My daughter Nina and Laura Wasilowski in the Artfabrik booth at the Greater Chicago Quilt Festival show. I love the contrast of Nina and Laura dressed in black and white against the riot of vibrant color in the Artfabrik booth.Sadly it looks like this was the last year for the Mancuso's to host a show in the Chicago area. They had committed to three years here and the turn out has never been that great at this show. It has never seen the numbers that the International Quilt Festival pulls in their spring show.
I think the economy may have had a significant effect on the show this year, it must have been very rough on many of the vendors. One thing we as quilt show attendees need to remember is that if we don't support these vendors and shows they won't be around for any of us to enjoy in the future. It is hard to find that balance between cutting back to save money and helping small businesses survive through times like these, but we need to find a way to support each other.
Love your daughters haircut! BTW; I was very disappointed not to see Ms. Wasilowski at Long Beach festival. Hope she comes next time! Her fabric is to die for!
ReplyDeleteWHAT??? No quilt show in the spring? I was already making plans with two friends to come down to the show from Milwaukee.
ReplyDeletethe international Quilt Festival is a completely different organization. There will definitely be a quilt show in the spring.
ReplyDeleteit is the Greater Chicago quilt show run by the Mancuso's that will not be back.
so true about helping small specialty businesses survive through these bad times. my beloved local shops are the quilt, paper & yarn stores, all independently owned and well-stocked, but all suffering a serious business slowdown.
ReplyDeletei value them and so they're definitely where i'll spend my $$ when i can. without them we'd be left with the impersonal big-box stores that have already driven so many local shops out of business.
how fun that nina comes with you to quilt shows!
I'm so sorry this show is folding, but I'm not surprised. The small crowds must always have been a disappointment, but the show was so much more interesting and less over crowded than the International Quilt Festival. I hope the Mancuso people will move the show to another venue in the Midwest.
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