Spring Market 2016 Wrap Up

Spring Market 2016, Salt Lake City, Utah

After getting back from Salt Lake, trying to digest it all, making a trip to VA for a new grandbaby, I am finally writing my recap of Spring Market 2016.  Sorry for the delay!

My first impression – this Market was very lightly attended.  It seemed strange at first but then I realized this could very well be a good thing.  Manufacturers and reps were saying they were writing orders so they seemed happy.  Buyers were getting time with designers, reps, and manufacturers, so we were happy.  Seats at tables seemed to be full with shops placing orders.  So, maybe more lightly attended – but attended by the right people – is a good thing.

For anyone who follows me on Instagram, you would have seen photos of what I love best about this show – the beautiful attention to detail and creativity in each booth.  I like to search out the little details in each booth.  Trade shows can be overwhelming and Market is no exception.  Visually over stimulating, my search for the little details keeps me focused on why I came – to look for and eventually choose – the fabrics that I will buy for my shop.  Often times it is the details that capture me.

At this Market, as I was searching for those details, I was overwhelmed with the care, creativity and work that goes into a trade show.  These shows are extremely expensive, in time, energy and money, for a manufacturer to participate in.  Nothing is slapped together.  It is carefully planned and executed.  The manufacturers can gauge success by the number of orders written and the feedback they receive at these shows.  I personally felt that Spring Market 2016 displayed the purpose of this trade show better than others I have attended.  I hope the manufacturers feel the same way.  I love this business and this community and want to see it thrive.  

Another thing I noted was that there seemed to be less tension between the “traditional” world of quilting and the “modern” one than in Markets past.  Regardless of the flavor of each manufacturer, ordering seats were full.  Maybe this had a lot to do with the show being attended by mostly buyers and sellers.  I am not sure but I will be interested to see what happens in future shows. 

 

One last note before I get to what you really want to see – fabric – I am so very thrilled to see the explosion of garment sewing substrates and the support that is being given to this sewing sector by these manufacturers.  The quality is excellent, designs are wearable, and the manufacturers definitely showed their support to the garment sewers.  As a quilter AND garment sewer AND a sewer of bags and all things home dec, I was dancing the happy dance!  And my garment sewing customers will be happy to see our lineup of these substrates increase too!

Some other trends we saw … the continuation of metallic … gorgeous color including saturated jewel tones, pastels, and splashes of neon … collections with fewer large prints and more blenders … printmaking and block printing patterns … lots of swans and flamingos … a sense that some companies were playing it a bit safe this go around …

Thank you for letting me spout a few observations.  Now, on to what you really want to see – all the deliciousness that is Market!

I can’t say that there was any overwhelming new trend but there were pockets of really good stuff out there folks!  I wish I could bring it all in to the shop but I can’t.  Some of these collections will be available in my shop and others will be available from other shops.  But all were noteworthy for different reasons.

Presenting, in no particular order, some of the collections we loved.

Heather Jones’ debut collection, Color Dash, for Robert Kaufman, was one of our favorites.  Graphic and bold, as is her style, the collection comes together beautifully.  Also, each bolt can stand on its own.  Now that is a huge bonus for both shops and customers.

Carolyn Friedlander’s new collection, Euclid, for Robert Kaufman, does not disappoint.  A small collection (7 skus) of cotton/linen blends, some are printed and some are yarn dyed.  So many ideas swirling in our heads.

The Japanese importers and designers were fabulous once again.  We ordered flat cottons, double gauze and canvas, as well as some interesting new garment fabrics.  The next eight weeks will be far too long …

Libs Elliot made a splash with her debut collection for Andover Fabrics.  Black and white with splashes of bold color, it is graphic and edgy, just like Libs.

Luscious wearable chambray double gauze and metallic Manchester by Robert Kaufman. (already in stock)

Paint Box Basics, by Elizabeth Hartman for Kaufman is a rainbow of color on her memorable prints.  Perfect for stash building as well as using all together.

And, of course, no recap would be complete without the gorgeous Rifle Paper Company collaboration with Cotton + Steel.  This fabric shows the richness and beauty that made Rifle Paper so popular around the world.  In cotton, rayon, and canvas.  

Tula Pink celebrates her 20^th fabric line with the release of Slow and Steady, her latest collection with Free Spirit.  In classic Tula colors and style, this line showcases turtles and hares.  Watch for the fun quilt patterns that go with this one too!

Some new designers were debuted by Windham Fabrics, including Natalie Barnes, Annabelle Wrigley, and Felice Regina.  From top to bottom, you have Hand Maker, Mirabelle, and Luna Sol, all so very pretty and so very different.

Love the yarn dyed checks and ginghams from both Cloud 9 Fabrics and Cotton + Steel.  Great colors in a variety of scales.  Being yarn dyed, these fabrics have great drape and will be so much fun for clothing!

Amy Butler stayed true to her esthetic in her latest collection, Eternal Sunshine.  This gorgeous booth won another prize for the “House of Butler”.

Though we did not see Denyse Schmidt at Market, we did see a preview of her upcoming collection, Stonington, for Free Spirit.  For Denyse fans, you will be happy to see her classic style in these prints.  Since I grew up near Stonington, this collection is near to my heart.

Dear Stella had such a bright and beautiful booth, as always.  Fun, tight, and clean, their collections were always among the top three favorites of people I spoke to.  With the introduction of illustrator Rae Ritchie, we think this little gem will continue to grow as a favorite.

Though we only saw it on paper, we are thrilled to know that Alison Glass is coming out with a new print collection for Andover, as well as her version of solids.  Rich in saturated color, I know I will own a piece of this entire collection.  And we are simply crazy about her new line of patterns, especially the Knit Essentials and Woven Essentials garment patterns made in collaboration with Karen LePaige.

Our favorite in the Art Gallery booth was, hands down, Hello Ollie by Bonnie Christenson.  This collection combined soft pastels with darks and it, well, it just works.  Beautifully.  Rich and sophisticated, this collection felt more brave in color choice than any other we saw.  

And last up, we just loved the prints in the Sidewalk collection of knits from Made by Rae for Cloud 9 fabrics.  These prints are fun and so versatile.  I love the Marianne dresses made by my friend Melissa from A Happy Stitch.  There are also prints for boys, which is so needed in the market place!  

There were so many others that we just don’t have time to talk about them all.  Just know there is some gorgeous stuff arriving over the next six months!

So that’s a (very long) wrap up of Spring Market 2016.  It was a wonderful trip, full of laughter and good conversations over great dinners, catching up with old friends and making new ones, and even a city wide blackout to keep us on our toes!

Ciao,

Beth

2nd Annual Holiday Boutique

We are so excited to be hosting the 2nd annual Holiday Boutique, an emporium of fabulous handmade items from local artisans and artists!  Mark your calendars:

Dec 2nd, 6pm-9pm Opening reception
Dec 3rd, 10am-4pm
Dec 4th, 12pm-5pm

Sip some mulled cider and snack on goodies as you stroll through the winter wonderland of gorgeous creative items!

The show features art, cards, dolls, bags and tech covers, jewelry, ornaments, knit and crocheted goods, dolls, and so much more!

This year, we are featuring work by Maria Papale (Marigold), Niki Siebert, Sima Brason, Asha Chaudhuri (Maya), Lauren Lehman, Stefanie Silverman, PriaVanda Patel, Wendy Reo (Freestyle Crochet), Keira Boertzel-Smith, Marissa Hedstrom, and Amy Rehbein (The Little Beansprout). 
This is the perfect time to shop for all those holiday gifts!  There is something for everyone.  Don't head to the malls this year - SHOP LOCAL, SHOP HANDMADE AND SHOP FABULOUS!!!!

See you soon!

Beth

SUPER SALE, NOVEMBER 17TH-19TH!!

Just what is a Super Sale?? 

Well, it is a fabulous way to stock up on all of your favorite crafting supplies - including fabric, paper and more!  It is the perfect way to buy all the supplies you need for those holiday gifts to make!  It is just a super way for you to stock the stashes with goodness from your favorite designers and manufactureres, including Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Dena Designs, Art Gallery, Robert Kaufman, Cosmo Cricket, Pink Paislaee, Crate Paper and more!!

You will find savings of 20%-50%!!!!

Stop in this weekend, Friday, November 17th through Sunday, November 19th, and stroll through the aisles to find all the delicious crafty goodness at our Super Sale!  Stop in while supplies last!

2nd Annual Craft Spooktacular!

We are once again donning costumes and having a crafty, spooky, Rock Paper Scissors Halloween fest!

Join us on Saturday, October 29th, from 10:00am-4:00pm, for refreshments, costumes, and crafty fun!  The workshop will be open for some fun kid crafting.  And, if the kids come in costume, they will be entered to win a crafty raffle basket full of fun goodies from the store!

The staff will once again be outfitted in fabulous costumes - this time with the Wizard of Oz as our theme!  Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!  So, come to see the Wizard behind the curtain!

We will have lots of fabric and paper and crafty goodness on sale, too!

So, join us for some tricks and some treats, tasty goodies, rocking costumes and all-around good crafting fun!

Admission and crafting is free, of course!  No registration needed!

Just What is "Christmas in July"?????

When the time flies too fast and all the seasons just run together, why would we want to have Christmas in July?  No, it is not to remind us of cooler weather after the record breaking heat wave we just survived!  Here at Rock Paper Scissors, we are celebrating Christmas in July to help the creative juices flow and get started on all of those crafty projects you will want to do for the holidays!

We have holiday paper and embellishments to get you started on the perfect holiday cards and tags.  Is sewing more your thing?  We have holiday fabric to start those stocking and little gifts made with love.  A stitcher?  We have great patterns and floss and books to spark your ideas.  And, of course, the Rock section is always full of cool new and vintage beads for the perfect gift - or jewelry for yourself!  For this week (July 25th - 31st), all holiday themed fabric, paper, embellishments, stamps, punches,  and lots of other stuff is on sale - 20%, 30%, even 50% off!

Don't know where to start?  Well, we have lots of cool classes this week on stocking and tags and cards and countdown calendars.  Or join us on Friday for our "Cool Down and Craft" workshop - the Christmas in July edition.  This week, we will be making cute little embroidery and applique "hooped" art.  The class is free!  Supply bags are available or bring your own from home.  Sign up soon as we are almost full!

Need some ideas, you know we are always here and willing to help!

So, join us for a little early holiday fun.  Oh, and it helps that we have the air on!

Hope to see you soon,

Beth

Rock Paper Scissors Turns One!!!

Amazing as it may seem, Rock Paper Scissors is about to celebrate it's first birthday!  It has been a roller coaster year full of fun and crafting and new friends.  And we are throwing ourselves a party!

Please join us on Saturday, June 18th, from 10:00am-6:00pm as we celebrate this milestone.  We will have goodie bags for the first 25 customers, open crafting for the kids from 12-4pm, cupcakes and singing at 2pm, and birthday games all day long.  Every purchase qualifies you for a ticket for our raffle basket full of all sorts of crafty goodies!  The drawing will be at 4:00pm.

Amy Butler has graciously sent us another trunk show to help us fill the store with gorgeous samples in both her Love and the new Soul Blossom lines.  Check out the new patterns, too!  We are all stocked up in both fabrics and patterns.  Amy's creations helped us to shepard in our infancy and now she is back as we get legs and enter toddler land.  All patterns and fabrics by Amy Butler will be 20% off all day long!

Don't miss the fun!!

Beth

The Fortune Girls Rocked the House!

Last Friday evening, Rock Paper Scissors was full of an amazing group of young ladies - the Fortune Girls.  They came together to embroider hankies for our troops deployed overseas and they rocked the house!!

Everywhere you walked, there were girls, girls and more girls.  They stitched and chatted and ate pizza and laughed and made new friends.  And, all the time, they were embroidering these beautiful hearts and other messages on oversized camouflage hankies for the troops.  They also attached short notes to each hankie with a message of support and encouragement.  It was a beautiful sight indeed.

We were honored to have some service members join us, including two young women who have recently returned from deploymet in the Middle East.  MASN Chelsea Kepenis and BU3 Penny Zack, joined by Lt. Cmdr Michael Fourte, shared with the girls how much care packages from home meant to them when they were deployed.  They also fielded questions from the girls, helped them to stitch and took some time to read the notes.

The hankies will be sent to the troops in care packages that are shipped by Operation Gratitude, a California-based volunteer organization that ships 100,000 care packages to service people every year.  Please check out their website when you have a minute.  They are an amazing organization that epitomizes the word "volunteer". 

It is not too late to contribute to these care packages.  Through Memorial Day weekend, we are still collecting toothpaste, toothbrushes, beanie babies, and notes of support and encouragement for Operation Gratitude to include in care packages.

Fortune Girls is a lifestyle brand started by local Glen Ridge residents Madison Ruiz and her mom, Barbara.  It is dedicated to the empowerment of girls ages 7-12, helping them to see all they can be in their lives.  We were honored to host the first Fortune Girls Operation Hanky evening!!  Sponsors included PNC Bank, Super Scoop, and Notions Marketing.

We thank all of the girls who stitched, the service people who took the time to help us understand the importance of what we did, and especially to the service people (including my own son) who put their lives on the line every day for us without regard to personal gain.  They are the true heroes.

Till next time,

Beth

Operation Hanky

Rock Paper Scissors is honored to be hosting Fortune Girls Operation Hanky, a special event to support our military troops, on Friday, May 20th, from 7-10pm. At the gathering, a joint effort with Fortune Girls, Inc., girls between the ages of 7 and 18 will embroider large camouflage hankies with hearts as a message of gratitude to the service of our troops overseas.


The event will be held at the store on Friday evening, May 20th, from 7:00-10:00pm. We will serve the girls pizza, teach them to embroider and have loads of fun!


We are expanding the store's partnership with Operation Gratitude, a California-based charitable organization that sends care packages to troops overseas. They ensure that the hankies and their heartfelt messages will arrive safely to their destination.

Helping to host the festivities will be two local service women who have recently returned from deployment.  We hope you can stop in and say a personal thank you to these brave women and their Lieutenant Commander.

To sign up, just call the store at 973.337.6759!  There are just a few places left so call soon!

Adults can participate by donating toothbrushes, toothpaste, small stuffed animals (such as beanie babies), or writing a note to the troops. All items can be dropped off at the store.

Read more about our efforts in the Montclair Times and Montclair Patch.

Fortune Girls, Inc. is a multi-cultural lifestyle brand created by Glen Ridge residents Madison Ruiz and her Mom, Barbara. The brand is dedicated to the empowerment of tween girls between the ages of 7-12, encouraging them to discover their own unique gifts.

We hope you will consider joining us in this amazing event!!!

Sale! Sale! Sale!

Oh, don't you just love that word?  Sale.  So simple, so sweet.

Rock Paper Scissors is hosting its first ever storewide sale starting May 7th.  There are items for sale in the jewelry section (the Rock), the paper section (the Paper), and fabric, sewing and embroidery (you guessed it, the Scissors).  Sale items range from 20-50% off.  And when they are gone, they're gone!

For a little surprise, we will be having some Facebook fan sales.  In addition to the sale items in the store, we will announce other special sales of many other items throughout the week, ending May 15th.  These sales will only be good on the day of the announcement so check back often.

So join us, browse all the goodies and get your crafty on!

And Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!  I personally will be putting my tired feet up on Sunday and taking the day off but I hope to see all of you on Saturday or next week!

And, ladies, don't forget to sign up for our first ever Ladies Night next week.  We will be making this FABulous fabric necklace and pins.  Grab some friends and join us.  Registration is through the store.

Beth

Quilt Donations to Japan

Both Lecien and Kokka, two Japanese fabric companies that we work with, are collecting quilts to distribute to the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  If you would like to contribute a quilt to this effort, please drop them off at Rock Paper Scissors and we will take care of shipping them to California.  Lecien and Kokka are then shipping them to Japan where they will be distributed to the earthquake survivors.

Here are the details from the two specific companies:

Kokka:  any size quilt; needs to be dropped off at the store by 4/30.

Lecien:  can be new or very gently used;  any type of fabrics can be used for the quilts, but they are requesting general sizes of approximately 40” by 45” for children and 50” by 60” for adults.  Please pre-wash all quilts.

In addition, the "Teenies" crafting class for tweens and teens that is held here at the store every Wednesday from 4:00-5:30pm will be embellishing squares to be made into a quilt from Rock Paper Scissors.  If you know a tween or teen that is interested in participating, the class is free this week and the group is loads of fun.  Just call the store to sign up.  Have a great afternoon and help someone on the other side of the world.

Thanks,

Beth

Spring Classes Start This Week!

We are excited to be starting classes again on Tuesday, April 19th!  We have had our brief time off and are ready to go with a collection of new and old favorite workshops!

Kicking off the week, we have the Pillow Whisper class running on Tuesday morning and Thursday evening.  Join us in making these ever versatile envelope style pillows - with the Rock Paper Scissors twist!

Jen will be starting up the Big Kids program again making these oh-so-cool paper beads!  Kids ages 6-9 can twirl paper and come up with uber cool jewelry!

Tuesday evening brings our always popular Sew Basics class where you can learn sewing machine basics, a a bit about tools and fabric, and be ready to tackle all those great sewing workshops we have on the schedule.  This is a great foundation class.

Wednesday morning kicks off the 2-day Twirly Skirt workshop.  Is this skirt too stinkin' cute or what?  We love it - easy to make and the perfect amount of twirl.  Make one for your favorite girl sizes 2-6.  If you need another size, just call the store and we will figure out if we can do it.

What is the Beading answer????  At Rock Paper Scissors, the answer to our beading questions is ... Anne Sailer!!  We are so happy to have Anne back again to teach You Rock the Basics - a perfect intro course to beading, design, stringing, crimping and all sorts of great stuff.  Grab your beads and a clasp, we supply wire and crimps.  Walk out with a necklace or bracelet and the knowledge to make so much more!

Thursday bring the Laminated Apron class.  Ever wonder how to work with the great laminated cottons in the store?  Try this fabulous apron and take the mystery of the laminates away! 

Rounding out the week is our always popular Mini Books series with Aubrey, who has just returned from a fabulous vacation.  This week, learn to make these super cute little photo stream boxes.  Perfect for gifts or that great series of little photos!

Call the store to sign up today.  Class size is limited for all classes.  Descriptions, costs and exact times for all classes are on our website (link to the left).

See you at class this week!

Beth