secret to creating your own niche?

Thanks,
Jess

Your Quilt Show Booth
Hi, Chuck.

I really have enjoyed all your articles. They have been very helpful. I am new to the whole craft scene having just recently begun to sell my quilts, etc.

I have participated in a couple of arts and crafts fairs but am very unhappy with my booth. Can you give me any suggestions on how to display my quilts -- both baby quilts and regular quilts -- in an attractive, eye-catching manner?

I will really appreciate any information you can provide.

Thank you.

-- Mary V.

Starting an Online Quilt Shop
I recently received the following question from a Ronel in the Netherlands:

Chuck,

What advice do you have for me starting up a internet quiltshop? Hope to hear from you soon!

Ronel

Can I Make a Living Quilting?
A lot of people wonder whether or not they can make a living at a machine quilting business. I'm not a fortune teller - I can't really determine whether or not you've got what it takes to succeed in a machine quilting business. Only you can make a business successful.

In this article, I've answered a couple of reader's questions about the viability of a machine quilting business and also some business basics.

Choosing the Right Quilting Machine
Over the past few months, I've received several questions about choosing the right quilting machine. I've decided to include a couple of the questions and answers in hopes that they will help you if you're looking for a quilting machine for your own machine quilting business:

Which type of long arm quilting machine do you recommend? And which frame works best?

Dinah

Here's my response to this question...

Quilt Prices Are Too Low
Recently, I received the following question from one of the Quilting Business community about pricing her hand quilted quilts:

Love your newsletters and also your e-course. My question is this: I live in a mid-west town of about 20,000. I make beautiful quilts, hand quilted (7-9 stitches per inch). I make baby quilts, throws, pieced, pre-made tops -- you name it I do it. But no one seems to want to pay the price. I have done web research and feel like my prices are neither too high nor too low. Could it be the economy or ???????

Stop Making Excuses and Just Do It Now
Sometimes, it is our own fears that hold us back from starting on a new adventure in life. We get so concerned with what can go wrong, that we often don't give ourselves a chance to succeed.

So, after some nifty work on my part, I've gotten Duane L. Lawton to allow me to give you his great little ebook, "Stop Making Excuses and Just Do It Now! How to Overcome the 27 Most Common Issues Holding You Back From Starting a Business and Living Your Dreams!!"
For the complete article, click here

How Do I Transfer My Own Design to Fabric?
One of the reasons that quilters first get into quilting is the chance to express their creativity. And many quilters want to go beyond the available fabrics and create designs of their own.

In the email mini-course, "7 Unique Ways to Make Money with Your Quilting," I talk about photo memory quilts as a great way to create a niche in your local quilting market. A quilt with special photos is a wonderful way to commemorate events and the live's of special people.

But how do you go about transferring one of your own designs onto fabric for the one-of-a-kind quilt you want to make - for your own family or friends or for a customer?
For the complete article, click here

Are There Too Many Machinq Quilting Businesses In My Area?
Recently, I received a question from one of the QuiltingBusiness.com community about determining if her local market was over-saturated with machine quilting businesses (name withheld). Here is the question (which I've paraphrased for brevity):

While inquiring about the need for a long-arm quilter in our area in a local quilt shop, I was told (in a not-to-friendly tone), "There are 13 home-based quilters in our area and that's enough!" I have been very excited about starting my own business after my Gammill demo and she sure took the wind out of my sails. How do I go about doing market feasabilty without scaring my competitors?

Here's my take on how to go about doing a market feasibility study for the machine quilting business in your area.
For the complete article, click here

Quilt Copyright Issues - Licensed Fabric and Copyrighted Patterns
I've had a number of questions from readers about selling the quilts they make and copyright issues. These questions generally fall into two categories:

• Can I sell a quilt I make from fabric that has licensed images (i.e. Disney, NASCAR, etc.)?
• Can I sell a quilt I make from a pattern I purchase that is copyrighted?

These questions bring up some of the most common - and most confusing - issues involving copyright and quilting. There are all sorts of postings and articles on the Internet that talk about these questions, but I have yet to find a definitive answer. So, I turned to Google Answers to see if I could get some help.
For the complete article, click here

Tips for Your Next Quilt Show
Recently, I received a question from one of the QuiltingBusiness.com community who was going to be exhibiting in her first quilt show (in Argentina no less). She wanted to know how to set up her booth and wanted some tips to make the show go smoothly. Here is the question (which I've paraphrased for brevity):

Once a year there is a big fair in my town (cows, horses and hens, tractors, lorries, and the like). Farmers display their products, others show their tractors, and the ranchers their animals. The three big tents will be for the people who sell things or show what they make. I will display my quilts, shams, and pillows, and I will be the only one with quilts, since there aren't as many quilters here in Argentina as in the USA.

I was wondering if you could give me some advice how to decorate my stand and how to best handle the show.

Thanks for your input!
Pat

Here's my response to this question...
For the complete article, click here

Is a Hand Quilting Business Worth It?
Recently, I received a question from one of the QuiltingBusiness.com community about starting a business doing hand quilting (name withheld by request). Here is the question (which I've paraphrased for brevity):

I have a request to hand quilt and I have no idea how to determine what to charge. Could you help me out with the guidelines? I do hand quilting on my own quilts and people tell me I do a good job and they want me to do their quilts. Any information would be appreciated. I'm thinking about doing hand quilting as a business if it will be worth it. It takes a lot of time and I don't think people realize it.

Here's my response to this question...
For the complete article, click here

Machine Quilting Business: How to Market for Higher Prices
I'm still receiving a lot of questions about how to price your quilting services based on the quilting pricing articles I have written and posted on the site (you can check out the quilt pricing article here or another response here)

Recently, I received the following question from one of the QuiltingBusiness.com community about pricing her machine quilting services (name withheld by request):

I just started to quilt for other people about a year and a half ago, and I'm flying by the seat of my pants. In one of your quilt pricing articles, you state that "You need to do a little bit of research in your market to see what the going rate is for the type and size quilt you are making." How do I do that? I have several price lists for locals and not so locals for quilting (machine quilting) quilt tops by long-arm quilters (generally done by the square inch).

For the complete article, click here

Quilt Pricing: Revisiting the Quilt Pricing Model
I've had a lot of responses to the quilt pricing model I posted on the QuiltingBusiness.com web site. (You can check out that quilt pricing article here)

Recently, I received the following question from Gail Quast:

Chuck, I appreciate your articles - they have helped me a lot. My questions relates to the article on pricing quilting. I'm guessing the same 'formula' would apply to doing hand quilting for a customer? I am attempting to start doing so and separately may do piecing and quilting if someone wants the entire process done for them vs. having "an old top" they need quilted.

For the complete article, click here

Quilt Financing: Some Resources for Financing Your Quilting Business
Over the past few months, I've received numerous emails from readers asking the question:

"How do I finance my new quilting business?"

Of all the issues involved in starting a new quilting business, perhaps the most dreaded is coming up with the money to start and run your business until you are established and funding it through sales. This step alone has stopped more quilting businesses before they have started simply because of lack of information.
For the complete article, click here

How to Get Business Through Writing Articles
So, you've opened up your quilting business?

You're in a good location, provide a superior product and offer compelling prices. Yet, somehow, you'd like to see more people frequenting your quilt shop or signing up for your quilting classes, taking advantage or your machine quilting services, or purchasing your quilts.
For the complete article, click here

Quilt Pricing
The most frequent question I receive from my readers is, "How do I price my quilts?" For anyone who makes hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind items for sale, the toughest part of your business isn't creating your masterpieces. The toughest part of the business is coming up with the price. And, with this article, I will try to give you my perspective on how to best price your quilts.
For the complete article, click here

Quilting Business Costs
This week, I've received a question from a Quilting Business ezine reader about the costs associated with starting a machine quilting business or quilt shop. I thought it would be a good idea to post the question and my response. Check out Sharon's question and my answer by clicking the "click here" link below.
For the complete article, click here

Quilt Shop Signage
Second in importance only to the sign outside your quilt shop are the signs inside your quilt shop. For the signs lining the walls and shelves of your quilt shop business will either give your customers the information they require to make a purchasing decision or confuse them to the point that they throw up their hands in disgust.
For the complete article, click here

Driving Traffic to Your Quilting Web Site
This week, I've received a question from a Quilting Business ezine reader, and thought it would be a good idea to post the question and my response. It concerns how to get people to visit your quilting web site. Check out Betty's question and my answer by clicking the "click here" link below.
For the complete article, click here

A Rose By Any Other Name - Naming Your Quilting Business
Finding the perfect name for your quilting business is similar to parents seeking the perfect name for their newborn. But while parents can pick any name under the sun - with the aid of baby name books, co-workers and family - you will face several limitations in naming your quilting business because of trademark law.
For the complete article, click here

Your Quilting Website - How to reach a worldwide audience
If you own a quilting business, then you should make an attempt to give your quilting business an online presence in addition to your bricks-and-mortar presence.

You may think you don't have what it takes, but there are some great options today that make it easy for even the most technologically-challenged of us to develop a great quilting web site.
For the complete article, click here

Quilting on the Internet - Some Top Quilting Sites to Check Out
If quilting is your passion, then you need to keep up to date on the goings on in the quilting industry. But it's sometimes hard to know where to find what. If you want to find some of the hottest online resources focusing on the quilting industry, then see below:
For the complete article, click here

Selling Your Quilts on eBay - The world's largest marketplace
If you're looking for ways to tap into the lucrative worldwide audience, then eBay is the site for you. As the most popular shopping web site on the World Wide Web, you can be sure that the people who visit eBay like to shop-and shop they will if you give them a good reason to.
According to the company, on any given day there are more than 16 million items listed on its site, and these items are divided among 27,000 categories.
For the complete article, click here

How To Research New Product Ideas that Will Boost Your Business
What it all comes down to is that you will need to regularly expand your product offerings if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Doing so not only means coming up with ideas for new product ideas that will enhance your business, but also putting in the research needed to introduce only those products that further the strategic direction of your quilt shop.
For the complete article, click here

Craft Fairs and Trade Shows - Making the most of your booth
Quilt shop owners live for the seasonal craft fairs and trade shows that allow them to showcase their goods. But if you decide to attend one of these events-and why wouldn't you?-remember that the convention center or auditorium will be packed with men and women displaying their finest. So, how do you make the most of your booth space in such a way that you stand out from the other faces in the crowd? There are a few things to keep in mind.
For the complete article, click here