May 17th, 2010

A lot of action has  been happening since our last update.

In March we had our first Craft Expo at the Brisbane Convention Centre.   What a great time we had setting up our first show and experiencing all the first time show feelings.  First time to set up for our customers.   Our first sale at an Exhibition.  It really was a fun time for us both and very successful.

We contribute a lot of our success to our friend Rosie who also came to help.

Our next show was in Townsville.  We weren't originally intending to go to Townsville, but decided to at the last minute.    I have friends who live in Townsville and the fact that we had familiar faces to stay with  made our first trip to Townsville so much easier. Thank you John and Sharyn.   We were delighted to meet the quilters  from Townsville and hope they will continue to look for us when next we visit.

On our return to Brisbane after Townsville we then had to get ready for our first showing at the AQC (Australasian Quilt Convention)  in Melbourne.  This was another challenge for us.  Having not been before to this most gorgeous venue we had to again reconfigure our stand to comply with the boutique atmostphere of the show.  We met up with many of the exhibitors we have met during our visit to Townsville and Brisbane.  This show just confirmed to us that no matter where you go, quilters love beautiful fabrics and are always  on the look out for something new and exciting.

After a very quick trip to Japan we're now home and getting ready for the Sydney Show at Darling Harbour in June.   I can combine business with pleasure when I go to Sydney.  At night I can catch up with three of my grandchildren who live in Sydney.  We hope the quilters of Sydney will come and see what new and exciting product we have on offer.

Well we have finally arrived; this has been a great experience for both of us.  We first decided to start our own business about six months ago and maybe a bit on the naive side thought it would not take long to get this up and running.

From sourcing fabric and other stock, setting up a web site, naming our new venture and many other things, we have found new strengths within ourselves we did not know we had.

One of the most exciting part has been our recent trip to Japan.  We decided to go to the Tokyo International Quilt Show held each year at the Tokyo Dome. However  once my husband heard about the trip he decided that he would tag along as well.  So he and I decided to go a week early and see a little bit more of Japan.  We flew into Narita airport and stayed our first night in Tokyo, then we were off to Nagano and the snow.  It was wonderful we mainly did day trips and lots of shopping as well, of course.  We did get to see the snow monkeys which were well worth the walk in the snow.

After a wonderful time in Nagano we were back to Tokyo for the Quilt Festival.  Sue arrived the day before it started and what a wonderful time to be had at the Tokyo Dome Hotel, a magnificent place to stay.  The Show was just wonderful, the quilts were spectacular and all the different stands to buy from, just too many to choose from.  We ended up spending our first day just scoping out the stands and then went back the 2^nd & 3^rd day to buy, and buy we did.

From Tokyo we went to Kyoto for a bit of site seeing and my goodness the train ride down gave us so many wonderful photos.  Kyoto is known for its Temples.   We did find one that has a great market on the 21^st of each month at the Toji Temple and we just happen to be there then.  What a great experience that was.  We all thought we had been to some great markets in the past, but we were in for a treat.  The range of goods for sale is just fantastic even though it rained on the day. 

We had a great time and the time just flew.  We then had to make our way back to Tokyo for our flight home.  Our 15 days had come to an end.   As an added extra we had a day in Narita before we flew out. Whilst filling in time we were walking and stumbled onto a whole street that turned into a market.  I just couldn't resist adding just a few more items to our baggage for the trip home. 

All we had to worry about now was excess luggage which unfortunately I happened to get caught for, but it is all worth it.

Well now we are looking forward to many more trips to Japan so we can source some more fantastic fabrics and accessories for you all to enjoy.

There are two more trips in the pipleline for this year one to the International Quilt Week in Yokohama later this year and also the Houston Quilt Festival.

We will keep you updated with what is happening, so be sure to check back regularly and see what we are up to.