My International Quilt Market 2025.
My International Quilt Market Trip
I wasn’t going to go to this year’s International Quilt Market, but I am so glad I did!
Before I start telling you about my trip, let me explain briefly about what Quilt Market is. International Quilt Market is a premier wholesale trade show that is exclusively for the quilting and textile industry. It connects fabric manufacturers, designers, store owners and industry professionals like me. It is about showcasing new products, sharing trends and building business relationships.
International Quilt Market 2025
This is my third year of attending Quilt Market, the first time was in 2023, and I didn’t really know anyone, I had one connection with a distributor, I had sent my patterns in the post from the UK to another USA distributor, and they had said they loved my patterns, but would not be shipping from the UK to the States. I decided at that time to take a leap of faith in myself and my business and made the trip, and I am so pleased that I did. The connections that I made at that first Quilt Market has held me in good stead for all my other trade shows, and now my patterns are printed in the USA, and distributed from 3 major Distributors. I have patterns in local quilt shops, I have been on Podcasts, YouTube interviews, been included in Sew Alongs, am a Guest Designer on TV, run Quilting Retreats, involved in Collab Quilting Retreats, have sponsorships, and lots lots more.
This Quilt Market, was a lot quieter than the others that I had been to. There were fabric companies that didn’t have booths, some of the larger designers weren’t there, the opening of Quilt Market was a lot quieter, and there were a lot less visitors. I initially had a little panic thinking why have I come? I am a small business and I am always counting the pennies. Each business decision I make has to mean something, and I was wondering if I had wasted my money on this trip.
Thankfully I hadn’t!
I had my plan, and I needed to stick to it.
I flew into Houston on the Thursday, I had meetings planned from the get go, and a busy but not overwhelming schedule. I had arranged to meet with my good friend Lisa Baker from SewEndipitous, and as soon as I had checked into my hotel I was off to find her and sort out my tickets for the event.
Lisa Baker from SewEndipitous, and I (Tracy Perks)
Friday was School House, this is a whole day of product showcasing, where you get the chance to see what new things are coming out, books, fabric collections, notions etc. The place is normally heaving between all the classrooms , and it was notably quieter – and that’s when the “good conversations” started happening.
I was talking to store owners about my patterns and what I have to offer as a business. There was more time to show patterns without people feeling hurried, and me thinking I had only 30 seconds to give my elevator pitch and then get forgotten in the rest of the excitement. Over the next few days Store Owners were coming back to me to say that they had ordered patterns.
I met fellow designers from both the US and the UK, caught up on news and talked about the future.
Quilt Market 2025 set up day.
The floor opened to the show on Saturday, and I had a demo scheduled on the Moda/United Notions Booth in the morning. This is always a bit daunting, is anybody going to show up? Will people listen to what I have got to say? It was good, I had a quilt, 2 table runners and a cushion cover on display at the Moda Booth, along with a number of patterns. I gave away free patterns to store owners and again talked to them about how we can work together, for example the Marvellous Mini Table Runners are great for kitting up smaller kits for store owners.
Tracy Perks at the Moda Booth, Quilt Market 2025.
Linda’s Electric Quilter stock a lot of my patterns, and I was recently on Corey Pearsons podcast – the Crafters Roundtable. When we recorded it in the summer, Corey said if I am coming to Quilt Market he would spend some time with me and introduce me to people I hadn’t already connected with. Saturday afternoon we walked the floor and Corey introduced me to people outside of my network, and again there were more good conversations - Talks of possible collaborations, how I can work together with other Companies, and chats about staying in touch.
Sunday, I had a class with Stacey Lee. Stacey has an amazing YouTube Channel, and the class I went to was Growing Your YouTube Channel. It was just what I needed, to give me that boost to keep going. I was also fortunate enough to spend one to one time with Stacey over the weekend and she gave me some valuable feedback about my YouTube Channel.
Stacey Lee YouTube Workshop.
This wasn’t the only mentoring session I had over the 4 days I was in Houston. I had invaluable time with Lisa, we talked about our individual plans for 2026 for our respective businesses. Lisa also helped me map out one of my business ideas for next year. I have come away from those sessions even more focussed and fired up.
There were lots of chats with all sorts of people about collaborations, how we can work together, how we can support each other and so much more. I caught up with all the Distributors my patterns are with, I touched base with people that I am working with in the background, I also caught up with some old friends and new online friends.
Tracy Perks reaching for the stars.
I really feel that this Quilt Market was a big step forward for me and my business. By showing up people recognise me from the last couple of years, they know I am serious about my business and it comes down to me having faith in myself and following my strategy.
It’s not by luck that I have gotten to this point – and this is just the beginning.
I wish I could tell you a bit more of the in-depth conversations I have been having, but I think we are going to have to wait and see how things unfold! I have plans for 2026 and beyond, and I am really looking forward to sharing these with you over the coming months.
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