Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Anyone Going To The Shipshewana Quilt Festival?

YES!  Your’s truly is attending the Shipshewana Quilt Festival and I am excited.

Here is the plan:

June 25 Morning–New York-Detroit-South Bend.

I arrive in South Bend in the afternoon and I immediately have a date to go see Erica & Cathy of Erica’s Craft & Sewing Center at 1320 North Ironwood Drive.  I am looking forward to seeing what Erica’s shop looks like and can’t wait to see all the Studioe fabrics flying out the door.  I will make sure to take photos to show you in a follow up blog.  I am going to dazzle the ladies, as I always do, with the the new July releases for both Studioe and Henry Glass, but that is not the exciting part.  

The exciting part is that the ladies and I have a date with Rocco.  No, Rocco is not a hairdresser!  No, Rocco is not a personal trainer!  No, Rocco is not a fabric pimp! Rocco is the master of South Bend’s finest pizza.  

We are going to have to see how that compares to New York style pizza. Wishing you much luck Rocco!  I am planning to leave Rocco’s with a full stomach and then heading over to my hotel in Shipshewana for a night of tossing and turning as my nerves get the best of me before my big Shipshewana debut.     

Four score and several quilt markets ago, I spoke with Andre from Yoder’s.  We discussed the Shipshewana show as well as my guest speaking appearance at the Jackson Hole Quilt Guild Evening Social several months prior.  Andre was very intrigued about what took place in Jackson Hole (Recall The Jackson Hole-E Cow Blog).  Long story short, the Yoder’s invited me to provide 7, 30 minute schoolhouses at the Shipshewana Quilt Festival. They will start at 10 am and go until 2:30 pm or so on June 26 because I have to run out and catch a flight home at 5 pm.  So you might be wondering, what am i going to talk about?

Here are the 3 different formats:

1.  I will discuss the quality, construction and printing of the different fabrics the Jaftex companies offer.  I will have samples for show and tell.  And, of course, I will have free giveaways. 

2.  I will discuss how the chain fabrics differ from the mom and pop quilt shop fabrics. In particular, I will discuss A.E. Nathan (more of a chain supplier) vs. Studioe & Henry Glass (quilt shop only suppliers).  I will have samples for show and tell.  Yes, I will have free giveaways here too.

3.  I will discuss the many facets of running both Studioe & Henry Glass as well as what it is like to be the 4th generation of a family business and some history about the nearly 85 year-old company.  Yes, I will have free giveaways here too.   

Aside from offering free prizes at all the schoolhouses, I will take questions and I hope to be able to provide some sneak peaks of future Studioe & Henry Glass lines.

June 26 Evening–South Bend-Detroit-New York

If you have any plans to attend the show, please email me at scott@jaftex.com and we can definitely try to meet up…or at the least you can come see me speak at schoolhouse.

Have a great day!

Shipshewana Scott e