San Fernando Valley Quilt Association; NCQC Promoting Your Guild Panel

 

NOTE: I won’t be writing next week; be back on the 30th…I hope. I am unsure about the newsletter this week; I will take that as it comes.

I traveled to Southern California to visit the San Fernando Valley Quilt Association. What a guild! I felt embraced by the lovely outreach phone call before I arrived from Julie, the President, by the many members who drove me around and fed me and the bright and happy students in my class.

I flew into Burbank, a 94 year old airport that makes you feel like you are in a time warp. Every time I land there I feel like I should have on a pillbox hat and gloves.

Baggage claim is open air!  You walk on the tarmac directly to your plane which can load front and rear.

If you don’t travel to do this often, you might not realize how delightful it is to be in a nice hotel, across the street from retail. It’s a bonus when I can have access to healthy, non-restaurant food. So when I opened the blinds in my room upon arrival and spied this, it felt like light from Heaven. Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it sure was nice.

I discovered the “mini desert” section and I enjoyed teeny weeny delicious deserts for no more than 130 calories or less. #itsthelittlethings And Hamnet is a great book by the way!

This is the only photo I remembered to take in class. Look at their joy! I just loved the reaction each had individually to issues with the machine and settings. No downer students in this group! We figured out the issue and were on our way. That’s what happens frequently in a beginnner’s class – we work through issues.

I forgot to take a photo of the student who was having true machine (NOT operator) issues and promptly disassembled her machine in a quest to solve the problem. Unfortunately it required a spa visit for her machine.

This was a FABULOUS class, full of enthusiasm, energy, talent and fun!

When I travel to teach this class, I need to borrow a machine. I wish I’d taken a photo of the Kaffe 770 that Melanie lent me! It was such a pleasure to sew with Kaffe and BERNINA on a 770!

I had a bit of an adventure the next morning. Bonnie from the guild talked about an old stage coach trail that was now a park trail that runs along the ridge next to the Santa Susana Pass Park. Photos in the reviews intrigued me, as did the history. How cool it would be to walk a former stage coach trail!

I googled the address, hailed a Lyft and we arrived……..at a dead end street, in a normal neighborhood, trail head marked, no parking, no people. Hmmm, I’m alone, it’s 6AM, no parking facilities. I had to ditch; a woman alone in such a situation did not seem like a good idea. Turns out, the proper entrance was a little ways away and there were people there, but I missed my chance. Dang. All was not lost:

I walked about 1.5 mi down to Limekin Park and took a little hike. I didn’t stay too long as by then, the sun had burned through the marine layer and it was going to get hot. It was a nice diversion.

I still had the afternoon off before my lecture, so I cruised the mall across the street. Malls in SoCal are open air, which still impresses me. It was a really lovely area, with all kinds of people milling around, families, people on dates, people just sitting around reading a book. I found a great BBQ place and ordered a salad that was divine! I also cruised down to Nordie Rack on the outside chance of finding My Dress For the Wedding….not.

Saw this on my travels:

Hmm, we don’t have hunky movers in Northern California!

Great turnout for my lecture! There were 31 in attendance and 13 on zoom, a 75% attendance rate for a guild of 59! They were very engaged, asking questions, making observations; this is an active group.

Some of my students brought their samples to the guild meeting. Such joy!

The guild recently raised $4,500 in a yard sale type of event. I will be following up with them to find out how they did that. I have never heard of such a fundraiser outside of a show.

This is why I do what I do. This is a vibrant, fun guild. The Membership Chair in her report said something like, “If you know someone who is looking for friends, send them our way”. I’m sure they will find friends in this group.

NCQC MARKETING YOUR GUILD PANEL

I am Director of the Northern California Council of Quilt Guilds and we too are a vibrant group! Our July meeting was organized by Cathy Medich and Anelie Belden and focused on “How to Promote Your Guild”. It was a very successful event and there were many take-aways for all in attendance.

The meeting had two panels: one with guild representatives from successful guilds, the other, prominent teachers. There were large guilds and smaller guilds represented, urban and rural.

The teacher’s panel had useful tips on how to get the most out of your hire.

A few take aways:
Print is becoming a less effective and a more costly way to advertise.
One effective and simple way to promote a guild show: members put up yard signs.
Targeted Facebook ads were a successful and low cost alternative to print media.

There were many more take aways; you had to be there. The audience was buzzing with interaction and ideas. If your guild is not a member, you can find out more here. Our October 8 meeting will be a Zoom Meet the Teachers event, a great opportunity for your guild to decide who to hire for next year.

And I’m continuing on with my Bethanne Nemesh class; this is my latest class sample:

It really is an excellent class and I am learning so much. I will be fallow for a few weeks, so I am going to fall behind.

I’ll be linking up:
Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday