Hosting Retreats with Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool

Verna of The Vintage Spool shares her experience and history in the quilting world. She has unique business ideas and creative ways that have brought success in her business in both hosting retreats and teaching. Verna is talented, sincere and has a gift for connecting with people. You won’t want to miss her story and the advice she offers to others on their entrepreneurial journey, as she opens up and shares about her own journey. 

Hosting Retreats with Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool

In this Craft to Career episode, we chat about :

• What Verna has done in the quilting industry and where she started. 
• She shares the story of how she first started teaching.
• Verna worked in a quilt shop and learned so much about the business side, about customer relations, working with fabric reps, creators, teachers and the whys and hows and everything! She observed, gathered, discovered and learned so much about the industry with through this experience. 
• While at the shop, she would take courses from different teachers who taught at the quilt shop. She shares two things that were pivotal as far as her design and teaching goes. 
• She shares about when she started writing patterns. Her first pattern was a basket pattern and it was very difficult for her. 
• Verna had a business partner at the beginning. She shares a bit about this and why she felt breaking away was the better decision. 
• The Vintage Spool was born out of necessity when her husband was laid off. A few weeks after opening her business, her husband found a new job, but she was motivated to move forward. She never tool a loan to start the Vintage Spool. She talks about the early days and what it looked like at the beginning. 
• She tells of printing her first pattern and talks about the importance of the pillars of laying the ground work for business longevity. 
• After creating 12 patterns, she got brave enough to set up a booth at the International Quilt Market. She talks about how she set up that booth, and its location and how she was able to get foot traffic and attention. 
• On the 3rd day of Quilt Market, she got the courage up to talk with someone at the booth of her dream fabric company and ask some questions about advice and being a designer. She got shut down, was given a hard no and walked away sad. However, she was able to get an appointment with Free Spirit Fabrics and had the opposite experience. She ended up saying yes to the opportunity they gave her!
• Why after designing fabric for a good while, she felt it was freeing when she stopped. 
• We talk about finding her niche and the exploration and experiment that it takes to find out what you are drawn to. 
• Teaching- what this could look like for someone who is a designer.
• She shares about her workshops- having people come to her! How she set up retreats, what she did and what made it lucrative. She also shared shares what she has loved about tit and the relationships she has formed with her customers and students and how fulfilling it has been. 
• Verna talks about her kids and how important it was that they never felt neglected, overlooked or jealous of her business. She shares what she did from the beginning an over the years to involve her kids. She shares what that looked like. How she shows her kids what she is passionate about. 

Where can you Find Out More?

In the podcast, Verna shares a story about her Vintage Valentine Quilt. Here is what that quilt looked like back then:

You can check out the beautiful things that Verna has to offer here:

On her website The Vintage Spool

On Instagram @thevintagespool

Transcription

0:00[Music] welcome to the craft to Career podcast with Elizabeth Chappell or every week we0:06dive into how you can turn your craft into a successful career get ready to have the career you’ve always dreamed of0:15[Music] hello and welcome to episode 102 of the0:20crafty career podcast I am Elizabeth Chapel of Quilters candy and the host of0:25the show this week I am excited to share one of the most recent reviews and there are0:31some really great new reviews thank you all for taking time to to stop and leave0:37a review I’ve actually been able to book some guests coming up because of the0:43reviews so you are benefiting from this it’s helping you to have a better podcast if you’ve not left a review yet0:50take a second and go leave a review this review comes from Sarah sews Sarah0:56says I love listening to craft a career Elizabeth’s latest episode featured Krista Watson and was full of ideas on1:03letting go of imposter syndrome and following your dreams Krista really talked about hit and misses in her1:09quilting career and after that episode I felt encouraged to keep going in my pursuit of my quilt designing business1:15thank you so yes this was episode 100 and Krista1:20Watson did she shared it was such a fun episode and Krista is very successful1:25but it was so nice to hear the reality of what it looked like for her when she1:31went through some hard times in her business oftentimes we look at like wow look at where you are but we don’t talk1:36about the struggles and the things that you know maybe didn’t go so well so I really did appreciate that and Krista’s1:43episode as well so thank you Sarah sews for that review and this week I have a1:49guest on the show who is a friend of mine who we actually met because of the podcast she reached out to me after an1:56episode I don’t even remember which one it’s been a while now and we’ve been friends ever since and she has such a2:03cool history and background in the quilting Community I don’t want to spoil anything2:09so we’ll jump in you can listen to what what she’s done but she has had a really2:15unique way of having success in her career with hosting Retreats and2:21teaching and this is something that I’ve not done and this was a very unique business idea so I’m excited to have2:28Verna of the Vintage spool here on the podcast and let’s jump in and you can2:34meet Verna well Verna I am so excited to have you2:42here you’ve been a dear friend of mine and now I get to have you on the podcast so thank you I’m so excited Elizabeth I2:50am honestly I love the podcast and I was so excited when I found it and I don’t2:55think I started from the beginning but I definitely went back and listened to every single episode and every time I3:01listen to it I enjoy it so much and I learned something so I’m so honored to be a guest today I am just I’m excited3:07to to share a bit about my journey because I feel like all the folks that have shared I’ve gotten something out of3:13it so it’s exciting to think that I might be able to help someone else who’s interested in doing something like this3:19so yeah well and for the listeners too I hope they can appreciate you have such a3:26cool style so I have this pair of jeans here that you told me about from anthropology and I’ve had people ask3:32where’d you get those I’m like oh yeah Verna told me about those and we both love the may like mice and we just have3:38like a connection over some of these kinds of things we do and I just I’m really good at spending my friends money3:45hey you need this yes you are good at that just this weekend I was quilting with two really3:51good friends and I’m like oh look at this collection you might need to have this one I love it but it’s I am glad I3:58forgot actually that you had reached out I think because of the podcast and we have like become friends and connected4:04because of that so this is really fun to remember that um but you have a really unique4:12experience and history in the quilting world and so I’d love just from a bird’s4:17eye view if you tell our listeners what have you done in the quilting industry absolutely so I I started as a customer4:26I I was intrigued by quilting and I wanted to learn how and so I was just going to take a class4:34at the local adult school I didn’t realize that quilting was this world out there I’d done a lot of creative things4:40and luckily my mom uh had she’s a real estate broker and she had a customer and4:47she went to do a sign off one night like they were gonna sign some papers and the husband said oh no no we can’t do Thursday night that’s my wife’s quilting4:53night and she said quilting my daughter wants to get into that she’s interested in learning and so that lady very a very5:01lovely lady gave my mother three stores for me to check into I convinced my husband to go to one of them because we5:07were in the vicinity it was like a half an hour from my home hooked in there and I was like whoa I5:14did not know these places existed this is amazing so I signed up for the very5:20first class I remember looking up at the quilt the girl telling me well you have to start here and I was already like5:26yeah that’s not the cool time but if I have to start there I will start there and so I took a 12-week course5:33it was a sampler course and I learned the fundamentals of quilting and it was the best thing ever I was really lucky I5:40got to take this course from um a local Bay Area5:45sir she had authored many books on the subject she was an amazing quilter and just an absolute lovely person and so5:51kind and I just got an awesome Star after that I was going to take the next5:57course that followed and it was full the place I would take classes at was really thriving and would always feel their6:03classes would fill so one of the shop girls working the shop she recommended that I did I jump into this drop-in6:09class and you know just jump in and actually were thinking I don’t know enough to go into a class with these experienced filters no you can do it you6:17can do it and so I did amazing there were so many women in that6:23course that knew so much more than me and I’m like pretty gutsy so I just jumped right in head down started working about three months into like6:30coming every week this woman looks over and she’s like how long have you been quilting and I’m like oh this is my second quilt no way6:37so I got to know those ladies and I loved that atmosphere I think that was my first experience of realizing how6:43giving the quilting Community was they were willing to share supplies and tell you where they got a fabric and oh wait6:48you can have this little scrap I have enough left over it was so nice you know they were just so warm and the instructor that I had she just was so6:56like upbeat and uplifting and created this wonderful space for women to come every week and just you know have fun7:03with their with their craft then after um you know making several quilts I was7:10kind of doing a show and tell of something I had made and one of the shop owners said oh my gosh you should teach that teach that as a class7:16uh I never taught anything like what no you can do it you can do it and she7:23convinced me to teach a class on that particular quilt luckily I had you know I knew enough7:30teachers that had come through that I was able to ask a little bit of advice from one of the ladies that was super sweet and had a great following and I7:37just said you know help I’m teaching my first class do you have any advice and she said oh just give really great notes7:43it was the best piece of advice I ever got because that kind of was my first insight to like I can teach people to do7:49this but they kind of need the written word to go along with what I’m saying to be able to follow up on so that was my7:55first experience as a teacher I jumped in I had six students in my first class was so nervous two of them were the shop8:02owners I think it was more nervous about that because I felt kind of observable right even though one of them had encouraged me8:08and then from there um like about five minutes in I was like I think I can do this I’m enjoying this8:15I actually think I might be kind of good at this you know I kept teaching I built a really strong following of just8:22students that would see my quilts hanging in the store started taking my classes I started making friends with8:28them um and I did that for several years I also worked in that shop when I first8:33started taking the course I was my mom’s marketing director at a real estate brokerage and then it started like well8:39I’ll just work a Friday at the quilt store and every other Saturday and then it became like well I’d like to work three days at the quilt store and you8:46know so it kind of slowly um morphed into last at the marketing job and more8:52within the quilt world being able to work in that quilt store opened my eyes to so many things I was8:58really able to learn the customer I was able to learn the business side of the9:04business what it was like to order Fabric and Notions both of the um owners were so kind I think they recognized9:11that I have a strong interest in it and they allowed me to sit with them when they would have fabric reps come and9:16show the collections and what they would order and why they would order it um just all of those things working with9:23other real creatives in that store was really was really great because there was always a real strong energy of9:29creativity one would feed off the other person and we’d get so excited um working together on things that’s9:35awesome I also got to see a lot of teachers come through you know and so I got to observe their teaching styles and9:41what they were like and which classes filled why did they fill who had a stronger following why did they have9:48stronger following that kind of thing so it was just like this wealth of information and my mom always told me I9:54was kind of a sponge she said I would like observe and like sponge information and I think that looking back on it10:00that’s exactly what I was doing in that space I I found something I was very passionate about but I was learning and10:07I was kind of discovering all these things about this industry that I originally had no idea10:14was such a such a big space um I used to take different courses10:20while I was working in the store because we’d have these amazing teachers come through until one day two things um that were10:26kind of pivotal as far as my design like when I started to design um one I was starting to get bored doing10:33other people’s patterns I would kind of slightly change them up I would always have people buy the pattern to take the10:39class but I would do like a little slight twist like let me add this over here let me twist that up and and then10:44they would have to take the course to make that but still you know um buying the original pattern so that10:50that Designer was was being competent and um had two teachers come come through10:57um one um that I I remember the so vividly her name was Robin pandoff I don’t know if11:03she’s I don’t know if she’s even quilting anymore she was an amazing fabric designer she did a lot of beautiful applique patterns and we all11:11wanted to take a course because at the time I mean she was just like so popular and I was like oh my gosh she’s coming to teach here we jumped into the class11:18and the first thing she said was I want you to take your pattern out of the package and I want you to turn it over11:23on the back it was kind of like a big open folded uh thing and she’s like I want you to draw your own pattern and we11:30all kind of sat there Frozen and I looked around the room and I was like whoa like I’ve never experienced11:37this and I just remember thinking I had this moment where I was like what am I freaking out about I actually know how to draw like well let me give this again11:44so I started doing my own pattern after that I don’t know that I ever really fully could submerse myself into anybody11:50else’s power yeah um it was such a pivotal moment the other moment that I had was with a11:57teacher that I didn’t have such a great experience with and that was my very first applique teacher I was an avid12:02piecer when I started lots of pieces the more the better lots of math lots of pieces I like to complicated and I just12:09took an applique class because I thought I should learn how because I was working in the shop and I was afraid somebody12:15would ask me a question about supplies or Notions and I wanted to like be able to answer the question yeah12:21I was in way over my head like way over my head it was like a Baltimore album quilt which you should never start there12:28and I was such a perfectionist but I literally cried real tears for not being12:33able to do it because I was used to being good right yeah but and she was12:38just really rigid really rigid and really tight and like I just felt like I can’t make a mistake I’m not allowed to12:44make a mistake later looking back I realized yes you are I wasn’t supposed to be good at it right like I should12:50have been allowed a space to create with less pressure so I took that piece away for when I started teaching of like nah12:57you gotta create a space where people are comfortable and happy and calm and are allowed to make13:05mistakes and learn yes and that makes them feel so much more at ease in their learning process so I started um doing patterns13:15um you know the first one was super duper hard like oh my gosh I thought my head would explode13:20um and I did in the beginning like writing your own yeah my very first written pattern was a basket pattern of13:26course it couldn’t just be like a simple basket I had to do three different baskets you know on in three different13:31sizes and like it had to be very complex and I used I had to use like 75 Fabrics instead of four that’s just who I am I13:38I’ve learned to embrace that about myself I like it complicated um but it was really hard I I just13:44remember like I’m never gonna finish this this is so difficult I had no point of reference other than looking at books13:50that I had learned from or patterns that I had worked from um there was no class13:59I did start with a with a with a partner very brief partnership14:04um and then you know she’s a lovely person but I realized early on and I think you and I have spoken a little bit14:10about our experiences with Partnerships that it just wasn’t meant to be I could tell that we kind of were on the verge14:17of something good and we were struggling to make simple decisions together like we weren’t on the same page and I could14:24just tell that maybe I wasn’t wired to have a partner you know maybe that wasn’t and I also got pregnant with my14:31first son um and so I had to learn to be a new mom my life was going to change and it just14:36seemed like the best decision was to step away it was not easy14:42um there was a friendship broke in there at the time um which was really hard you know and14:47but looking back it was the absolute best decision that I had ever made14:53um fast forward about a year and a half um I was pregnant with my second son we14:58had just moved into the place we still live now it was kind of like our Dream15:03town and one that we had saved for and we were a young couple I was I think my older son15:09was like a year and a half and my I was pregnant with my second and we were like two weeks in our house my husband came15:16home and said yeah I um I got laid off today and I was like what oh no15:22you know and then it was like us very calmly walking the neighborhood taking the little one for a walk and just15:28saying well what could we do and I said I think I know what we could do and but you’d have to help me you know you’d15:34have to help me with this and so the Vintage spool was born that’s cool hold on I gotta take a minute here15:40so this was born out of necessity but I love that it was in a time where15:47I’m gonna guess this was very scary you were like I’m gonna be the breadwinner15:52here so okay this is exciting well I don’t I think I knew that my husband15:58he’s a really hard-working individual and I knew that he was going to get another job but I knew that we were gonna have to figure something out in16:03the interim right like and I knew that I and that he was very smart and that we could and I came from a line of like16:09entrepreneurs my uncle has his own business my mother had her own business I had actually started two businesses16:16and then like just stepped away from both like just not finding the right one so I felt like this is something that we16:21could do but it was really important that you take me seriously because I think the first time he just thought right right she’s playing at being in16:27business because we were like like funny like we would we would call on stores we’d get in the car grab our little16:33patterns take our little samples and just drop in at a quilt store and say hey you want to buy our patterns there was no like real like you know it was16:41just kind of like let’s put ourselves out there and see what happens um so yeah it came from just that moment16:47that could have been like major crisis mode and the funny thing is within like two weeks my husband had16:54another job but at that point the entrepreneurial Spirit had been ignited and I had a business license and a17:00business name and I was like okay well let’s just go with this right and my17:06husband was super pivotal both in convincing me that I needed to start designing for myself and in convincing17:12me that kind of how to navigate the first part of the business you know he was like oh no no no we’re not taking17:18money out to do this you’ve got to design a couple you’ve got to see if those sell and you got to take that17:24money and you’ve got to put that money back in there I like it and that’s exactly what we did we never17:30we never took a loan um to start the Vintage School we just17:35kind of worked ourselves and um and that’s where I was kind of going with the the relationships being so17:42important my relationship with my husband and the fact that he is a silent support system it’s always been my you17:49know my I’m the I’m the face of the brand I’m the one making everything but he’s17:54behind the scenes and so I jokingly say that it is true like I run a lot of things by him and I’ll say well let me18:00check with the boss you know like if a pattern’s been retired and the folks want it back I’m like I gotta talk to the boss let me let you know you know18:07and I jokingly say it but it is true like we’ve always together you know made these decisions but in the beginning I’m18:14gonna be really honest my goal when I started my business was like if I can18:20pay for the family vacation right that’s a win like right like right18:27but there was a point where I was like whoa like this thing’s kind of taken off I might be able to pay for a lot more18:33than the daily vacation this is pretty pretty exciting pretty cool stuff18:38um my kids well my parents were amazing my mom did anything and everything to18:44support me in you know in my teaching so that like she’d watch my children on certain days of the week so that I could18:50be teaching when I started doing workshops she would take them for the weekend you know like they would do18:57anything anything and everything I think at some point she probably even like folded Fabric or patterns I’m sure she19:03did you know um along the way and so did my husband you know so did my husband when it was like holy cow you know we’ve got a19:09deadline and it’s busy and I need help you know they all jumped in and were super supportive19:15um then uh once I once I had um you know I was gonna do patterns I19:22reached out to a local printer that I knew he had he had actually we had we19:28had interviewed him to be our printer when I had the first business and it just we kind of walked away but he had taken so much time that I remembered wow19:34this is a really caring individual who took a lot of time let me go back and circle back around with this guy he must19:40have thought it was nuts because I was pregnant and I was like I want to do this and he’s like okay if you want to make what and I remember fast forward19:47like several months when the business started booming he I remember him looking at me going19:54they feel like Prince I’m making a what yeah oh19:59yeah it all of a sudden got a lot more interesting right but he’s he’s still my princess to this day you know oh no way20:06yes way I I have used the same printer the same long armor and the same20:13photographer since the day I started my business relationships that is cool are20:19super duper important they are super duper important to me so um I think it’s like those pillars right20:25those pillars of laying the groundwork for a successful business with longevity20:31you know yeah it’s just building a um kind of a business relationship of trust20:38um making sure they’re doing what you need being you know sincere and polite and getting what you need20:44um you know I joke but they’ll jump through hoops for me and it’s because I’m very loyal and because I’m kind and20:51because I’ve you know built this relationship with them but if I pick up the phone and say hey exactly like by20:56this date they’re like we’ll do anything you need you know yeah that’s invaluable I mean you can’t just replace that that21:02is like years in the making yes it really is so21:07um after you know doing those um I did about six patterns and I did six more I21:13got um brave enough to do a booth at the international Quilt Market and that was21:18probably in I started the Vintage School in 04 I think my first Market was21:24probably 05. um it was pretty nerve-wracking but I21:29got really lucky I don’t know what made me ask for a slightly bigger boost I asked for a booth and a half21:35and for whatever reason I got Prime real estate they put me right in the middle21:40of the show and it was a lane where you had to walk the aisle to get to a very big fabric company so I had an amazing21:47foot trash awesome also had an awesome friend who helped me set up that um that booth and her advice21:54was make the booth feel like a room like a room like make it let’s make it your21:59studio make it a space people want to enter and come in and just get more of something that really shows off22:05who you are and it really work I got a lot of um a lot of foot traffic and a22:10lot of attention at that show and then um you know I am not show I’m I’m I know I22:18got at least one of my Distributors from that show maybe even another I’m having trouble remembering because it’s a long22:25time ago the other thing that happened at that show was on the third day22:30um that was back in the day like the day you’d go out and network a little bit you know and I think I knew that I had22:35aspirations to do fabric in the future but I mean I had very young children with me I think maybe even like they22:43were at the show with me like they they my mom traveled with me for them to be close by and22:48um so I decided that I would kind of venture out and um go just make some connections you know22:56so of course I yeah looking back it was actually so funny that I actually did this because what was I thinking but um23:03because I had no portfolio I had nothing I was just like inquiring myself you know so I approached um the fabric23:11company that I thought at the time was like my dream company you know and I just kind of said you know who do I need23:17to talk to if I’m interested in doing Fabric and I knew one of the Reps and she’s like oh you need to talk to so-and-so and so I went and you know I23:24kind of excuse me you know hey and um and I just said you know I was23:30just kind of interested and I got shot down in the most oh really awful way23:36like it was brutal like I don’t think I’ve ever like what did they say oh you don’t want to know23:41no I do I really do we don’t know who it is so I was really23:47approaching with the idea of I’d like to know if in the future I23:52wanted to do fabric if you could give me some advice on what you’d be looking for things like that I had used their23:57fabrics for many years many years and they were in all of my designs so it24:02just seemed like it would be the right fit here I am showing you what I can do Fabrics Etc and yeah she was not kind24:10and it was kind of uh I mean like the gist of it okay so the just was24:16um kind of I remember it was like a hard no and it was like uh the last words I24:23remember and these are the ones that stuck with me is you just keep doing your little patterns okay and uh yeah it24:30was brutal like I said it was like gut crunch looking back24:35I don’t know that she realized she was as harsh as she was or maybe how hard she it was for a designer to approach24:41somebody that way and also Me Like Somebody I need to just walk right up like I didn’t have an appointment I24:47didn’t have a portfolio yeah I think it was it was just a gutsy thing to do and I don’t think she had any idea the24:53impact the good news is by the time I got back to my booth after taking that hard blow24:59my girlfriend who was helping me said hey you have an appointment and I said what do you mean I have an apartment she said yeah I just made an appointment for25:05you the owner of free spirit Fabrics was just here she loves your booth and she25:10wants to talk to you and I said what so I recovered pretty quickly because at25:15the time yeah you did free spirit was a very up and coming company I knew exactly who they were and I went and25:22talked to her and it was like night and day she couldn’t have been Kinder she was so enthusiastic about my work she25:29loved what I was doing and she wanted me to try to create it in Fabric and um25:35so um I sat with her interviewed with her we talked at length I told her I25:41wasn’t expecting to be offered like a fabric company that early and then I25:46have very young children and I’m not sure because I knew that you know I had friends in the industry and I’m like I know there’s deadlines and so she was25:52super kind super accommodating go home chat with your husband and I remember25:58going home and talking with Miguel and just saying you know I feel like this is26:03like one of those opportunities that just doesn’t come around like this very often I think I maybe need to say yes to26:09this and so I did I did I said yes and like figured it out you know I had no formal26:16training it was not easy um there was no how did you do that like how did that work I can’t even wrap my26:23so you were a fabric designer for free spirit which is a big deal I did lines for them for about 13 years I think I26:30stepped off it was kind of a mutual decision right before the pandemic to stop to stop doing the fabric but yeah26:37it was it was crazy I just adapted figured it out and I was really lucky26:43the engraver was super super kind that worked there and we kind of you know formulated the system and it just became26:49kind of like a like a system of how we do things and then I would take my Collections and create a pattern usually26:56around them usually one of my block of the months or things like that but it wasn’t easy because27:02um I was known as the kind of the more traditional artist27:07there so I kind of feel like I always kind of like did out a little bit or maybe just didn’t okay I remember like27:14when the booth would be up everybody’s would be bold and vibrant and everything in my aesthetic was like so different27:20and I even remember like some of the some of the raps saying and this is our traditional artist you know which was27:28like it made me just feel even more like oh God I don’t really fit in that we made it work it was a good27:34experience um I look at back on it as a real positive but there are parts of me that27:41um it was very freeing to stop doing fabric oh okay interesting how so well27:49because my work um with the patterns it’s it’s really about using so many fabrics and so many27:56details and trying to do that and I think it did a28:02pretty darn good job of it but but in the beginning I think we were allowed maybe like oh I don’t know maybe 12 1828:07skus and then slowly it started to go down it was like 12 skus and now the industry wants eight skus and my work28:14that’s just really complicated to do with just so few skus uh and I I just28:19kind of that was kind of my aesthetic in my style and that’s what my customers wanted and I think looking back if you28:27look at my patterns created before I did fabric for the Vintage School I mean the DaVinci’s full patterns and after I28:33stopped doing fabric they are definitely I think my strongest work that’s very interesting and I think part of that was28:40you know the the freedom and the ability to create from and I describe it as this28:46instead of the the crayon box that has 12 crayons I’m now with 164. you know28:53that big box that you’ve got when you’re kidding you’re like oh man yeah28:58very free for me and so I do miss doing fabric29:04sometimes like I look back and or every once in a while I’m hunting hunting that and then I can’t find what I need and29:09like oh and I think about it I do think about it um but I don’t know you know like it’s29:17also nice to now it’s the other part that I think was difficult is I love being my own boss I love setting my own29:23deadlines I’m pretty organized I’m pretty structured I know what I can manage it was difficult to work within a29:32kind of a more corporate world where you kind of knew like I knew a lot like what would sell or how it would sell and a29:39lot of times it would be like every Market there would be you’d roll in like new peeps that you needed to meet you29:44know the new sales this and the representative from this district and the you know the the the Europeans such29:50and such and I mean they were all phenomenal and really great but you kind of felt like every Circle we’d start29:56over again and it was just um just hard well okay I’m interested in this so like as a fabric designer for30:03agf I’m not meeting with anyone so did you have responsibilities to like meet and30:10try and promote your Fabrics so so they definitely I mean there were opportunities that would come up for30:15example at the time free spirit um was a division of coats and Clark so my pieces were popular in Europe for30:24example and so they’d want to have lines you know uh in Europe as well and so30:29there would be opportunities that would come up of like you know uh you could take this pattern and adapt it here or30:35just different little opportunities like that and I always just kind of felt like you didn’t want to say no right you30:41didn’t want to say no but I don’t think I mean I understand that from their corporate world they have numbers30:48they’re looking at sales figures they’re looking at they have no idea how much time as designers were spending on30:55pattern designing creating samples photographing all of that so I always31:00felt like there was a slight disconnect between the pieces um and that that was hard because I31:07always felt like they just didn’t get me they didn’t understand the volume of fabric that I could have moved had they31:14embraced this type of pattern and just if we get behind this artist with this type of pattern31:20it’s mind-blowing how much product you could actually move and sell but I just31:25never feel like that was something that they understood you know I mean I feel31:31like then there’s potential for you to still do that I mean do you have your eye on like well maybe I would want to31:37still do fabric you know I I have thought about it and there was a point where um there was a31:43um a changing of uh ownership with the free spirit company and there was a point where we were31:49um we thought that it would be no more and so the artists were caught in this odd sort of limbo period at which point31:56we were being approached by other companies and I was at that time approached by a company that understood32:02who I was and was like we could do X Y and Z and I did think about it in that32:07moment but then this buyout happened and the artists needed to remain under contract for a period longer32:14um but it has always kind of been in the back of my mind if I found the right company32:21um who really understood and also in like one of the things that I did not do I look at it as both an a mistake but32:28not a mistake was I was not on social media I hadn’t I’d never used social media personally and I never used it for32:36business until just recently until like kind of right before I reached out to you it’s mind-blowing uh you know the32:43the connections and the and the volume and things that you can do using social media so I look back and think well that32:49was a mistake you know but I also think I remember one of the reasons and I kind32:55of watched some of these young designers and what they’re kind of dealing with and going through and I was never competitive with anybody else like I33:01never looked at anybody else and said oh I I want to be her but I was very competitive with myself like I always33:07needed to do the best job that I could and I think as a young mom and a young entrepreneur33:13it was I was I could sense that it wasn’t good for me because I felt like33:18if I saw people doing certain things I I might feel like well I should be doing this and I should be doing it and it was33:24always like another bar that you needed to hit or another hoop that you needed to jump through and I’m probably going33:31to get a little bit emotional because my family is so important to me and I never ever wanted to put anything before33:38them whether it was my husband my children or my parents um I just didn’t you know and I just33:44sensed I think I sensed that that wouldn’t be good for me I’m just too much of like an overachiever too much of33:51like a and it just would have been like a bar that would be insurmountable yep all was moving up always moving up33:58always constantly moving that bar and moving that bar and I just don’t I don’t know that it’s that it’s healthy because34:03I can even like I can even think about like I just recently had this amazing launch on this34:09one particular pattern and inside I’m like how am I going to top that how am I going to top that like that’s crazy34:14right I feel that way I should be so excited you know right but that’s right right I am as a human being it’s who I am as34:22an individual it’s how I’m wired um I think I’ve gotten so much better about it as I’ve gotten older right like34:29you look and you go yeah I don’t I don’t they’re doing that okay cool I don’t need to do that you know right34:36um you know but I think when you’re younger when you’re newer in the industry and when you’re kind of trying34:41to figure out your Niche you know and you know we talk a lot about Niche and I kind of feel like I sort of found my34:47Niche after a little while in the beginning when I started quilting I dabbled in everything you know I made a34:53quilt out of flannel and I made a quilt yeah and I made a quilt that was fatigue I made a 30s quilt I dabbled in34:58everything I remember when I made one with kind of softer florals something happened inside like I got very like oh35:05you know I got very excited and it sort of just kind of like that scope just sort of narrowed and then it was like35:12yes this is what I really like this is what I love I started with Patchwork I35:17didn’t even think I would like applique there was a moment where I just realized whoa this is like the perfect match of35:24my skills I’m great at pulling color and combining color I know how to draw and35:29kind of tell a story in Fabric and you know I’ve got these quilting skills and now these hand sewing skills and I find35:36this technique really soothing I spent a lot of hours perfecting my technique and35:42then I was able to teach other people so I think we find that you know carefully35:47and and kind of slowly and then all of a sudden that that it just Narrows down and you go this is this is where I am35:54the interesting thing is when I started the Vintage School My slogan and that was in o4 romantic and Timeless36:01design and I was just looking at that the other day and I was like yep I’m still on target that’s exactly what36:08yeah John says it’s like vintage inspired it’s uses soft color and36:14there’s a lot of florals and things that are pretty and I mean you can see behind me because you you can see my space my36:21space is very much that space But I’m not really a girly girl like right right36:27I’m not like I joke and I’m like I would take you know pizza and beer over champagne in the Opera anytime I’m just36:35not I like a sports game and like I like you know sticky bar floors and like it doesn’t I have like36:42I have like a design Persona and then who I really are right like not soft and36:49delicate in any way but you know I love that exploration of36:55the niche because so many times well for one you’ve got to have one to have success but people try37:01to rush in or pick one and you just can’t you know you’ve got to experiment and try the things and you’ll figure out37:08what you’re drawn to because sometimes it might be very different from your personality you know yeah and I’ve really learned to listen to my instincts37:16you know with design like I can feel when something’s got to come out it’s like a feeling you know it’s37:23not even an idea it’s just like a feeling I get that kind of comes over me where I’m like stop the presses37:28everybody get out of the way I gotta I gotta jot this down I gotta put this into a graph paper I gotta you know I37:34gotta pull fabric it just sort of just but you learn to again I think with with time and with experience and with age we37:41get wiser we get more tired I used to applique until yeah now I’m like dozing37:46off with the knees in my hand at 9 45 that’s pretty sad yeah no it happens it does happen well37:53and I want to be sure to touch on too this aspect of teaching I do not do in-person teaching I have never I don’t38:01know if I ever will but it’s been I mean it was kind of your foot in the door with having a career here but it’s also38:08we’ve chatted and you have talked about how lucrative that can be so I’d love38:14for you to just paint a picture of what this could look like for someone who is a designer absolutely so the where it38:22started to do more event style teaching again from my husband um38:27I would get a lot of offers from guilds come and come to our Guild give a lecture come teach a class and it was38:34just too hard with young children and like leaving and I I remember going to a38:40market thinking I was going to come back to this very happy family and it was just a disaster like my mother and her38:46husband got along great and I got back and they were just at odds the kids were like oh and I was like okay this38:51probably isn’t such a good idea so my husband was the one who suggested why don’t you have people come to you and I38:57was like oh well there’s a novel concept um and I had when I started quilting39:04attended the most wonderful event called The Liberty Gathering and what the Liberty Gathering was was this little39:09town in Missouri called Liberty Missouri and they would get a bunch of teachers come and they would do all these little39:16events around this time with all these students coming and taking these classes and they would do little kits and they39:22would let you shop at the store special time and they would do dinners and so I knew I couldn’t do something as39:27elaborate as that but I love my town and so I decided that I would work to figure39:32out a way to get folks to come to me and so what I did is I started teaching these workshops these Retreats we call39:40and I found a space where part of the space was a classroom and the other part of the space was a mini store and the39:46women loved the mini store because we would rope it off and we would fill it with all kinds of treasures and those39:53attendees often got first shot at one of my pattern creations and they were really lovely because they were total40:00guinea pigs sometimes I’m like okay there’s no photograph there’s no pattern size of the pattern and you’re going to40:06have a kit that goes with it and they were just thrilled to like be there and excited to be part of it we developed40:12the most amazing community of people that would just continue to come back and then they would bring friends the40:18next time or family members and they’d bring their husbands and the husbands would go hiking or golfing I mean it was40:24just super fun awesome super fun and I just realized early on in those40:31workshops that many of the folks that were there were not necessarily coming to me for instruction40:38they were coming to me because I created a space where they could do something they loved for several days without40:45interruption without the stresses of their own lives whatever those might be whether it was you know taking care of40:51young children or caring for an elderly parent or work stresses and they could do it amongst other people that were40:57doing exactly the same thing and we’re so happy to be doing it so I think just creating that space allowed folks to41:05just be like this is so much fun and then I also worked in conjunction with41:10both my local quilt shops and it brought them a lot of business as well because we would go and visit their store little41:16private showing little private shopping tour um they would welcome them and give them41:22Little Treasures I mean it was just so much fun and those teaching relationships both from the early days41:29and then through the workshops I believe that those are forever long time41:35customers they still reach out all the time I still see what I do a pattern41:41launch I still see their names coming through I’ll get sweet emails they’ll share them photos41:47um they’ll send Christmas cards I mean it’s just a lovely group of people41:54um that I’ve met over the years and I just have so many so many beautiful experiences with my customers and my42:01students over the years I’m gonna share one because it just totally stands out to me it was just a moment yeah I did42:08something for a customer that probably most people wouldn’t but it paid off in droves later on42:14um I had young children this woman called she needed help picking fabrics for one42:20of my quilts and she was local and she asked if I would meet her at the store the local store and help her most people42:27would have been like yeah lady I’m sorry I just can’t do that for you um and I remember I needed to go swim42:32with my husband I was like you know Miguel I just I just need to do this something tells me she’s so kind I just I just need to do this I’ll do it as42:38quickly as I can and so I went and I met her and I helped her pick these42:44these back and at the time it was my most difficult most popular pattern it’s a like a very42:49heirloom pattern it’s called vintage Valentine it totally like just kind of put me on the map like it was that42:56big of a pattern and at the time she’s like you know I want to make one of these for every one of my grandchildren43:03I was like43:10okay but right if that pattern was my second pattern I43:17ever released that pattern came out in o4 and um I think it came out no four it was one of the original six fast forward43:24to the year that I lost my mom and I’m at a local quilt show and my43:32booth is up and it’s really hard to just put that that face on because I’ve got a lot going on behind the scenes and I’m43:38approached by a woman she says I don’t know if you remember me and immediately I recognize your face43:44and she’s like I’m the lady you know you help me pick my fabric for my very first one and she pulls out a photograph and I kid43:52you not it’s four granddaughters two on each side of her each draped in a43:57vintage Valentine quilt and I was so did you cry I would have just oh my God I44:03lost it because I had just lost my mom and I knew how important my kid’s grandmother was to them but it was just44:10let’s take it a light like oh my gosh you know like wow wow44:15that is so cool yeah We crave that I feel like so much like with social media44:21with and it’s not going away you know if anything there’s artificial intelligence and it’s yes but we are we’re social44:28beings and those social connections it’s Priceless you know and I love the idea44:34of having something where people come to you so you don’t have to pay for the44:39travel and all that you can be close to home it’s feasible for you and it’s a fun getaway for the people who are44:45coming yeah as soon as you said like a private shopping event like it sounds44:51very like Chic you know like I like that they also got a goodie bag44:57that I would take good care they got we every table had a door prize that was45:02the arrangement on the center so they would you know I’d change them up every every time because we’d have a theme you45:08know whether it was Easter or Paris or so the centerpiece would always be theme related and then they were going to be45:14door surprises that they could win and we always did one um fancy day of food45:21which was like a tea or a luncheon and it was always the you know on theme they45:26just felt so special being there and they looked forward to it so much and they really enjoyed their time you know45:32it was a ton of work on the back end I will say I would love one thing right have fun at your retreat you know and I45:38was like it is fun right yeah it was it was like honestly45:45and yeah and lucrative like if you’re a money pit this is something that you45:51earn money with oh yeah because you had the the fee that they would pay to45:57attend the workshop the um especially if you were doing a project that would kitted so you’d have46:02the kit that they would pay for to do that and then this is something I46:07learned very early on and it’s the reason this came is because I taught a workshop for another shop out46:16of area and I had these students for three days and those students were at a hotel and46:21they would leave the venue to go find quilt stores and go shop so they wanted to buy stuff and I’m like and it was a46:28pet shop and I’m like why do these people not have product in here why are they letting this live they have for46:34three days go elsewhere so I remembered that and I was like no no no this is a46:40live audience and my my assistant at the time would tease me she’s like Verna you could hold up a number two pencil and46:46those girls will just flock to the store and I never sold anything that I didn’t use myself but but for some reason like46:53when you’re demoing it’s right there they need it they want it and they’re there to spend money I remember going to47:00the international quilt Festival the very first time and I remember standing out front of in47:08front of the Houston convention center and there was Greyhound bus after Greyhound bus lined up outside all full47:14of Quilters and I remember how much money I had in my pocket and I was not wealthy and I had a47:22thousand dollars in my pocket in cash right yeah so I remember thinking about47:27a thousand times you know all these buses and people they go to spend money47:33that’s what they want to do they want to buy their products they want to buy their kits they want to buy the latest Fabrics what Notions are new we love47:41this we spend of course we want to spend money on it you know like so as a designer and as an47:49entrepreneur I think you always have to think like if I didn’t want to make money at this I could have just kept it47:55as my hobby I’ve always thought of this right this is my career this is my job I48:01don’t feel guilty or bad for making a living I work really hard at this and48:06like I said I will never promote a product that I haven’t used I will never try to sell you something that I am not48:12behind or that I don’t think is going to improve your um your quilting experience with my48:18patterns early on I set out I worked off a lot of patterns that weren’t very well written so early on I’m like no no I if48:26I bought if I write a bad pattern people are just going to buy the first one and be like well it was really pretty but48:31gosh that pattern was terrible you know they’re not exactly yep so I set out to try to write the best possible pattern48:37so that people would buy that one and the next one in the next one so I don’t know I think48:44I’ve done some things right I love that yeah you have well and you’ve been in48:49this longer than I have you know like you’ve been doing this for I remember when you reached out and hearing the48:56things you’d done I was like wow I mean that’s a whole lot of knowledge that I49:02don’t have and experience and these Live Events and it’s just I love that you’re49:07unapologetically like this is my business and I work hard at this and I I49:12work hard to bring forth a good product and I am not apologizing when I49:17expressed interest in you know doing this when he saw my passion my brother again life-changing moment me this book49:24called The Business of bliss and it was all these women who had taken their Hobby and created a business out49:32of it and I read it cover to cover I remember thinking yes yes you know I think I can do this you49:40know and that was a life-changing moment it really was it wasn’t without mistakes49:48sure yeah I was recently taking a class and I was just so touched by this designer that was taking the course and49:54she had her newborns sitting on her lap and I can remember like in the early days how important it was for me to make50:00sure my kids never felt in any way neglected or or jealous of my work or my50:07business and so I would incorporate and include them as much as possible they were always right with me side by side I50:13would let them in the early days I would let them decorate the house with fat quarters you know like here you go these50:20are what you can touch but over here these are mommy’s tools that are dangerous we don’t touch the rotary counters things like that as time50:26progressed then they would um come to the workshops and they could help the ladies you know they walk around and50:33give the little numbers for the ladies to do their um their door prizes as they got a little bit older then they50:39could actually write things on the ladies tabs because they were getting older as I got a little bit older than they could work the cash register you50:45know um and so on and so that’s awesome it was awesome you know so you know it’s50:51it’s difficult I work from my home uh I thought at times it would have been50:57really nice to have an office to go to when I’m in the right laundry room trying to take a call with a customer51:03praying that my kid doesn’t cry in the background you know in the early days but luckily yes most of our customers51:10are moms or you know dads and have um those same analogies you know with51:17everybody working from home I think people are more used to it and whatnot and my third child who has just stepped51:23away my dog Oliver51:31keep talking I know I didn’t hear that actually51:36that’s good because I was trying really hard to like just talk over again51:42it’s crying but I love too how you’re able to show your kids this thing that you’re passionate about that you don’t51:47have to sacrifice that you can you know be a mom and and involve them and let51:54them see this thing that you’re passionate about and I really like that but I thank you for coming here and51:59sharing your experience particularly I mean your story of the things that you’ve done but this idea of teaching52:06doing these Live Events it’s very very fun it sounds like a party and I would love to go to one so52:13so okay for our listeners if they want to come and see your things and all all that you do where can I find you so52:21right now I am not doing any in-person uh teaching events I may start that again in the future unfortunately that52:27was kind of curbed here in California during the pandemic so I did take a step back from that but for right now you can52:33find me on my website thevintageschool.com and you can find my daily goings on on Instagram at the52:40Vintage School I’d love to share Works in progress and kind of what I’ve got going on which has been really fun52:46um I never used to do that and Instagram was kind of giving me that space and kind of like I’ve gotten a little Bolder52:52with it and it’s been great I get a lot of really great feedback and I think people enjoy watching The Journey so if52:58you want to kind of along and see what I’m doing you can definitely you can definitely find me in those spots but I53:05really appreciate you having me as a guest today Elizabeth I love what you are doing and sharing with the industry53:11and I’m just thrilled to be able to be here today and share a little bit about my story and hopefully it will be53:17inspiring or helpful to somebody who’s who’s in the mix or thinking about starting you know and I’m always open to53:23absolutely people reaching out I’m I I try hard to um give back to younger53:30designers because I was really lucky that I had a few people that just get great bit bits of wisdom and advice and53:36I know how hard it is to not know anybody or to not know if you’re doing the right thing so53:42I always encourage folks to reach out yeah you are I mean you’ve just been such a sweet sincere friend to me I mean53:50it’s like you have a gift for connecting with people and genuinely caring and so53:56yeah thank you for being my friend for reaching out and for being willing to share this oh you’re so sweet thank you54:02I appreciate you as well I love it I think I reached out because I sensed one time just a little hesitation on one of54:08your podcasts and I was like no keep going you’re doing great I love what you’re doing and I love this keep going54:14I love this podcast because I enjoy it so much so54:22I can’t believe we haven’t met in person I I lose there’s people who I’m like oh54:28no we’ve met we’ve met but we haven’t so yeah okay thanks for having me Elizabeth54:33yeah thank you we’ll see ya all right take care [Music]54:41Verna thank you so much for being here on the podcast it was so fun chatting as always and we just got in touch the54:48other day she was telling me where her son got into college she’s just such a fun person and so talented I if you54:56haven’t seen her Instagram go take a look she’s got such cool applique in55:01fact little spoiler alert if you’re in the Quilters candy membership she is preparing a brand new applique pattern55:08just for us coming up in a few months so go take a look at her lovely designs and Verna thank you so much for being so55:16open and sharing your business ideas and your story of you know how you’ve grown your business it was just so much fun55:21having you it was lovely having you on the podcast so everyone have a wonderful week I’ll see you right back here next55:28Friday on the crafty career podcast until then take care [Music]English (auto-generated)