Quilterpreneur Retreat 

I recently hosted the first Quilterpreneur Retreat, with Liza Taylor, for my alumni. We held the retreat in beautiful Midway, Utah. Speakers from both inside and outside the quilting industry spoke and we were able to meet and network with many quilters in the industry. On the podcast, the retreat attendees share what they learned and their most favorite takeaways from the weekend retreat. Interacting with, getting to know and supporting those in your business community is so important! Hear all about it and why investing in yourself, making connections and gaining friendships with people who have similar goals and are rooting for you is so beneficial to your personal and business growth.  Tune in for more on episode 129 of the Craft to Career Podcast. 

In this episode, I asked some of my alumni to share what they learned from their experiences at the retreat. What stood out? What did you enjoy most? They shared:

• Anne of Crafty Moose Quilts said that one thing that resinated with her was how extremely important it is to invest your time and money in your business. Meet and reach out to others so you know that you are not struggling alone. Meeting others and hearing from different business owners their struggles and seeing that there are solutions was worth every penny. Invest in yourself and your business. 
• Lisa of Bayberry Beacon shares how incredible it was to meet people from all stages of business. She loved learning from professionals and finding out that we all struggle with similar thoughts and problems. Gaining community and surrounding yourself with positive people that share the same passions has been one of the best things this from the retreat.  
• Casey of Sew and Sew Quilting Co said her favorite thing has been hearing from all the successful women who started out with young kids. It can be overwhelming when you have small kids and a business. Seeing them being successful now has been very encouraging and helped her to want to keep going and continue to be creative. 
• Barbie from The Quilting Mill is a digital pantograph designer. She was glad to have the chance to network and get to know other people in the industry. Barbie is excited that she will be doing some collaborations with some of the women she met. She is grateful to have been able to rub shoulders with others in the industry. It has been a slow growth over the past 11 years for her, bt being here she was able to see and be reminded of how far she has come over the years. 
• Amy of Ritual Quilt Co said that meeting quilty friends in “real life” was amazing and that she realized the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have similar goals and who want to uplift you. 
• May   shared that this weekend has been phenomenally freeing! She feels like she finally has an answer that she has been seeking for a year. Her question was. ” Can I truly just be me in this industry?” … and the answer is YES!
• Casey of Wellspring Designs said that what she has gotten most out of this weekend was something that Melody Miller said about looking back to older work to source inspiration. She felt like she had gotten a little lost in her vision for her business. It was an encouraging reminder to her of why she started and what initially inspired her to move forward. She is excited to implement and take that into her next year of business.
• Lindlee of Plains and Pine said that one of her favorite things about the retreat is how easy for her it has been to be around “your quilt people”. As an introvert, she doesn’t run out of things to talk about because everyone loves the same things! The second thing she enjoyed was that they talked about staying true to yourself and what lights you up. It was a good reminder for her of why it is important to have a niche and sticking with it. If you are doing what you love, it will show to our customers.
• Abby of Abby Maed shared that hanging out with like minded, or “my people” who share the same struggles and aspirations was a favorite about the retreat. She appreciated the speakers and how they encouraged the attendees to “do you and do it well”.
• Sarah Hearts said what resinated with her was to be yourself and stand out from the crowd! She also was inspired to stay consistent and keep going. 
• Jennifer of Tickle Me Pink said that this weekend has reinforced things that she has been learning in her personal and business life about patience. Patience with the process, learning and growing and patience with herself. She said it is ok to be me and it is ok if it takes awhile. It is ok… if I am staying true to myself. 
• Julie Wachs Designs makes foundation paper piecing and applique quilt patterns. Her favorite thing that she learned was that you should create what you would buy. She also enjoyed networking and hanging out and getting to know everyone during the retreat. 
• Jennifer Manderley Makes shared that her favorite thing was connecting with people that she has only know online. It was nice to learn from the speakers that they weren’t overnight successes and that we don’t have to rush. 
• Jessica Rose of Quiltd Studios said she feels like she’s the luckiest person that she has ever met! She had so much fun hanging out with everyone. Jessica enjoyed Indie Bloom speaking to them and sharing her story and her passion. It was inspiring for her. 
• Verma of Vintage Spool enjoyed her time at the retreat. One of the goals she had there was to meet and converse with all the attendees to see what lights them up and what they do. She wants to be a support to them, as she has a little more experience than some. She loves this industry so much and she feels that it is important that it keeps going! 
• Michelle of Victory Quilting and Needlework said that her favorite parts were all the conversations with the ladies and the beautiful scenery! She was able to photograph her quilts with gorgeous backdrops and can’t wait to post them!   
• Erin of Intuitive Maker shared that her favorite part was meeting all of her online friends in person and putting names with faces! It was a lot of fun! 
• Amber of Expresso Stitches said it was an amazing experience! She learned so much from the speakers and the most impactful things has been the connections that she has made. We have a supportive and encouraging community in the quilting world. 
• Stephanie of Pretty Please said the best part of the retreat was spending time with her quilty friends . She was inspired by everyone stories and learned so much from them and the speakers. She feels blessed and thankful to be apart of this group of amazing women.
• Jessica of Jessica Steele Design said that she has enjoyed meeting new, talented people and making connections. She has enjoyed learning their stories and how they have grown their businesses. The biggest thing that she has learned is to keep trying and to keep going and you’ll find what you are passionate about.
• Hillary of Quilt Berry Hill Designs share that the thing that she has gotten out of this weekend has been the deeper conversations she  has been able to have which just really isn’t possible through social media. Hearing other perspectives inspired me to do or look at things differently and to keep going.
• Ashelyn of Urban Dwell Studios and The Grateful Thread Podcast said that meeting the women responsible for growing the industry in the next 2-3 decades and seeing their passion has been great. Feeling the love and determination that Elizabeth has for it and sharing it with us was wonderful.
• Kaitlyn of Fritsch In Stitches said the greatest takeaway was getting perspective from the business owners on things that are overwhelming or were bringing me down. Everyone has been uplifting, positive and fantastic. 
• Remi of Remivail Studios said a takeaway that resinated with me is when Melody Miller reminded us to lean into the quirk of our own creative voice. She said she thinks we forget about that and how important and special that is. 
• Deanna of Log Cabin Quilter was geeking out about the amazing people she was surrounded with at the retreat! She was reminded that it is ok to be in a different time and season. I don’t have to be in the same place as everyone else. There were so many “Ahha moments”. She is thankful that she brought a notebook and pen to write them all down! 
• Christina of Sweet Potato Quilts said that it has been a truly inspiring and informative journey that she will cherish forever. Her takeaway was to just keep being herself, make stuff I love and have fun! 
• Sandy of Thai Charm LLC said you might see on social media that we all struggle, but we also have wins. It is so important to embrace the wins. You have to step back and find what makes you happy and stick with it.