At Nashville, the designers and distributors are set up in hotel rooms in an Embassy Suites hotel (the kind of hotel where every floor overlooks a central area filled with tables and chairs and greenery.) So, standing on the main floor, an attendee can look up and see open doors, designers, and others milling around on the floors above. I know last year at market some designers offered limited edition kits, available only at market, and while supplies lasted. There were so many disappointed shops (disappointed they weren't able to buy these, even though they attended, because of popular demand), that I didn't see any limited kits like these at market. There were a few items that were only available to shops attending market -- but these can be reordered anytime (I picked some of these up!)
Each room is set up as the designers like -- many had the front room (like a living room) set up like a shop. Some had elaborate displays, some were more folksy, and some were minimal (one designer came with her two new designs, and that was it!) Nashville is a cash-and-carry market (you can buy items there and take them back, or you can place orders and have them sent), so it was interesting for me to figure out how much I could carry back to Fargo. I went with one suitcase of clothes and one empty suitcase. I paced myself just about right, as everything was full coming back (but not over-full).
Since I was there Saturday and Sunday (both market days), I really wandered the halls looking for the best opportunities. Rather than stand in line at the most popular booths on Saturday morning (I figured why waste time standing in line?), I ducked in booths that looked less busy, so I could chat with the designers and distributors.
I made some notes, so I'm just going in order here...
The Gentle Art has five new Sampler Thread Colors -- three limited edition colors: Periwinkle (DMC 3042), Buttercup (DMC 951), and Dusty Rose (DMC 3687 with pale grey), and two regular new colors Cornhusk (DMC 834) and Dark Chocolate (DMC 3371). These are $1.50 per 5-yard skein, or get all five new colors for $7.50. Limited Edition colors are released about twice a year, and are usually available for six months or so. Sometimes limited editions become regular colors if they're popular enough (I think Pine or Evergreen was a limited edition at one time.) Designers generally shy away from using these in their designs, since they're not available for very long. The customers who buy them are usually collecting them for fun, or use them when doing their own designing or substituting. Everyone has been happy with the new batch of limited editions -- and they're perfect for this time of year. I also picked up 10-packs of Sampler Threads (10 10-yard skeins) at a retail price of $12. Each skein is either short by a few inches or has a knot somewhere in it. Since they're less than perfect, they can't be sold at full wholesale by The Gentle Art. Each 10-pack has 10 different colors -- these are available to you while they last (they're almost half price! Normally a 10-yard skein sells for $2.30.) There is nothing wrong with the colors on these, and I'm not picking the packets apart for specific colors for customers. You get what you get (and you get a great deal!)
Weeks Dye Works also has five new colors. They're Hibiscus, Lancaster Red, Tin Roof, Purple Haze and Periwinkle. I now have most of the line in stock, and plan to keep it in stock since these threads have become so popular! I'm going to be getting them through a distributor now, so you won't have to wait long if I'm ever out of stock on a color. (These are now hanging neatly on the pegboard my husband made for me, and my office looks more like a "real" shop every day!)
The Heart's Content is new to Shakespeare's Peddler (but not new to the needlework industry). Maureen Appleton is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a designer, and I LOVE her products. I took a class from Maureen a few years ago, and she couldn't be sweeter. She's the original "over-one" lady. She taught herself to stitch on linen, and didn't know about going over two threads. When someone corrected her, she said she liked the look of stitching over one, and has NEVER stitched over two threads! She designs with needle and thread on the fabric -- then charts when she's done. She will soon have a website, but for now you'll find some of my favorites in Theresa's Basket on my site -- beautiful kits, charts and silk gauze pieces. I ordered some other kits and charts this week, and will add those to the basket when those come in, too. Her kits are first rate -- some come with potpourri, fine silks and other fibers (all neatly numbered), wooden accessory pieces, needle threaders...her instructions are thorough. I also think her pieces have a timeless elegance to them -- pieces you won't tire of (look at her line -- try to tell when any of these pieces were designed...) I'm also adding her Glenshee linens (look for them on my Fabrics page in the catalog). These are hand-loomed linens from Scotland that everyone raves about (most are a 29 ct. linen which is beautiful and very soft!) Anna at Green Mt. dyes some of her colors for her, so it's natural I should carry them. I'm very excited about this addition to my site. Maureen's new pieces will be coming in six to eight weeks, including her 2000 ornament kit which is wonderful -- a lamp post with a wreath hanging on it and some lovely needleroll kits (you'll find a chart for another of Maureen's needlerolls in the latest issue of The Needleworker Magazine). (Incidently, one of my favorites of hers was Splendor -- a coverlet-inspired sampler you have to see to believe!)
The Twisted Threads pieces have all been in for a while, so you may have seen them in my basket. Ruth Sparrow just keeps getting better and better. Especially popular has been Itty Bitty America and Itty Bitty Red, White & Blue. I think her little coin purse kit is very cute as well. Twisted Thread pieces are great ones to use if you're just learning over-one, which is the big thing right now!
Bent Creek had the most popular booth at the show -- they dressed in tye-dyed t-shirts and played Austin Powers' music (from the movie of the same name). Lava lamps and 60's style flowers graced their shelves, and their new kits and charts are SO groovy, baby. I hope you've seen their new products in my catalog -- Glory (this year's flag chart which was one of the cutest things at market), and the Plum Berry Sampler, which is also super-cute (and very popular!) They also had a few new kits: Rise and Shine, a clever packaging and themed kit that comes in a paper coffee cup. A rooster, a steaming mug, a rising sun, and the words "Rise and Shine" are on this piece (my friend bought it, and said she hated to work on it, because she didn't want to be done with it!) They also have Flowers and Showers -- a companion to Silver and Gold which came out this winter, and the Americana Collection -- great Fourth of July/Americana pieces that come as a kit in three separate Red, White and Blue envelopes with a piece of linen and chart in each one (no fibers are included). They're introducing soon the Zippers Club, which I signed up for. They'll be smaller monthly designs stitched on 18 ct. linen (and will come each in zippered bags, of course). I'll let you know more about this series as soon as these kits are available.
Heart in Hand also has new kits: Red Heart and Posy Pot which come with the CUTEST Tuck-A-Way pillows (these are great "no-finish" projects -- trim your stitched piece a little bigger than the window in the pillow, and just tuck it in there!) Bounding Bunny comes with a sweet button, and the 2000 Collector's Heart has a great button, too -- a small piece that you'll love to remember this year with.
I mention Twisted Threads, Bent Creek and Heart in Hand together, of course, because of their new collaboration pieces. The women who design for these companies are good friends, and will be releasing two charts and two kits each year. I'm stitching their Grateful Hearts piece (a chart with accompanying silver heart charms). They also have A Gathering of Hearts -- a kit that comes with the fibers, fabric and cute Just Another Button Company button. According to the designers, they decide on a theme, and colors, and start stitching. Then they piece their sections together to make one design (you can also stitch their designs as three separate pieces.) You'll find a piece by this "new" company in the latest issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine -- I picked up a copy, since I don't want to miss any of the fun!
Another designer I picked up at market is Chessie and Me (named for the designer, and her faithful stitching cat, Chessie). C&M charts are sweet primitive-style samplers, usually with a cat somewhere in the design. I also ordered some really neat pincushion kits that were only available for market attendees (this shipment is not in yet, so watch for it.) A number of you have been asking for this designer, so here you go!
Lizzie Kate's new pieces have also been available since before market, but I hope you'll look at her new kits and charts which have been selling like those proverbial hotcakes. You might be interested to know Linda's first love is reproduction samplers (she told me she has them hanging all over her house!) I did get to see her next few designs -- not available quite yet...#1 Mom and Dad -- Dad is in blues, Mom is in pinks. These are stitched to look like First Place Ribbons and will be released as Snippits, I believe. I really liked "Cherish All Living Things" -- it almost looks like a band sampler with a band of meadow, a band of mountains, a band of water with fish interspersed with the saying "Cherish All Living Things..." It's really different from her other pieces.
Barrick Samplers/Goode Huswife/Chartmakers are three of my favorite design companies (and two of my favorite designers) -- Kathy and Anne couldn't be nicer, and their designs are so great, and so different. I know a lot of you like them, too, because their charts don't sell one at a time...when my customers buy these, they buy three, four, five, six... I LOVE "With My Needle" -- this is one you HAVE TO HAVE if you enjoy reproduction style samplers at all. I think the colonial woman at the bottom looks like me, so I'm going to be stitching it this spring (Anne and Kathy call this woman the bubble lady -- look at the chart in my basket to see why!) The verse is too cute... honestly, if you don't look at anything else, you have to see this one. There's a new cat in the cat series (May Belle), a multiplication table sampler, some cute kits (one comes with a rusted frame, one comes with a seed bag), and lots more charts! I don't know how they do it! In other news, Kathy's daughter is now designing under the name Elizabeth's Garden. I purchased a few sets of her new charts, too, wanting to be supportive, but I'm going to have to reorder -- they're just as popular as Anne and Kathy's pieces (so they better watch out!) I really like Elizabeth's Pennsylvania Bird.
Just Nan always has one of the nicest/most elegant booths. I had already received most of her new charts, too, but really like Lady Scarlet's Journey, which was first available in Nashville. This will be a three-part series that takes you through a woman's journey through a garden. The first chart is available now with an embellishment pack for $13. I really like this idea, and it'd be fun to stitch (none of us know what the next two parts will look like.) Her pieces are really fantastic in person, and I really love the way she has her Shenanigans finished, as stand-up pillows. Annabelle is really very cute, as are her compatriots.
Just Another Button Company (Just My Imagination) has a neat way of dealing with the cash-and-carry aspect of market. On Saturday, shop owners can go through with baskets, picking out everything they want. JABC spends Saturday night writing up receipts, and lets you pick up your orders on Sunday. They are such a nice and professional company. It's no wonder the hottest designers are using their buttons which are well-done and easy to acquire. The word on the street is that this company is doing so well, they bought an entire building!)
Ewe & Eye & Friends was there, too, with their new monthly charts: May, June, July and August Celebrations. I thought July was particularly great, and they're finished so neatly. You can use the pictures on these charts as a changing series for your home all year round (you wouldn't have to stitch the year at the bottom, like they have.) Their charts Rose Garden and Forget Me Not have been two of the most popular charts I brought back, and everyone is drooling over the Millennium Sampler kit, which is a limited edition (and $90). I keep adding to their charts list in my catalog -- I'll be adding another batch next week.
The Thread Gatherer was the hottest booth when market opened (I missed this). Cecelia's daughter said when she came out of the bathroom after curling her hair right as the front door opened, she couldn't get into the room, and had to stand in the bathroom until things quieted down! They have a few new colors: Grape Soda, Whipped Mint and Spearmint. TTG is still shipping a little more slowly than my other vendors, but these fibers are always worth the wait.
Cross Eyed Cricket had a very big corner room. Their new eggs chart (similar to their mittens charts) is very cute. Each egg has a design or picture in it. They also had an Easter tree chart. I still don't have these in stock, but do watch for them in my basket.
Sisters and Best Friends is another company I really enjoy. I'm also still waiting for my market order from them (which is a good sign -- they're still trying to catch up with their market orders!) They have a few cute new charts -- one with a bee, Violet the Snowwoman (a companion for Forest -- the gals tell me there may be a whole snowperson family in store -- I told them not to forget Fred the strange uncle snowman...), and some really neat primitive stitch designs which I thought you might like. With these, you put the pattern behind a piece of muslin (which you can find at any fabric store). You trace the pattern onto the muslin, then stem or backstitch the design. They tell you which colors to use, although you can play with these as you like. (You'll also find one of these on the back of the Forest the Snowman chart, if you have that one already) The one I liked best was "Housework makes you ugly." Primitive stitching seems to be an up and coming trend. Watch for other designers dabbling in this technique.
Earth Threads has several new charts, including Lamb's Easter (one of her most popular charts has always been Lamb's Christmas -- then there was Lamb's Halloween -- now, finally, there's Lamb's Easter!) She also has released the second set of cards for her Ring of Stitches. This is a laminated set of cards showing a different stitch (with instructions) on each card. You can carry this in your stitching bag, because it's small and will stay nice. There will be two more sets of cards that will be added to this set. I also still have the first set with the rings in stock. I just scanned her new ones this afternoon (more lovely samplers). They're beautiful, and look like a lot of fun to stitch.
I've also put myself on an automatic for Sheepish Designs -- so anytime they have something new, I'll be getting those in. Look in my basket for a bunch of whimsical charts (the sheep and wabbit charts are always very popular.) Those Blooming Flowers has been one of the best sellers of the new batch.
Threads Through Time has new silk gauze kits, too, which I just have in (and will try to get scanned ASAP.) All of her kits are all available as charts now, so if there are designs you've been eyeing, look at her page on my site for price information for charts. I'm really glad she has made those available that way (I know it was a lot of work for her to get those all converted to charts, as she had to change wording in her instructions on every one!)
I also got to meet Jan Rogers from With Humble Heart. Her new design wasn't quite ready at market, but I did get to see it in progress, and have ordered it (it'll be here when it's ready. She just had to fill in part of the background.) The new one is called "With All Your Might" and is a vertical sampler with two alphabets and a basket of fruit (plus her trademark heart in hand). It's stitched in soft reds, navy, light blue, golds, and pinks. The colors are very colonial, and if you have her other designs, you'll have to have this one, too (this chart will be $15). I hadn't seen her pieces in person before (I have all of her charts in my "to do" pile!) She stitches hers over one thread on 40 count linen (that is not a typo!) They're incredible -- each sampler is about the size of your hand. We don't have to be that crazy, fortunately -- I plan on doing mine on 36 ct. linen over two. She only releases one sampler per year (or so), since she designs and stitches each piece herself.
Of course I've highlighted my favorites -- there were around 150 companies in attendance. But you might be interested to know who wasn't at market: Shepherd's Bush, Lavender and Lace, Mirabilia, the Caron Collection, Artists Collection, Prairie Schooler, Cross N Patch... I do know that Shepherd's Bush is sending their retailers a pamphlet in a few weeks with new kits? Charts? They're not saying much...so watch for those. They did recently release Dancing Sheep and a Dancing Sheep button. Drawn Thread wasn't there either, but you can find her latest two pieces in my basket (which are honestly just selling better than anything else I have -- Random Thoughts Sampler (which comes with silks and embellishments) and Spot of Winter.) The new Prairie Schooler charts should be in my hands Thursday -- three new wonderful ones -- two for friends, and a book of Winter Samplers.
Of course, it wasn't all work at market -- Saturday night I had signed up for the dinner at the General Jackson showboat (where I was told we'd be seeing a "musical review.") Now, when I think of musical review, I think of show tunes, right? Wrong! We watched six outstanding country singer impersonators after dinner -- Reba, Garth, Tim McGraw, The Judd's and Shania Twain. Yes, they really sang (no lip sync-ing). The English woman sitting next to me was dumbfounded -- guess they don't do a lot of that over there! Between dinner and the show I went out onto the deck to watch the Nashville skyline come into view (the boat travelled ten miles or so while we ate and were entertained.)
Next year I'm going to try to make it in time for the classes on Friday. This year my flight didn't land until nearly midnight, so I missed classes on Friday. Of course I'll be going to Charlotte again this summer -- another market, more stories to bring back. Wish I could take you all along!
© 2007 Theresa Venette. Articles on this site may be reproduced in needlework group newsletters or other handouts with permission of author and proper attribution. Send questions, comments and suggestions to: xspeddler@yahoo.com