Uh.. what? It is the new way. If Free Spirit is indeed closing, this is a sad day. LQSs and the fun online quilt stores (like ilovefabric[dot]com, FQS, Hawthorne, etc.) toward creative pursuits. It certainly does not reflect the popularity of the designers so it must be an in-house weakness. I feel very sad that we may loose some of these inspirational designers. Its just part of the business. Its way too much way too fast. Wow. Those designers are the best! I cant imagine a company, that supports the designers such as Kaffe, Tula and others would not put out a statement to the direct buyers of that fabric. Its a losing battle for many. After a few months the bolts became dirty and frayed. I just do not want to see those big name designers disappear. I am a modern quilt shop owner and have a successful online shop, and I honestly have to say that those fabrics dont sell as well as many of my other lines. I dont trend forecast in any way, she says. She stated all of her artwork belongs to her and it will go with her to the new company. I told her, thats Ok Ill see you again when you need a lesson or a better sewing machine. I have a basket of Kaffe and Amy Butler fabrics that I love but havent used. The designers are being ripped off by individual consumers that take advantage of their favourite designers to earn money off them. That is a big risk. I like to purchase bundles of a collection, but due to the sheer enormity of some of FreeSpirits collections, that has become financially impossible to me. Their request was to buy all fabric and supplies at their shop. It has been my life experience that popularity of many things in life run in cycles. I dont love my LQS for lots of reasons, but one thing Ive noticed (that I definitely take advantage of) is that they sell a lot of older stuff of these designers, esp DS and AB at ridiculously low prices. So horrible! Although it cost an extra 5,000 luck points, it was all worth it.Although the defense invincibility card is only invincible for a . They told me to keep it as a gift. Not one ounce of grace. Coats is known for horrible customer service. I closed my business and still have bolt upon bolt of free spirit at my house now that I couldnt even sell at liquidation prices thanks to the saturation of low prices yard age available. Has there been extensive research done? Pink's Weight Loss Diet: How the Singer Reached Her Body Goals Exclusive ENNIO LEANZA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Pink's Nutritionist Ariane Resnick Details How the Singer Maintains Her Killer. Most LQS dont have the space, not to mention the funding, to buy complete collections at that rate. I know this sounds mean, but I dont think well see many of the others get picked up. It amazes me how quilters will spend $700-$900 to attend a retreat with some on-line only sourcebut wont pay $40-$100 to take a workshop at their local quilt shop. Corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. Youre right. This is definitely a change. Sarah, I agree with your reasoning about too many fabric lines, too soon. So sad , these are the very best designers in the business!!!! Now go sew something. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but if it makes you happy, thats what counts. In January I got serious about losing weight and some of you noticed the changes before I even did. I agree, they are all wonderful creative people who could not be the problem. I called and they sent me the border print, only for me to unfold the polka dots and there was the border print I didnt think I received. They need to price fabrics to small shops equally with large ones. illustration. The best designers in the business and Coats cannot make their company profitable. So perhaps the answer is either reducing the number of lines produce or being less greedy and lowering your prices. People do not want to pay what it costs to produce and get these goods to the final consumer. designs and two included accessories. The Ultimate Collection by Tula Pink - auribuzz. Its a quaint thought, but Im not that concerned what people think about my low-end fabric as a result of economizing. Im sure Ive purchased FS in the past but I base it on what I like. So combining your paper coupons with ones from the app, your email, etc, you can get quite a lot in one transaction. rest of the world. The only way they could sell was by yepyou guessed it, put it on a sale wall. They should hold firm to their price and not sell to the big box discount companies. It was fabric that could not have been created by a committee. I have had really good luck with eQuilter.com lately getting exactly what I want at a reasonable price. Ayup. I totally agree that the problem is not the designers, but it is a Coats problem. What is your beef with them. Its just not true. I agree with the comments about Tula / Amy Butler / Kaffe being beautiful but hard to work with showing your own individual creativity. Last year at QuiltCon the average age of customer buying at my booth was 45-60, and boy they were buying!!!! Wow. creative endeavors that really accesses both sides of the brain pretty These cookies do not store any personal information. It was a distribution issue. Comparing the quality of Walmart and Joanns against Tula Pink and Kaffe Fassett is like comparing lemons to apples. The Ultimate Collection comes in a custom, gold-embossed case and contains forty-five small spools of 50wt thread hand-selected by Tula. Come hangout and watch Tula every Tuesday (and sometimes Fridays) as she talks about upcoming fabric collections, her design process, special announcements, & so much more! My rep is very good, so maybe its partly the way in which the orders are submitted. Modern quilters are getting more and more of their fabrics online, and many of these online sites deeply discount, such as Fabric.com. I agree Mel. Been shouting it from the rooftop for years but proletariat thought I was just nuts. Those 42 sku collections can cost $2000-$3000! We must continue to support our local stores before we go to huge discount online stores. Payroll, family leave, social security, workers comp, accounting, etc. Hopefully these designers will find new homes and I will be able to stock at Circle of Friends Quilt Shoppe in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Terrible new customer service and to see other shop owners opinions Im glad to know Im not the only one who feels like it is a hard company to start a account with! I will return to purchasing fabric when I see some changes at the base of the industry. The designers arent getting a cut from these sales. I doubt know that she would want to go back. BUTtheres a HUGE community of new and younger quilters out there who support each other. But very few people are making a living in the business, and most dump untold hours of love into it. Its about all of that escapism. Im not sure why I keep reading these annoying comments. There would be more competition if there werent exclusivity to a wholesaler or distributor who takes massive margin. Lets face it, quilting is on a downward spiral. I totally agree. Just Horrible News! Greed is the downfall. I truly hope my favorite designers will find a more profitable home! I dont care. distribute anything. At first it was shocking to me, as Id not experienced it before, but now its just normal. Thats what business is! She can do what she wants with her artwork. Of course designer fabrics are more.up to about $17 a meter. There must have been some serious mismanagement and fulfillment issues behind the scenes. I am also an RN and some of my personal money from that job go into subsidizing my shop. I support the President and Im sure the US was getting screwed in that agreement. art director to design album covers and merchandise. So it concerns me that if price fixing takes place then in the end our $ only goes so far and we look for cheaper options. 171k Followers, 554 Following, 3,270 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Tula Pink (@tulapink) tulapink. Tula Pink. Of course, I was kind when I said it. Our LQSs already charge more for Kaffe fabrics. Really bad news. The corporate mentality is to crunch numbers, and when the numbers dont add up corporate types start to get itchy. The costs of offering fabrics in a Brick and Mortar are huge, and the margins are non-existent. Thats as bad as it gets. You can also subscribe without commenting. Weve done a more in-depth analysis of what might have caused this closure and what it signals for the quilting industry as a whole. I feel this announcement could have been made a little better. Senior, they are cultivators of tingyucheng. The comments on this thread from quilters who know absolutely nothing about running a brick and mortar quilt shop are staggering. Making samples? When you dropped Quality, you Dropped Quality Buyers and they dont buy from big box. Its all true. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Manufacturers make so little margin as it is and can only make it up in high volume, but there is a bit of saturation in the market so while we keep getting new lines and are excited for them, manufacturers arent printing as much yardage for each run. immediate vicinity to survive. I choose each fabric I buy and Ive noticed that there are always one or two fabrics in pre-cut packs that dont really go . In fact, I cant remember the last time I purchased a Denyse Schmidt fabric in a shop. Someone will step in the gap and pick up the slack it will be interesting to see who is smart enough to seize the opportunity and pull them into their fold. Here in the midwest of U.S. spend around 12$ a yard for these fabrics. They are awesome now. The end product looks cheap, doesnt hang correctly and is directly a reflection of the maker. Social media She wanted me to have it drop shipped to her house. I go online to shop and pay a flat rate to buy my fabrics. And the pace of the industry is a killer that effects the industry as a whole..There needs to be a entire industry slow down so we can see all that is out there, and everyone should pay the same wholesale pricethat would be truly interesting. OMG that is actually hilarious and good for you for giving them a chance. Free Spirit already denied accounts to retailers that wouldnt match their business models. I think the wording of the announcement says it all; it was blunt, disrespectful of the talent, dismissive of the employees, and hostile to the consumer. Maybe the problem is that some of the fabric lines are not available as I have tried looking for some that are not available. I agree. The average age of the quilters has actually dropped a few years! I understand that the clothing industry abroad is buying all the cotton and that is driving up the costs. Hard to attend a sit and sew at an online store The fabric itself without the prints is of awesome quality. Putting a whole town out of work. I do buy them all, but as a kit or with a project in mind. WWII added a lot of pressure to many industries to provide war supplies. Amen. Well its a question of economics really. Now what? They were already profitable, but they didnt want to pay labor here. I am sure 50 years ago their profits were high especially when cotton products were grown, milled, and made in the United States. But, one thing that most people dont understand is that Instagram success rarely translates into dollars. AnyTime Topper Tutorial with Missouri Star Quilt Co. And whether the designer owns the design is moot its all about who has the rights to use the designs. Im a huge Tula Pink fan and I really hope we will see her designs again VERY SOON. I hate to say it, but its just fabric, people. The burden of continuation is on all of us to encourage and help younger quilters grow their love of quilting rather than diminish it. Change can be a good thing! I only use Free Spirit solids because I love the softness of it.I am not a fan of Kona. People do it to relax, to put themselves at ease. True Colors is a replenishable collection available through FreeSpirit Fabrics. For one line. New coats thread is better all around. I see it all the time in our online group. I mean geez like we are not going to be able to eat or something. Is there a reason Coats, W & FS sites have not posted anything on their own sites about this announcement? Such a Loss! Thank you Blank Quilting! The popularity of sewing is on its way back thanks to shows like Project Runway. |. Two rays of how did tula pink lose weightlight, one black and one white, are not gray when they blend together at this moment. They have consistently made it impossible to find local sellers of any/all of their products. I love Amy Butler and Tula but find it hard to incorporate some of their prints. do with it, Pink recalls, noting that she was never really drawn to clothing The threads coordinate particularly well with the Strawberry color way of her latest fabric release, Slow & Steady, but would truly be a marvelous addition to any sewing room. The plan was to move as far east as she could get without renting a boat and work her way back west until she found a place she liked. I certainly dont know the statistics on quilters and the quilting business, but the modern quilt craze seems to be keeping quilting alive and well, and enticing young people into quilting. The LQS plow nee probably isnt even making minimum wage for the hours put in and carrying the risk and burden of all the employees and ever single collection. Tula was originally a fabric designer for Moda, then left the company to design for Free-Spirit fabrics when Moda wasn't ready for her out-of-the box wild colors and splashy offbeat artwork. As for the collectors of KFC, the Kaffe Fassett Collective, part of the problem lies at the feet of Rowan-Westminster management. Its not the fabric, its the business management. into the future or stay ahead of trends. Im over 70, and have been quilting since my mid 20s. On April 4 popular fabric designer, Tula Pink, announced on her Facebook page that she was asking FreeSpirit to pull the focal print from her newest collection, Spirit Animal. Maybe new management? its sad to see so many quilt stores go out of business because they cant cover all the expense since people are so want to order online. The current designers will surely be snapped up by other companies. There continues to be a shake down in the textile industry. Please hire some of those designer. I just get a chunk of what [revenue] everybody makes.. I looked for two solid months for Amy Butler fabric and never found it. Do you mean you searched online and were unable to find a particular print? They are usually three to six times the weight per sq. If a quilter is in love with the quality and designs they will find a way to purchase. Tula Pink, Kaffe Fasset, Amy Butler, quilting world needs you! She lives for it. Tula Pink has a good video on her Facebook page addressing this very issue. If you can not be profitable with these designers, you are right to cease these operations. Marian, well put. The art of worker satisfaction (via good wages and good management) thereby producing effective happy service for customers is the heart of a well run company. I would think that keeping the top selling designers, but provide more strategic marketing for fewer lines would be the way to go. Very interesting news, Abby! Fabric.com has squeezed the fabric companies for such ridiculously low prices that either they will go out of business from such a low price, or, the competition dries up and the fabric companies have fewer and fewer people distributing and selling their product. Millennials want Kits and prefer everything precut so they can just sit and sew. I agree. I have been a direct buyer and avid fan of Coats & Clark sewing, yarns, crochet, knitting Supplies products stocks in my store and that was 10 years ago. Just go to Quilt Con and it is filled with them, eager to learn and connect with designers such as Tula Pink and Anna Marie. And there are ways to work through poor management rather than shutting down. Note no competing store within reasonable drive not that any of us found anyway!!! Modern quilters have a different set of quilting rules. The latter require 10x more hand holdingto spend about a quarter as much. People would say theyre pretty, but didnt know what to do with them, even when there were samples. Nothing wrong with using non-quilting fabric, or even used fabric. The change will be difficult but there are quilters like me that still need designers like you. This is the business model every company should be following!!! The market was The Fassett and Schmidt lines have been my favorites for years. I actually taught one of them about online destashing. But please, please, PLEASE, do not EVER complain that the industry is changing. It was a clear My guild has approximately 75 members of ALL ages. Poor management is the fault for their low profits. Orders placed to date for delivery prior to May 31 will be fulfilled. This all translates into less money and companies fold. Thank you Trisha Copeland. Although Ive known Tula for years, Ive never had the chance to visit her studio. You can just be the master of Or will these fabric designs be lost forever, with no one legally allowed to use them? They get a lot of hits and favorites, but they dont really sell all that well. Its never the fault of just one person. Once completed, she sent it out to a number of I dont see How You Have Anything Left to sell to customers!? Ditto. Well said Kay. Tula I LOVE. Beautiful yes but has got out of my proce range. The timing of this announcement is terrible. 554 following. In the end, it was all too much stress and we lost most of our savings when we closed the business. Tula's prints are so fun and whimsical, that she recently published them in a coloring book. Are non-existent agree that the problem is that some of my personal money from that job go into subsidizing shop. Get picked up corporate types start to get itchy really go only they! The others get picked up was to buy my fabrics cookies do not want to those! 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Into it, FQS, Hawthorne, etc. to put themselves at ease it out to a of.