Market, Market, Market Part Two

"Market"

it seems that only at a "Market"

can you start with this empty space

and end up with sparkling white carpet

and elephants in Michael Miller fabrics jumpsuits

  

only at Market can you see Amy and David Butler

pushing their own carts up the ramp to the cc

(but of course!)

or walk by a half completed Amy Butler booth

my favorite part of the completed booth was the table with

two tea glasses and a butterfly

and of course, Alexander Henry won an award

for this booth sculpture

I do think, however, my favorite part of Market
was seeing the Madison Cottage Design quilt
beyond the reef fabric bundles for this quilt still available
in the Marcia Derse booth!!!!

 it was great to see the denyse schmidt booth too
I loved that design wall!!!!

the other person I thot did a tremendous job

Anna Maria Horner

...if you like her butterflies

we do have a pattern for that.....

Madison Cottage Design
had a booth in which everything seemed to 
float on a sea of black
(look for the pattern "Sugar" at the beyond the reef booth at Quilt Festival, Long Beach)

 sarah jane won best booth for creativity
we ordered a few of her prints
out to sea

 and one of my favorite ads right now
is
valori wells
cocoon
(more butterflies - we have a pattern for that!)

 but I must say the most fun I had was in the
beyond the reef
booth
it was 50 s.f. of a
teenagers room after a day of surfing and homework
complete with candy on the bed
and clothes on the floor

by now, I think you see, for me, it's about the people

the soul and sweat and love

they put into everything they do

not just the 'next' thing they do

but where they are in that very moment

Market.Market.Market

not what.

who.

not next.

but now.

natalie.

beyond the reef

be.do.create

Market, Market, Market!

What IS it about MARKET???

(part 1 of 2)

 I don't care what people on the plane think of me as I snap pic after pic.

I think it is amazing that we can float above our world for however long of a time.

It brings perspective.

Anticipation.

Wonder and Awe.

It is magic.

And before you know it, you're in a whole other world.

 This year's Spring Market was in Kansas City, Missouri.

You know. The home of the Royals.  The Star.

And BBQ.

Not that any of us thought for a moment that we would experience any of it....

After all, there was shopping to be done for the last minute booth preparations.

And meetings to be confirmed.

There was a schedule that said we had to be up before 5am and meetings that would keep us busy

until 11pm.

After all, it was Spring Market!

There was a Modern Quilt Guild Meet Up!

There were fabric company parties.

There was Sample Spree to attend!

 But a girl has got to eat, doesn't she?

We gotta drive from point A to point B, don't we?

 I had the great pleasure of staying with two other teams, one of which came in to town early.

I spent my Birthday with Rose Hughes.

After a little shopping for more booth bling, I said, "I want to do something CULTURAL".

So Rose searched out the Arts District and we were headed for adventure.

 While I know it took all of us a little extra effort to be ready to go to Market a few days early,

it was nice to have the preparations, the new quilts, the fabric companies, the patterns, the packing

behind us

to be able to just soak in a little local color

and enjoy a peaceful afternoon meal

(with some great wines and even better Lidia's food)

The contrast in Architecture and History was a delight for us all

The Galleries that Rose found for our tour of the Arts District were just great.

 I loved the old doors in Blue Gallery - and fell in love with the paintings of Rich Bowman

what a great day to have some outside input after being so focused for so long

the tour of the district included one more great surprise

 Hammerpress.net

 As the story goes, the Owner, while attending art school, started collecting old printing press

equipment.

And an idea was re-born.

Many of their designs can be found in your favorite high end boutique.

 I know, I know, you wanted to hear all about Market.

About the trends, the new fabrics, 

the people that design the new fabrics.

The colors.

The booth designs.

And what you could expect to find in the new quilt shops.

 But I just had to share a little inspiration.

A little color, pattern, design, scale.

And I thot I would set the stage for Part Two of the Market Update.

Because, after all, most of the people in the Convention Center

Most of the people at Market

were designers.

of fabric. of patterns. of content.

Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow!

natalie.

beyond the reef

be.do.create