MarkitaW Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I Have a quilt shop interested in me quilting for them... they go by my prices and charge a extra fee for the handling... Can anyone shed any light on this type of partnership... Pro's and Con's... Thanks, Markita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmanda Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Markita- try to contact Grammie, I know for a fact that she deals with a shop in her area doing the exact same thing! They treat her wonderfully and she has nothing but good things to say about her dealings through the shop. send her a U2U. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Markita, Sent you a U2U. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 I'm still a green quilter who is taking her time growing. Everyone's experience with quilt shops vary but I have been blessed to get alot of support and patients with mine. I do discount the quilts I do for them and yet they still pay me well and never have they asked for a handling fee or such. They too want to be able to offer this to customers who come in and ask. The shops that I deal with have been very generous to me. Yesterday I went in and she had 3 4x8 sheets of the heavy slatboards (Not Peg) and gave them to me for my new space. They are going to really be awesome to keep my tools on the wall with. Little things like that. I of course will return the favor when I do one of her quilts. I have already done 20 plus quilts for this shop this year and she has paid for custom three times. With the shops I have only about 15 return customers at this time but they are awesome customers to have and so I ask not to REFER ME TO JUST EVERYONE but select customers that I can develope a longterm quilting relationship with. My customer base increases very slow but does increase and I have quality customers to work with 98% of the time.I hope to generate enough business to do even more for my local shops. I hope our relationship remains good and professional for a long time. I am enjoying it and I think the owners are too. In the end mutual respect is so important. You are IN CHARGE of the direction you want your quilting business to go. Trust yourself. PS. I am also a loyal customer of the shops. I spend /shop there. I don't just pick up quilts to be quilted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriasews Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 I worked in a quilt shop for 3 years and finally went out on my own. I put cards in 2 other shops in town to generate more business. I have received several new customers from the shoppers and have had both new shops ask for me to quilt the shop samples for them. It has been a very good relationship with no complaints and the samples are hung up in the shop so customers can see my work, generating even more work. This week the shop I used to work for called and asked me to do a quilt that needed lots of freehand and the owner only does statler stitcher. At least in my area, quilt shops are dears to work for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 The shops in our area do not charge any extra for handling, it is a courtsey that they offer a pick up and drop off spot for the quilters and LA'ers. They figure that they get sales from the customers when quilts are dropped off and picked up. The LA'ers leave their business cards, book of designs and customer info sheet for the quilter to fill out. The quilter brings her quilt in a bag, fills out the info sheet and contacts the LAer that she has left a quilt to be quilted at the shop. The shop usually has a spot to leave the quilts at...some it is a closet and others it is just a spot out of the way (like a class room area). If you need to use the quilt shop to meet someone for a consultation on a quilt...there is no charge either. Again, it brings traffic into the shop and creates sales. Use a class room or a cutting counter that is out of the way and does not prevent them from cutting fabric or helping those in the shop. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 Forgot to add this thought...as for quilting shop samples...charge what you would a normal customer...make sure they list you as the quilter on the info tag on the quilt. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyL Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 There are several posts on here about my relationship with the LQS. I quilt their tops for free and it's a great win/win situation for both of us. I get a great discount on all I buy at the shop. All of the samples in the shop were either quilted by me or by the shop owner. She does quite a few quilt shows and passes out my cards at the shows so I've gotten business in the past few months from CO, PA, SC and NY from people who saw my quilting in the booth of my LQS. While some might frown on quilting for free, I do probably 6 quilts per year for her and for the business it brings in, it's well worth it in my opinion. She also allows customers to drop their quilts at her shop and I pick up and deliver once a month there. She doesn't charge any fees for this. That's how it works for me . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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