Quilt Market: Schoolhouse Sessions

Schoolhouse takes an entire day. After general assembly, there are 18 tracks of classes from 11:00am to 6:00pm in half hour segments. A map handed out at the general assembly shows the classes in a time schedule format, but there is also an index by vendor. Some attendees even skip lunch to maximize their exposure to the latest and greatest.

Introductions to the new cotton fabric lines form the bulk of the offerings, but I also noticed sessions on leather, silk, and velvet. There are sessions on tools and sessions on techniques. Adhesives and fusing seemed to be big on the techniques list this year. Rulers and scissors are perennial, as are Block of the Month (BOM) and Row by Row. Choosing colors and designs are covered.

Selling is always a big topic. Increasing your sales, carrying new lines, better demos, teaching classes, kits, social media, and training your staff are always available. There are sessions on how to use books and patterns to increase sales and sessions on training your staff.

One of the more unique approaches was a session discussing making kits with free patterns to increase sales. Upon further investigation, the teacher was providing free copies of her own patterns, promoting the sale of fabric.

Another session I saw was on lighting. All quilters know how important this is, but I suspect we could all use a good lesson in the science of lighting. Another focused on inventory and another on loss protection.

Because there are more than 240 schoolhouse sessions in all, a shop owner told me it takes a few years to figure out if a session is going to present you with some meaty content. Otherwise, she says, it can be just another sales promotion for a specific line.

I did notice that two of my favorite experts teach only at Schoolhouse. Neither teaches sessions for the public at festival. I didn’t get to attend Schoolhouse this year, but there’s always next year!