Tuesday 29 November 2011

The wholesale area!

 As promised....more behind the scenes!
As most of you know, we do wholesale our pattern line internationally. We sell to a few major distributors as well, and when they order, they order LOTS!!! So we do like to keep a bit of stock for ourselves here at the store and for any orders we do get, so we can ship them our asap!





This is actually two areas, right outside of my office, which means....that's right...basement! And just in case you are starting to think my job is glamourous......


That's right.....a big old boiler! Right outside my office door, in what we call...."the wholesale area"!!

In our "wholesale area" the patterns are all alphabetized, to make it easy to find what we are looking for! Here's a little trivia for you...we have over 100 active patterns! We have plenty we have retired. Some we have pulled and put in our books, and some are on their way out. We wholesale approx. 40 of our patterns with distributors including our Block of the Month programs. Our top selling pattern this season has been the Snow Wish Pillow:
Snow Wish Pillow
Hope you enjoyed that little tour! Until next time.....

Thursday 24 November 2011

Retro Style!

So this is REALLY behind the scenes stuff now people!! 
Jeanne and I went into Regina yesterday to 'go to Gayles' warehouse' to pick up a few things. (Notice how that's highlighted!?) Well truly, Gayles would ship us the bags we need, etc. But that's just code word for "take the day off and shop in Regina"!! Yes, we did the token Gayles run, which is always interesting and fun. We did the Winners and Costco (free sample lunch!) tour. Don't laugh, that really was my lunch!! With a Costco hot dog for dessert!! We wanted to squeeze in a trip down 13th Ave in Regina, and stopping for lunch was not going to be in our schedule!! 
We bought a few Christmas gifts for our families, and our staff, but the best part was finding this cute little vintage inspired store called Retrovise. I've been following it on Facebook, but was very excited to actually have a look at the clothing line she carries!
Well, both Jeanne and I bought clothes! I bought a dress that makes me look like a bombshell!! Vintage clothing is all about curvy, and I have that in spades!!
Bombshell Dress!!

Doris Top
I bought the black dress!! I'm not sure what it's really called, but I'm calling it the Bombshell dress, cause I look amazing in it!!! I also bought the Doris top in black, very cleavalicious, but girls, my theory on that is use what God gave you, cause one day soon enough.....God will take it away!!
What i didn't buy, but Jeanne did, was the leopard print skirt.......
Leopard print skirt

What the skirt looks like on ME!!

Now, I know I'm not the only person in the world to NOT buy something and have it eat away at them!! No worries ladies, I emailed the lovely woman at Retrovise today and gave her my credit card number so she can ship me the skirt!!! Sigh.......
Now as most of you know, Jeanne and I spend A LOT of time together. We work together, we travel together, and we shop together. Which means that sometimes we buy the same stuff! Like the skirt!! So if you come into The Quilt Patch and see us wearing the same thing.....go ahead and laugh, it doesn't happen very often!! Oh, and ladies......I look WAY better in the skirt than Jeanne! 
(just don't tell her I said that)



Tuesday 22 November 2011

Shasta!

Our very first fabric collection will be shipping in February! Yay us!
Shasta!

Shasta!

It was definitely a learning curve, but working with the team at Clothworks has been so amazing! Clothworks Textiles has such a tight knit family atmosphere that has just been so supportive and encouraging! We are very lucky to be working with such an great company!
We designed a free pattern that you can download already, so do check it out!

Thursday 17 November 2011

I'm finally blogging!

So here it is, my very first post!! 
So when I asked the girls here, 'what should I write about?' the response was.....'really?! Shelley, YOU are stumped for something to say??' Oh hahahaha girls!
But I wanted to tell you about something you DON'T know! If you comes into the store, you know we are fully decorated for Christmas. If you follow our website, you know what's new. If you follow us on Facebook, you may have even seen the pics from Fall Quilt Market in Houston.
But most of you don't know where the magic happens!! Thats right, the special place where I answer your emails, write our patterns and books, send out the e-newsletters, print the patterns, and most important....where I spend most every day!
My most glamourous office!

Now, don't cringe, I happen to like my space!! I have pics of my kids and grandchildren randomly
pinned to the walls! I'm fully willing to admit I'm not the tidiest worker bee, and this keeps me far from the public eye (until now!)


Yvonne, one of our full time staff members made me this cute sign to 'pretty up' my office! My youngest son, wrote notes to me on the wall! And I'm able to pin very important items....cause goodness knows, if it hits my desk, I might never find it again!




This beast is our printer! We print all of our patterns in house, as well as all of our labels, newsletters, signage and anything else you happen to see in our store!
See those calendars behind it, that's our year at a glance! 

So that's your very first peek into some behind the scenes workings of The Quilt Patch!
Stay tuned for more! Maybe I'll show you our wholesale pattern area!!