A Sad Good-bye

I know I said there would be no blog this week because I was on vacation with my family.  However, I received some information that was very upsetting.

After 46 years, the National Quilt Association is shutting its doors.

That's kind of like hearing the  church you're a member of is going out of business.

You see for 46 years, the NQA has put out a quarterly magazine with terrific articles and pictures and patterns.  They have fostered excellence through shows and classes.  This is the organization that established the quilt world's teacher certification program and the certified judges program. 

And those programs are thorough.  The teaching certification program has produced some of the finest teachers available to quilters and the judges program is so rigorous that one of the judges told me "It's like getting a PhD in quilting." 

Along with all of this, they had a grant program for quilt artists.

Financial crunch is the reason the NQA is folding.  The cost of shows is rising while membership is declining.  Both of those equal financial statements that will run in the red.  So while you can't blame the board for reaching this decision, it does send a shiver up my back.

Most quilters are like me.  They are "belongers."  They belong to at least one of their local guilds, several bees, and at least one national quilting organization, such NQA, AQS, IQA, and TAS.  I'm a card-carrying member of all four national organizations, two guilds, and two bees.  We cherish the fellowship and value the information that is passed on. So when one of these organizations ups and vanishes -- well, I kind of worry that others may be on that precipice.  Every time the quilt world loses a guild, or national organization, or a bee, a little piece of quilt history and quilt information is gone forever.  And that, my quilting friend, is very, very sad indeed. 

Could NQA have been saved?  Perhaps.  I'm not on the their board, so I don't have ready access to financials, but perhaps.  Cut the number of shows?  Maybe.  Shows are expensive and take a huge amount of time.  Up membership dues?  Another maybe.  But then you run the risk of alienating members. 

In a lot of ways, quilting organizations have their backs against a wall.  National and international organizations are at a particular risk.  With a local bee or guild, you have meetings and workshops and other events that put you face-to-face with other quilters, so the fellowship and learning component is readily available and worth that $20 to $25 annual membership fee.  The national and international organizations for the most part do not have this advantage.  The Applique Society (TAS) -- of which I am a board member -- has chapters that meet monthly or even weekly.  But not all states have them.  It's up to a TAS member to see the need and start a chapter.

Sometimes it's hard for quilters to see the advantage of that  $25+ membership fee.  All of these organizations have websites and quarterly newsletters.  AQS offers a membership discount into all of their shows and at their online store or their booth at shows.  Most local quilt shops will honor those cards with a 10% discount.

So what's a quilting organization to do?

I thought a lot about this, what with working with my guilds and as a board member of TAS.  I think all quilting groups -- bees, local guilds, and large quilting organization -- must remember that the times -- they are a changin'.

The average age of a guild member is 50.  These are folks who have for the most part raised their kids and see the retirement light at the end of a long, hard tunnel.  Most have a little more disposable income.  This means if you gotta raise the membership dues by $2 to $5, they're not gonna complain a whole lot.  Sure, they're going to grumble a little, but if they feel they're getting bang for their buck, a slight increase probably won't hurt your membership a whole lot.

However, this has got to be handled carefully.  I feel the membership has got to know why the fee is being raised -- that it's not just an arbitrary decision by the board.  For instance, I know of one quilting group whose show really tanked this year.  The President was pretty straight forward with the membership over the financial crunch.  She told the group the fees would be raised $5 to a total of $30 annually until the group could run in the black again, or the programs would have to be severely cut back.  The membership voted to raise the fee. 

Now let's pick up two issues from this.  First of all the age thing -- 50 years-old.  I definitely fall into that average.  But there is a whole huge group of new quilters out there who are younger and energetic and appreciate the art, too -- the Modern Quilters.  Now before some of you traditionalists get your batting in a twist, let me remind you that it's probably going to be this generation of quilters who decide if quilting is going to survive for another 40 years.  For sure, they have their own guilds, but we should be making a large effort to attract them to ours. 

And this may mean changing some of the ways we do things. This group is definitely internet savvy.  They're perfectly fine with chat rooms and blogging and Facebook and Twitter.  They want their newsletters on line.  They are fine with lots of negative space in their quilts and certainly want their own category at the next quilt show.

We could learn a lot from them.  And they could learn a lot from us.

Nationally, membership is on the decline, especially in large quilting organizations.  Attracting these new members could benefit everyone.  It may mean upping the ante on our websites or having a modern quilt category in our shows.  It means not gaping at their quilts at the guild show and tell.  It means listening to what a whole new category of quilters want from a guild.  Virtual meetings?  Day time meetings over lunch?  And it certainly means seeing how traditional techniques (such as applique) could be incorporated into their quilts.

Attracting these folks would push up the membership numbers and be beneficial for everyone.

The second issue is shows.  Shows take a great deal of time and a greater deal of money.  And more volunteers than you could shake a quilting needle at.  Every guild I have talked to this year that has had a show has either not made as much as they did at the last show (best case scenario) or the show completely failed (worst case scenario).  It seems each guild puts on their own show as well as each national organization.  I really, really feel that this has got to change.

In the business world, in order to survive, you need to find a niche you fill better than anyone.  In the business that my husband and I own, ours is federal and military work -- for a multitude of reasons.  It means miles of red tape, but it's put two kids through college and made mortgage payments.  I firmly believe that organizations that are producing quilt shows have got to start thinking along the same lines.

If every other guild in your state is having a quilt show in the same year, why should a quilter go to your show over another?  And better yet, why should a vendor pick your show over another to vend at? It's a given that huge organizations, such as AQS, have their shows down to a science, so let's see what we can learn from them.

There's always Paducah.  They can have shows all over the United States and all different times of year, but come April, you know they're always going to be in Paducah, Kentucky. 

It's a multi-day show.  Generally, it's a three day show regardless of the location.

They're not afraid to network.  There's always a strong showing of local guilds.

They have classes with great teachers.  Always.

It's a judged (and usually juried) show.  Yep.  AQS ribbons mean something.  You come home with one of their blues and you've made it as far as the quilting elite goes.

So what does this mean to a guild?
1.  Find the best time of year to have your show that's convenient to your customers and vendors and have it about that same time every other year. 

2.  Make it at least two days.  A lot of great vendors who may have to travel some distance to be at your show won't touch a one-day event.  Multiple days may make a difference.

3.  I really do believe that the days of the one-guild show are over.  I think guilds need to work together to put on a multi-day show.  This spreads the cost around as well as gives you more volunteers to pull from.  For instance, there is an area on the coast where three or more guilds get together to have their show.  Each guild takes turns being the host -- that guild gets the attendance money.  The have a food vendor that sets up but it is not allowed to sell desserts.  Another guild sells desserts and they get that money.  So cost and proceeds can be divided.  It's a matter of guilds working together.  As a result of the cooperation of the above mentioned guilds, attendance is stellar and everyone goes home happy, not exhausted, and has cash in the guild's tender.

4.  If you have a multi-day show with multi-guild help, you can pull the best teachers from each guild and offer classes -- a win/win for everyone.  That way you're encouraging people to come back to your show for a couple of days to take classes.  This makes vendors happy and it allows the guild to showcase their best instructors. 

5.  Viewers' choice ribbons are fine, but you really need a judged show with a certified judge.  This is an added expense, but it can be worked around.  The quilts are usually judged before they're hung for the show.  Most guilds charge an additional fee per quilt to cover the cost of the judge.  Of course, not all members may want their quilts judged, they just want them hung.  And that's fine.  But it should be stressed just what a judged show is -- a quilt judge is not going to be hyper-critical of their work.  He or she is going to give them a critique of their quilt -- what they did great and what they need to work on.  It can only help make you a better quilter.  Plus, honestly?  You really get a better turn out for a judged show.  Sometimes judged quilt shows are open to guild members only and sometimes they're open to anyone.  It's up to the guild(s) involved to make these decisions.

The news about NQA is very upsetting.  I hate it so much.  But as quilters we can take this as a cautionary event and look at the organizations we love so much very carefully.  While we love guilds and national groups so very much, everyone must realize that they are a business.  We may not call them as such, but they do have a bottom line that needs to be kept in the black. Hard decisions may need to be made, but if the membership is kept in the loop, I don't think these decisions are impossible. 

The last thing I want to do is say good-bye to another one.

Love and Stitches...and Kleenex tonight,

Sherri