Today was the day of the SchoolHouse series at Quilt Market. I had been selected to present a new idea or product available to all the potential new customers attending the show today. This was a lot of pressure. It's only a 15 minute presentation. Five minutes to quick change into the classroom, fifteen minutes to present your program and 5 minutes to quick change out of the classroom.
I had been sitting in on quite a few presentations throughout the day. Some were good, some were OK and some were downright struggles. But one of the things that I was most interested in was the attendance of the classes. See the trick is getting everyone into your classroom to actually see your presentation. There is so much competition. There are about 15-20 presentations all going on at the same time in your time slot… so the competition is pretty steep.
Most of the classrooms looked a lot like this. Some had really good turnout but the most I had seen were classrooms about 1/3 full. In fact, here is a photo of the presentation following mine. The one before me was a double slot by the Warm Co. (a batting manufacturer).
I was concerned that no one would attend. I worried for nothing. I had the highest percentage attendance of anyone at Schoolhouse today (according to Mr. Mitchell of Mitchell Marketing). Here are a couple of photos of my room during presentation.
If you notice… there are people kneeling in my aisle to see and both doors are open to the classroom. What you can't see are the 40 people in the hallway straining to see inside. Sam was in the hall passing out as many catalogs as possible. The ladies loved it. They were thrilled to see something new and someone new. Somehow the word got out that there was something to see in Room 371 F. The room chair capacity was 87. It was amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better day. Some of the ladies suggested taking a photo for my Mom who was unable to make the trip due to knee surgery. So here is the view from my vantage point.
Once my presentation was over… I was actually able to assemble the booth. My design theme… a cabin in the woods. Complete with dining room table, family photo frame (which is actually a wonderful slide presentation of patterns, quilts and photos of workshops) and a working wood stove. Notice all the candles around the room, the quilts on the shelves and some lovely fruit and veg spread on the dining room table. Coffee table books are out. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the booth tomorrow.
I am overwhelmed with cold symptoms and allergies out here… so no Sample Spree for me. Many of the vendors headed out to dinner and then up to sales room for Sample Spree tonight and then have to go back to their booths tonight to complete the setup. Not me. I am tucked in as snug as a bug in a rug back at the hotel. See all of you tomorrow. Something tells me it will be a busy day. I am on the first aisle of the show and lots of books will need to be signed.
