Let’s Put on a Show!
I remember being a young kid many years ago. When I got bored with my friends on a Saturday afternoon, I’d plop down in front of the TV and watch old reruns of Mickey Rooney/ Judy Garland movies. They were in several musicals together and the great idea of each movie was to “put on a show!” It was all planned with gusto and goodwill and there was always a happy ending.
So I smiled the other day when I read spinning sensation Abby Franquemont’s blog posting about Stringtopia; a fiber event she and her friend Shelly kicked around and grabbed hold of with the enthusiasm necessary to get it on the fiber event stage.
Abby spent some time putting her thoughts together for Craft a Guild readers on how her dream bloomed.
Abby’s Foggy Foggy Dew Shawl
“Over the years, many a teacher has hosted many a retreat or event, or thought about it. You kick it around in your head, know it’s a crazy idea, swear you’ll never do it, and then suddenly, I guess, things start happening. For us it started when Morgaine from Carolina Homespun stopped by on her way home from Maryland Sheep and Wool last year, and I joked that the next time she was coming through, she ought to stop and we’d have a garage sale event. And then later, my good friend Shelly asked me why I never teach closer to home. I ran through the list of all the logistics that would need to be handled, like finding a space and scheduling it and figuring out the pricing and handling the registrations and all of that sort of thing, and how I just couldn’t possibly do that *and* teach. But none of those things scared Shelly and the next thing I knew, she’d done a bunch of leg work looking for a venue. From that point on, the ball was rolling, and we knew it was going to happen.”
Q-I would imagine you have to nail down the focus of the event and
the instructors. Are you friends with everyone and did that make it
easier to have them make a commitment? How did you determine the
topics?
“I admit, I called on friends. The truth of the matter is in this line of
work, we’re a tight-knit community (no pun intended). You get to know
your colleagues and after a while, you’re likely friends. I’ve worked
with Morgaine plenty over the years, as a customer, a vendor, and a teacher
at her Golden Gate Fiber Institute — we talk regularly and there’s
usually something coming along where we’ll work together. I’ve known
Jacey for years online and we’ve shared a lot, but usually if we’re in
the same place physically, we are both working and barely get to catch
up. Actually that’s how it is for everyone who works in this scene! So
we were all eager to find a smaller, more intimate venue to work
together.
As far as picking the classes, well, that’s actually half the fun of
this and I took a page from Morgaine’s playbook with Golden Gate Fiber
Institute, and just asked them what they wanted to teach. Then with that
list of pie-in-the-sky ideas, we talked it over and came up with a list
and ran with it, tweaking things to make it all fit what we envision
happening at the event.”
Q- What elements do you consider critical to a successful fiber event?
“Above all else, my favorite element is a community focus. I love the
events where everyone feels like they are in it together;
where people aren’t teachers, vendors, students, as separate things, but
rather, all participants. Teaching, learning, shopping — these things
will happen. But coming together as a community is the major thing that
makes it worth everyone’s while. I hope everyone can have a sense of
ownership not just of this event but of our wonderful community.”
Q-Many events make workshops two-days in length. You’ve made this
much more flexible, why?
“When you go to lots of fiber events, you hear lots of talk: people want
longer classes! No, shorter classes! More free time! More in-depth
stuff! No, sampler and introductory classes! Project-based classes! No,
technique and theory classes! Well, which is it? The answer is all of
the above. People want different things and they definitely want
options. So that’s part of it.
The other part is that we really want to bring great fiber instruction
to an area where there isn’t usually a ton going on. We wanted it to be
not only a retreat for folks from out of town, but something that would
be a treat for folks who live in the area. We wanted participants to be
able to come for a few hours they could steal away, or for a dedicated
weekend of hard-core study. We wanted everyone to have a chance, too –
so there are things priced a variety of ways.
It’s ambitious, but I’ve seen it done before and on a big scale,
like Sock Summit. We’re nowhere in that league, but with those great examples, the fiber world is a lot more receptive to a “roll-your-own” kind of experience.”
Q-How did you come up with the pricing?
“We got pricing for event expenses– renting space, getting someone to feed us, paying
people to plan and handle logistics and teach, what we’d need to budget
to promote the event, fly in a teacher or teachers, cover materials,
that sort of thing. We added in some cushion to cover unexpected stuff
and to put aside to do another event after this. Then we broke it all up
into pieces and looked hard at what it would have to cost per person.
At that point, we tweaked it and trimmed costs here or
added options there to come up with a range of options we thought would
work for lots of people. Pricing is based on the cost of putting on the
event, plain and simple. There are a lot of things we’re able to do –
like door prizes — strictly because of the great community support we
have and the wonderful things people are giving to the event.”
Q-The Golden Lamb is an inspired choice for a location, I must say.
And I personally think location gets people psyched about the event
second only to workshop leaders. Why did you choose this location?
“When you live in Lebanon, or around Lebanon, you know about the Golden
Lamb. It’s iconic. We thought for sure they’d be way out of our price
range, but they were just as enthused about the idea as we were. I guess
we should have realized that would be the case — I mean, how much more
of a sign could we have been looking for than a painted wooden sign with
a sheep on a venue that’s been central to our town for over two
centuries?”
Q-How important is social media and other forms of publicity?
“The spinning and weaving scene has, for decades, been one that has
stayed alive and grown, because of people staying in touch with each
other and really making it work. Many of the longest-standing
publications and events exist because of that sort of
interpersonal commitment. Social networking and online community make
that a little easier, or a little larger and farther-reaching, but it’s
been the lifeblood of our community for as long as I’ve been alive.
But what’s interesting is that those things often reach people who are
further apart, spread out around the country or even the world.
Sometimes it’s hard to reach the folks who are right here in town, or
half an hour away. So we also have to go old-school to get the word out,
from putting up flyers on bulletin boards to talking to the local paper
and so on. I think we’ll probably know a lot more about where people
heard about the event and what brought them in, after we’ve all gotten
to meet and get to know each other.”
Q-Does it help to have a partner in this endeavor (Shelly)?
“Absolutely. This is definitely not the kind of thing you can do alone.
There’s simply too much work to handle. What’s more, being stuck in the
middle of it totally alone would be terrifying.”
Q-Do you anticipate growth in this event?
“We aren’t expecting massive turnout or huge waiting lists or a lot of the
issues that established, long-standing, long-publicized events have; at
least, not yet. You could look at this as our trial run: if it all goes
well, chances are we’ll do it again. But if it’s harrowing,
probably not. So far it’s going well, and being a smaller event, we’re
able to be pretty flexible and handle things quickly.
One thing we’re taking very seriously is working on being as local and
community focused as we can. Our supporters are members of our worldwide
fiber community; our vendors are too. For everything we else, we’re
shopping with small business, like getting chocolates for the goodie
bags from the chocolate factory a block from the Golden Lamb, and
talking to the print shop in town that handles the school t-shirts about
t-shirts for Stringtopia. We want everyone who comes to the event, and
everyone who has a part in it, to feel invested and proud; and we want
everyone who lives here to think fondly of the weekend when all the
spinners descended on a small Midwestern town.
Featured Instructor- Jan Krentz
Jan taught a workshop at the Quiltique quilt shop in Nevada.
This month we feature international Quilting Instructor Jan Krentz who has been teaching for over 30 years. Jan has a home-based studio near San Diego, California and in 1998 was named Teacher of the Year by The Professional Quilter Magazine. I recently had a chance to ask Jan a few questions about quilting, her career and how she likes to teach and present workshops.
Q-Can you talk about your journey into quilting and how your career has evolved, what type of quilting you like to do personally and what you like to teach.
JPK: As a girl, my mother tells me I started sewing on the machine at age 4. I was a happy, busy child – the oldest of 4 children. Our mother provided lots of needlework kits, books and other activities for us to do. As we grew up, I was always actively involved with needlework of various types – cross stitch, needlepoint, crewel embroidery, sewing clothing and eventually quilts on the machine. My first quilt was a Cathedral Window design, sometime in my mid teens.
Q-Where do you prefer to teach (large quilting conventions or do you do workshops for guilds?) and how often do you travel for workshops?
JPK: I enjoy teaching for a variety of venues. Many longer workshops with more techniques are best suited to multi-day classes for guilds or retreat seminars. The travel schedule varies year-by-year. I teach 25 to 40 events each year (with more than one workshop per event). I am purposely slowing my schedule, permitting more time at home to enjoy my family and develop new designs.
Q-Are your workshops accessible for beginners or do you teach advanced students too?
JPK: Yes, I teach all skill levels in each workshop. I encourage students to reach farther than their current skill and confidence level. Many intermediate-level students have the ideal skills to take the upper level, challenging courses. Quilters tend to think they won’t learn any new methods or techniques, and overlook these workshop opportunities.
Q-Tell me how you structure workshops and a little about the students drawn to your classes- skill level, type of quilting, etc.
JPK: I like to present a visual overview of the workshop tasks with a Powerpoint presentation at the beginning of the workshop. If there are many steps to the design process, we look at them throughout the course of the workshop, alternating presentation with working time.
Students who enjoy piecing on the sewing machine are attracted to my workshops where they learn dozens of tips to improve everything they sew, not just the design of that workshop. They routinely vary in skill level from beginner through advanced in nearly every workshop event.
Q-Most comfortable class size.
JPK: I prefer a classroom that permits each student adequate table and design wall space. When teaching in very large spaces such as a hotel ballroom or large open meeting space, electrical connections (or lack of them!) become a challenge. A hands-on workshop is best at 20 students or fewer because I like to work with each student individually.
Q-Describe the quilting culture in the United States. Even though it’s been a skilled craft in this country for years, it seems more people have really embraced it in the last couple of decades. Is it expensive to get into?
JPK: Quilt making is a very exciting hobby! As with any activity, you may participate at different levels. Some quilters make just one project, and work on a borrowed sewing machine with borrowed tools. Most people invest in the basic equipment, or take a beginner level workshop to learn more about the quilting craft. After seeing beautiful fabrics, and exploring the dizzying array of patterns, designs, and art quilts, frequently people invest more into their hobby.
Each quilter makes decisions according to their own budget and preferences. You can create quilts with minimal investment, or you can purchase fabrics, sewing machines, tools, specialty luggage, books and more to support your interests. Like other hobbies, quilt making can be as thrifty or as expensive as you make it!
Q-What are your goals for the future in terms of your teaching and fiber career?
JPK: After many years of travel to teach quilting workshops, I realize I need a balance of time at home versus travel and work time in order to refresh my skills, design new work, and maintain family and friend relationships. I am interested in expanding my workshops to include recorded techniques for students to benefit world-wide as they learn the basics and beyond! The current books feature pieced designs, most based upon 45-degree diamonds and star patterns. I am interested in expanding my personal textile artistry in the future years and developing new workshops based upon future work.
