Interview: Erynn Truex of The Panto Shop

This month in the Longarm League, I sat down with Erynn Truex of True Threads Quilting to talk about her recent acquisition and re-opening of The Panto Shop.

Erynn's been a League member and professional longarm quilter for a few years now, and I was so excited when I heard she would be re-opening The Panto Shop after the previous owners decided to close. I loved getting to chat with her about this new part of her business, what the transition process has been like, and where she's planning to go from here.  

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Erynn to share a little more about herself and her businesses with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Erynn...

Erynn Truex of True Threads Quilting & The Panto Shop

Located: Phoenix, Arizona
In the Longarm League: I joined Rookie Season in Sept 2022 and have been a member ever since!
Machine and software: Innova M28 with Autopilot Mach3

Where to find Erynn
Websites: https://www.truethreadsquilting.com & https://www.thepantoshop.com
Instagram: @true.threads.quilting & @thepantoshop_

Q&A

Tell us a little about your businesses and the services you provide:.
True Threads Quilting offers everything from edge-to-edge to full custom quilting. We focus on collaborating with clients to make their creative visions come to life.

The Panto Shop is an online pantograph marketplace, providing a user-friendly shopping experience and a variety of design aesthetics. Serving a fresh and fun look, paired with features like filtering and wishlists, we’re a great shopping assistant on your desktop or mobile!

What's been the most exciting part of taking over The Panto Shop?
Endlessly scrolling designs for curated collections is probably my favorite part of ‘work’. And getting to know each of the designers beyond just their catalog has also been amazing. They’re a talented bunch and wonderful human beings I am so lucky to partner with!

What are some of the changes or things you need to account for in your daily routines with running two businesses?
I’ve decided to lengthen my turnaround time for the longarming business to batch more tasks. This allows me to do all of one type of thing on a single day (think intake, client consults, cutting batting or photos), and in turn I’m able to better estimate my workload for the rest of the week.

I also set weekly goals of the big ticket items I’m trying to finish, and though they almost never all get done, it at least helps me see what’s slipping and how or when big projects are going to get tackled.

Is there anything you'd like previous customers of The Panto Shop to know; any customer-facing changes or updates you'd like to share?
Everyone’s former accounts and purchases still exist! Download links are always in your email confirmation from the original order, but the email can always be regenerated if folks are having trouble finding it. As we grow our customer base, more features will be coming like additional wishlists, viewing downloads on the site, and advanced search capabilities!

What about panto designers that are interested in working with you? Can you share a little about that process and the best way to get in touch with you?
On the Contact page of the website, there’s a link to a form for anyone who is interested in working with us to submit work! More details will be coming soon for folks who are interested in creating designs but who do not yet have digitization software.

Just for fun

What are some favorite pantos you've been loving lately or are excited to try?
I’m super into Contours (not currently available) and Simpler Contours by The Dastardly Quilt Studio (aka dastardlyline) right now.

What's your favorite part of making a quilt?
Picking fabrics and the quilting design!

What other hobbies do you enjoy aside from quilting?
I love a good estate sale or farmers market if you can get me to leave the studio!

If you'd like to watch the business spotlight call with Erynn, or are interested in being a guest, we'd love to have you join us! Whether you're interested in starting your own longarm quilting business, or wanting to improve your current business, check out our Rookie Season course! You can see all the details, read about how the course has helped previous students, and get started here.

Thanks so much for talking with us this month, Erynn!