Quilt Market BEFORE

Over the past coupla months, I've received several emails from Expo fans who said, "wow, I had no idea people worked all year long to make Expo happen."

We all get a kick out of those emails. Because IT REALLY DOES TAKE A VILLAGE. Beyond that -- it occurred to me during my visit to Quilt Market in Houston that WE ACTUALLY BUILD A VILLAGE. A temporary four-day shopping mall built out of pipe and drape. Then, add to the mix a four-day sewing university with hundreds of classes and speakers from all over the world. Hey -- while we're at it -- how about some style shows and special events? It is not possible to convey to you how much work it is to plan and organize a big show -- or how many man and woman hours go into the pre-show planning. Ann Sagawa is working on the teacher apps even as we speak. And Janet York is accepting the vendor apps. Joanne Ross has the big job of overseeing the entire process -- and you pretty much know what I've been doin'!!

After all the planning is done -- the actual BUILDING begins. It occurred to me that taking pictures of Quilt Market as it was going together would give you a good idea of how EXPO happens.

Some vendors even ship their own "flooring"

Every vendor ships their merchandise in wooden pallets, often wrapped with plastic wrap...


Many of the vendors ship their merchandise in wooden crates bigger than my bathroom.
Multiple wooden crates make for a very exciting booth...
The "beep beep beep" of the forklift operators creates a symphony of NOISE,NOISE, NOISE...and you've got to be careful when you step into an aisle in progress...

Forklifts, hundreds of rolls of carpet, thousands of wooden pallets...

And millions of pre-show hours put in by the best speakers and vendors all over the world. In Australia and Canada, Texas, South Dakota, Maryland, Wisconsin and New York City -- there are sewing stars working right now on their newest books, patterns and/or products to bring to the 2010 Expo. In the next few months they will design, write, publish, and sew new samples -- IT'S A LOT OF WORK, PEOPLE..
Just writing this blog entry is making me tired...I'm exhausted...time for a nap, eh?