Jane Sassaman’s art quilts and fabric lines are instantly recognizable due to their exuberant style, inspired by the decorative arts. Jane herself is known as an inspiring and effective teacher. Eileen Doughty spoke with her on the phone recently to learn more about her and her business.

How do you describe yourself to a new acquaintance?
Introducing myself has become easier since I’ve started designing fabric because I can say, “I’m a fabric designer and an artist.” That’s a good place to begin. If the discussion continues, I’ll add that I’m a fine art quilter.

Looking back, what were your early goals?
I started as an art quilter. Entering Quilt National was my first big goal. From there, I picked shows that would produce a color catalog, as more people may see the publication than the show itself. That was my approach to getting out there. Quilt Visions was another goal. Paducah and Houston were great too, not only the shows themselves, but the competitions.

I watched Penny McMorris’s PBS show that featured the first wave of art quilters – Ruth McDowell, Nancy Crow, Terrie Hancock Mangat, among others, who did so much to break the trail for us to follow. I consider myself a second wave quilter and was able take advantage of the work the first wave did.

You seem to be a natural at marketing yourself and your work.
I have had a booth at Quilt Market for the past two years. I do the Fall Market because that’s when my fabric comes out. It’s the place to make sure people see what you’re doing.

I feel a bit like the odd woman out compared to other designers who put all their energy into designing and marketing their fabric. I can’t let go of art quilts, so I am in two camps. Doing Market is one way to do my part in promoting the fabric. Westminster/FreeSpirit has such an extraordinary group of designers.

One thing I understand is having a “look.” That’s where my strength is. Also, I take good photographs to sell the work. Other people may be better in making the calls to sell their patterns. I’m pretty good at putting together the actual product. I’d dearly love to have someone who thrives on business to partner with.

I’m at the point right now that I have to decide if I want my business to get bigger and how to get bigger. We do have some friends in the marketing world. There’s always a little hesitation in the back of my brain, because I so love to hole up in the studio and make work. You think if you get too big, you won’t have time for what you love to do. Studio time is so precious. If you want to grow, you should have knowledge of where you want to go. Not that you shouldn’t be flexible, but you should be able to guide it according to your dreams rather than someone else’s ideas.

Any tips for those starting out, building their careers?
Find your proper audience after you find your artistic voice. Some people bang their head against the wall, entering a show not appropriate for their work. If you want to be successful, then go where your work will be appreciated. There are so many ways to go about having a career, even some that no one has explored yet. There are ways to be a quilt artist that still haven’t been done.

Kaffe Fassett’s Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts
Kaffe Fassett with Liza Prior Lucy
Abrams; $35.00

Once again, Kaffe Fassett and Liza Prior Lucy have produced a book that whets your color and design appetite. Kaffe’s ambition for the book was to draw attention to the basic shapes we use in quilting as they appear in our surroundings. To do this, he uses lots of architectural and nature photographs to highlight shape. The photographs of the quilts then cause you to focus back on the simple shapes, squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, quarter circles, and circles. Some examples: Kaffe’s quilt Bounce filled with circles and the photo of the installation at the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland of a “pavement” made up of upside-down flower pots; the quilt Striped Donut and the old door made of concentric squares cut from strips of distressed wood. The book includes instructions for 23 quilts. I believe the book has sharpened my design eye a bit, and I’m seeing even more geometric shapes in my surroundings. Fans of Kaffe and Liza will love the book.

Here’s a link, if you’d like to add it to your library.

Many quilters have a book in them and don’t know where to start. Some quilters will take the traditional route with an established publisher. Others will find their needs better met with a self-published product. In the current issue of The Professional Quilter, Gloria Hansen takes a look at an option know as Print on Demand. Here’s an excerpt from that article.

A few months ago while cleaning out an area of my basement, I came across some boxes filled with copies of a pattern I self-published into a booklet nearly two decades ago. To get high-quality color images printed on letter-sized glossy paper, I needed to have a minimum of 5,000 printed. All of these years later, more than half of them remain in the boxes. This illustrates some downsides of self-publishing - paying for an initial print run that may not sell and storing the printed material. Today a new technology greatly reduces the often high upfront fees, eliminates storage needs, and allows you to print as few or as many books as needed. It’s called Print on Demand (POD).

A range of POD companies offer “assisted self-publishing” services, including editorial guidance and design work, as part of their pricing plan. XLibris, CreateSpace, iUniverse and LuLu are examples. While these companies may offer features important to your needs, such as a wide distribution, they also require upfront fees that range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on your goals.

Another option that results in a professional end product yet doesn’t require a high upfront fee is Blurb. Blurb, was initially set up to serve the self-publishing needs of both photographers and authors. And while companies that offer digital image printing services also offer photo POD books (such as Shutterfly, Apple through iPhoto, and SnapFish), Blurb compares very favorably in the price department and also offers you the option of adding your book to Blurb’s public bookstore. Taking a look at the bookstore, the high quality is obvious. If you choose this option, you can then set a price and keep any income over the printing cost.

When questioning professional quiltmakers about their experiences with POD, Blurb was the consistent winner. You can read more of Gloria’s article about the pluses and minuses of POD and Blurb in particular, along with the experiences of several quilters who’ve used Blurb in the Spring issue of The Professional Quilter. If your membership is not current or you need to convert your subscription, click here.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Quilt Market, the quilt industry’s premier trade show, took place in Minneapolis May 21-23. Minneapolis always seems to welcome us with warm weather and this year was no exception. Thursday, I think the temperature was in the low 80s. Here, in no particular order, are some of the things I discovered at Quilt Market:

1. Quilters Newsletter and Quilts Inc. presented the latest results of the Quilting in America™ 2010 survey. This is the sixth in a series of studies done since 1994 with the intent of measuring the amount of time and money quilters spend on their hobby in addition to profiling the key segments of the market. Some findings: Estimated dollar value of the quilting industry is $3.58 billion. Total quilters in the U.S. now exceeds 21 million. In 2010 dedicated quilters spent a total of nearly $2.5 billion. The dedicated quilter has $8,542 in quilting tools and supplies and owns on average $3,677 worth of fabric. Watch for more details on the survey findings in the Summer issue of The Professional Quilter.

2. Demos are becoming more popular and with good reason. Demos sell. If you don’t demo, here’s an idea I saw in the Thangles booth – use a digital frame to play a video. While the sound was low, you could watch what was happening. It’s another way to engage your booth visitor. MB Hayes with Thangles credits Fabric Café with the idea.

3. Do you want to keep your rotary blade sharp? Try The Cutting Edge ruler system from Sullivans and Pat Sloan. The ruler features full see-through, non-skid frosting and a unique red grid system that highlights the 1/2 inch marking. What is most unique about the ruler is it has an inlaid diamond powder edge that continually sharpens the blade that runs against its edge.

4. Ruffles, ruffles and more ruffles. Michael Miller Fabrics introduced white, raw-edge ruffles, cut on the bias at 3 inches. To showcase the idea, they had a tuffet made from ruffles. And, once I saw the ruffles here, I was seeing them lots of places, particularly on patterns.

5. Clover introduced a new wrap ‘n fuse piping. All you do is cut your fabric, wrap it around the piping, press to fuse and when cool, you have instant piping. It comes as small as 3/16 inches. Clover also introduced a line of eco-friendly bamboo handled notions.

6. Lots of wonderful fabrics: Rue Saint Germaine, Robyn Pandolph’s new line from RJR; an organic cotton line from Kauffman; Ricky Tims’ new Oodles of Doodles line from Red Rooster; Timeless Treasures‘ Tonga Treats, 2.5 inch strips and 10 inch squares from its Tonga Batiks line;  a color wheel line from Avyln; wonderful new pieces from Kona Bay, Moda, Benartex; Clothworks, Northcott, and others. We are so lucky to have this much quality fabric to use.

7. Kaufmann has released an ipod app that’s a quilting calculator.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

Since 1983, The Professional Quilter and now the International Association of Professional Quilters have recognized one teacher with its Teacher of the Year Award. This year’s award goes to Peggy Martin, a quilt teacher from San Diego, Calif., who specializes in foundation piecing. Here’s an excerpt from the Spring issue of The Professional Quilter that provides some insight into Peggy’s teaching philosophy.

What standards of workmanship do you require of your students?
What do you do if they don’t attain them?

Students work with different strengths and weaknesses and different levels of experience as well. Presenting techniques and tips to improve the end result is what I try to do; I can’t say I actually “require” any particular standard of workmanship in my classes. I am happy if they try their best, realizing that better results will come with practice. In that same vein, if someone is clearly struggling, I try to make positive suggestions, rather than providing a negative critique. Asking students if they’re happy with their work will often bring up any issues they have had, and suggestions can then be made for improving their work. Students take classes to learn new techniques and to have fun, so I try to create as comfortable and relaxed an environment as I possibly can, which includes an accepting attitude. We all aim for perfection, but making something perfect is not the goal. Learning and feeling appreciated and validated for their efforts are what I try to provide for my students.

How do you encourage creativity in your students?

Part of my teaching always includes showing alternative methods to achieve the same result. I also try to show variations in terms of color and style of fabrics with many different setting options. By showing students the steps I go through when coming up with new ideas, it gets their own wheels turning and they begin to realize how easy it is to explore their own creativity. I’m never happier than when students comes up with a totally different look for their quilts than I have shown them. Seeing that spark of excitement and watching them take the next step beyond is one of my greatest thrills as a teacher.

How do you encourage students’ further growth in quilting, beyond the formal class?

Making sure that students leave the class with the idea that there are myriad possibilities and options open to them and trying to encourage them to have the courage to explore new ideas is one of the things I try to accomplish. Many people lack confidence in their own creativity, and I hope to bolster their faith in themselves, so they leave class with the courage to trust themselves to try their own ideas and follow their own instincts.

You can read more about Peggy Martin in the Spring issue of The Professional Quilter. This journal is just one of the benefits of membership in the International Association of Professional Quilters. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership and join here.

It is definitely spring in my yard, and it is so welcome after what I would call an excess of snow. Here’s the magnolia tree that is right outside my office window.

Last weekend was busy quiltwise for me. On Friday I stopped in at the new AQS show in Lancaster, PA. It is the new convention center, a nice facility filled with three floors of quilts and vendors, as well as a satellite location about a mile away. Shuttle buses ran between the buildings and parking areas. Practically the first vendor I ran into was IAPQ member Lisa Reber of Dippy Dyes. Lisa does wonderful hand-dyed fabrics and was thrilled that three of the quilts in the show featured her fabrics. They also worked wonderfully in Woodland Lei from Pacific Rim Quilt Company, which is shown in the back on the left. And, she was wearing her IAPQ pin!

For the first year of the show I heard lots of positive comments, and the quilts were wonderful. I know first hand that the bus situation needs some work – we waited too long for it to arrive – and I heard that Bonnie Browning was riding the buses to get ahead of any complaints. Way to go!

Following the stop at AQS I headed off to Bird-in-Hand where I was the guest speaker for the weekend at the Quilt Professionals Network. I had a wonderful time with this very talented group of quilt professionals. Saturday I taught my three-hour Quilting Passion to Profit class in the morning and then in the afternoon I shared my Open House: Quilt Studio Tour slide lecture. Don’t you just love to see how other quilters work? On Sunday I presented my Time Management (Mastery) for Quilters program. Along with educational opportunities, the weekend included plenty of networking time, and it was a joy to reconnect with quilters I’ve known over the years and also meet new professionals. Thanks QPN for inviting me!

And, during my three-hour class, we discussed selling benefits vs. features. One of my examples included buying if you think something will increase in value, and I shared the story of a gnome I have, only I couldn’t remember the artist. It’s Tom Clark and I purchased this because he created this gnome in honor of my cousin Gene McEver. He’s actually a first cousin, twice removed, and was an All-American football player at the University of Tennessee, in addition to being a coach at Davidson College, the home of Tom Clark. This collectible gnome is named McEver and is now retired. Here’s my gnome:

On my way back home, I fit in a stop at the Lancaster Arts Hotel to see an exhibit of Sue Reno’s quilts. Those of you have been to my booth at the old Quilters Heritage Celebration will remember that I always featured one of Sue’s quilts in my booth. This exhibit showcased quilts Sue made to celebrate the old Watt & Shand department store in Lancaster. This Beaux Arts building was transformed into the convention center. I’m a fan of Sue’s quilts and it was a real treat to see this collection. I did have a hard time picking a favorite! If you get a chance, make time to visit the exhibit.

Scott Murkin says that a good contract lets you focus on the job at hand, and that’s true whether you are judging or teaching. Here’s an excerpt from Scott’s On Judging column in the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter.

The quilting world is by and large a friendly place, where most of us know each other, at least by reputation. Traditionally, much business was conducted with a simple handshake agreement, and that still sometimes works to this day, even if the handshake is done over the Internet (an e-shake?).

As the quilting world has grown exponentially the last few years, a contract or letter of agreement laying out the terms that were discussed in that handshake agreement becomes more and more important to protect both parties. A contract can range from a formal document to a simple letter of agreement that lays out the terms that were discussed. At the very least, the contract should be reviewed, signed and dated by both parties. It is a good idea to have a boilerplate template ready on your computer to fill in the blanks and send out. [See Scott's sample judging contract in PQ and feel free to adapt to your specific needs.]

The basic components of the contract are: the details of what, where and when; the responsibilities of the hiring organization; the responsibilities of the judge; contact information for all parties; and terms of cancellation. The contract begins with the defining of the parties and the basics of what is being agreed to between them. This should include the date, time and location of the judging, the judging system being used (for example elimination vs. point system), any other judges with whom you will be working, the approximate number of entries to be judged and any expectations for feedback or evaluation to the entrants. It also covers handling of fees and expenses. Once the terms are acceptable to all, identical copies of the contract should be signed and dated and kept on file by both parties. With the peace of mind provided by a written agreement, you will be better able to focus on the task at hand – judging the quilts.

You can read all of Scott’s column including his discussion of judging fees in the Winter issue of The Professional Quilter. This is a benefit of membership in the International Association of Professional Quilter. Read about all our benefits here and join today.

The International Association of Professional Quilters offers resources and networking opportunities for you to create a success from your quilting business. Learn about all the benefits of IAPQ membership here.