How to Set up a Quilt Show
Setting up for a quilt show takes planning and preparation. It should be well organized with a reliable set of volunteers and spacious venue to display the work. Marketing the show well beforehand and delivering on promised goods will result in a successful and lucrative show.
Six to twelve months prior
- Decide on the date(s) and time for the show. Determine your venue. You need a well-lit facility with adequate space.
- Market your show by advertising in newspaper community boards and on the radio. Send a news release to quilt shops, quilting guilds and quilting publications.
- Find vendors who want to display their wares at your show. Offer reasonable rental rates for vendor tables.
- Design a layout, deciding where quilts will be displayed and where vendors will be. Consider having experts who conduct how-to workshops, a silent auction for goods donated from local businesses, maybe even a well-known proficient appearance. You could offer door prizes instead of a silent auction, or do both. Some people travel hundreds of miles to attend, so the more to offer, more people will come.
- Design and print flyers and posters advertising.
Three to six months prior
- Find volunteers to help with the show. Anyone who touches the quilt should only do so after donning white gloves. The public should not be able to touch the quilts.
- Look for quilters to display their crafts at your show. Get in touch with guilds, shops and clubs and advertise in national and local quilting publications when possible. Include information about the registration fees.
Final months
- Advertise in all free venues. Purchase ad space if you have money.
- Plan the details of the show, such as the layout of vendors.
- As quilts arrive, carefully catalog each one. Store until the time of the show, and then hang appropriately. Photographs all the quilts and keep accurate records. You will need to return them at the end of the show.
- Set up signs to direct traffic the day of the show. Selling a few items helps increase revenue. Consider memory books that feature photographs of the quilts in the show.