New! Summer Spotlight Series. Meet Susan Palmer
Hello, my friend, and welcome to this week’s blog where we continue our Summer Spotlight Series with a former student from my Pattern Design Academy®. Her name is Susan Palmer, and she has been quilting for over 30 years!
She has a lot to share with us about her journey with quilting, how she bounced back after getting laid off, what she does now as a fabric representative selling to quilt shops, and other steps she’s taken as a pattern designer.
In the video interview that you can watch HERE, Susan showcases some patterns for us the way she would at a quilt shop and gives us incredible value as she tells us what the shop owners look out for. She also explains how things have changed with her having to work remotely.
As a pattern designer, she LOVES stripes and has now chosen to make them a signature in her collections! Susan is also very fond of turning nine patches into argyle quilts and she shows us what this is like, along with some other design tips.
I’m so proud of how Susan has found her own path as a designer and I’m sure you’ll be as inspired as I am by her story.
Here are a few key takeaways from the first part of the interview. You can watch part 1 of the interview HERE and access the full transcript HERE.
#1 – Shops tend to like collections, and patterns that aren’t directional.
For one of the fabrics that Susan showed us, she noted that “a lot of shops will say, ‘well, this is directional. It's beautiful, but it's directional’. What they mean is that because the design is intended to go in just one direction - for example vertically - they won’t be able to use it in all situations. Directional patterns waste fabric because they have to be sewn in a more precise way so that the pattern isn’t upside down or backwards. Shops, and most customers, want flexible, non-directional patterns that can be used on any product.
She also explains that shops tend to buy collections more because “it’s the easiest way to fill up their shop” and when they don’t buy a collection, they’ll more likely select fabrics that can work together in a color story.
Susan also notes that shops never buy the same fabric twice and usually shop up to eight months ahead, always looking for something new.
#2 – Different shops have different tastes, so there is space for everyone.
Susan says, “there are some shops that want everything light and bright and exciting. . . .and then there's other shops that want to go retro, go back to the civil war era, and they're looking for things that fit that perspective.”
This serves as inspiration for new artists and quilters, and shows that creativity is all about finding your place. Trends and opinions are subjective, so it’s always worth it to put your work out there. Its unique beauty will find the right audience.
#3 – Susan recommends a “design wall” as a must-have for every designer.
At the end of this first part of the interview, Susan explains how a nine-patch quilt works with a sample of her quilt displayed on an interesting, sticky wall that she calls a “design wall”. On her YouTube channel, she has a two-and-a-half-minute video explaining how to make one. She says, “it's the best thing you can do for yourself as a designer”.
Stay tuned for part 2!
Pop over to my YouTube channel to watch part 1 of this interview. Click HERE and please subscribe while you’re over there.
xo,
Anne
P.S. My free mini-course, From Doodles to Dollars, starts again in September. To prepare, grab a free 7-day trial to Adobe Illustrator. You’ll get both the desktop and the iPad version! What a great deal.
Have fun and I’ll see you next week.
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
