Mary Beth Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 I read on here somewhere about working with decorators. Do any of you quilt for decorators and if yes, how do you charge? Do you give them some kind of break? Or do you quote them the same prices you would a regular customer? Just wondering how that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Mary Beth, I think Grammy Tammie does a lot for decorators, You might check her posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAQuilts Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Mary Beth, I recently did a panto on fabric used to make slip covers for a yacht that the designer was redoing. I charged the going panto rate and she was happy to pay. I\'ve also done panto\'s on yardage for twin size bedspreads for a few decorators, they always seem willing to pay the going rate. I might add, every job seems to be a rush job they needed done yesterday. Beings I\'m not in business, work FT, and only have a Gammill Premier I turn down most jobs, doing just the little stuff when they beg:P Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 I have done a fair share of quilting for an interior design gallery in the past. I simply quilted various yardages of fabric and they did all the cutting, sewing, etc from that point on. They made bed quilts, window coverings, cornices, table covers, shams, and on and on. They were very happy to pay custom prices because the fabric that most interior designers use starts about $40 a yard and up..... Making my quilting charges a mere drop in the bucket by comparision. I actually kinda miss these gigs since I cut back my quilting business to a very small group of people who I still quilt for- The decorator jobs were usually very easy because there were no poorly pieced quilt "issues" to deal with... although most of the fabrics were very high thread count materials. I did have to bump up to a size 20 needle on ocassion, but no big hassles. I also quilted a few silk pieces and I went down a needle size- Of course, these made me a little more nervous though. I met a longarmer from Florida (last year at the Paducah show) whose entire business is based around quilting for a cruise line. She says she is doing very well financially and absolutely loves her job!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 So, do you squeeze them in between the quilts you already have?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 This kind of work doesn\'t come my way (I\'ve only done it once)but here\'s my opinion anyway on pricing....If I gave them a break, I\'d feel bad for the seniors that I quilt for who have to space out their quilts since they are on a fixed income and are charged the going rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 A lady that I work with suggested that I start working with interior decorators, but I\'m not sure how to find them or approach them. I\'d sure welcome any business they could bring. Where would one go to get into contact with decorators, other than just looking in the yellow pages and sending them a brochure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 You could start with the yellow pages. Call them or visit their shops and let them know what you do and drop off your cards and a brochure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 If there are decorators close enough to you to make a difference in your business, put together a brochure/sample pack. Show them what you can do and grab their attention right off. Remember, decorators are creative and usually cutting-edge--they must be in order to compete. Stitch up a mini (potholder size) wholecloth-y sample and another with decorator fabric and an elegant overall--again in miniature. Pigma-pen your business name and contact info on the back. They will be more likely to keep those samples as opposed to a business card. Show \'em your stuff! If you wow them they will keep you in mind for quilted yardage. Good luck--some quilters build a full-time business doing only decor yardage. Remember though, they will want precise designs so you may need to jump into pantos with both feet!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Yes, Linda, you are right. They would hold onto a sample like that better, good idea. I have needed to do a sample of my patterns for a long time. So my goal is to do a quilt size sample of some pantos, Circle Lord templates, etc for customers to see on cloth! They just don\'t get it when looking at a piece of paper. I\'m hoping that will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinaCollins Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 When I first started quilting for a living, I made a set of samples for my customers. I simply loaded some muslin and did sections of different pantos, freehand, etc in various threads and washed the piece (I happen to like the look of the stitches/definition better after washing, but this is a personal preference). Then I cut out 15 inch squares of each, wrote the design name on the back side, serged around the edges, and put a button hole in the upper left corner. I used a shower ring to connect them into a sample "book" for clients to look at. If you wanted to be fancy, you could actually bind the edges, but I was too lazy for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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