QuiltCon 2025: Vending Highlights

Last month we attended one of our favorite events of the year - QuiltCon! This year's event was in Phoenix, AZ. After a couple years in the Southeast, it was fun to head west again.

This year there were two Longarm League members vending at QuiltCon for the first time - Kristen Lee of Mashe Modern and Kaitlyn Howell of Knot + Thread Design. We thought it would be fun to interview them about their experience going from attendee to vendor, and have been releasing those calls, as well as our own in-depth vending recap, over the last few weeks.

While League members have full access to the recording of the interviews, we thought it would be fun to share about our own vending experience this year and asked Kristen and Kaitlyn to share a little more about their experience with our blog readers as well.

Without further ado, let's dive in...

Our booth this year was at the end of a row, making it easy for people to stop in to chat or rest their feet. This was our third year vending, and each year gets easier and more streamlined.

We made one new addition to our booth this year: a selfie station with lots of quilty sign props to choose from. It was so fun to get photos with friends and members and to see people stopping by to take a photo.

This year we also offered signups in our booth for Rookie Season and it was so exciting getting to celebrate in person with our newest students. Each year we love seeing old friends, making new connections with people, and experiencing the excitement and joy everyone has being at the show together.

Our focus at QuiltCon is on building and strengthening community, and since we don't have products we're selling, our experience with setup and working throughout the show is different than vendors having to bring lots of products along to the show. So we were curious to hear Kristen's and Kait's perspectives on vending.

Meet Kristen Lee of Mashe Modern

Located: Iowa
# of times attending QuiltCon: 7
Was anything new / different at the show this year? What keeps you coming back? I'm not sure what was new since I was in my booth a lot of the time. It seems like there was more quilty fashion than ever. I keep coming back for the positive energy at QC. Everyone is so excited to be there.

Meet Kaitlyn Howell of Knot and Thread Design

From left to right: Kaitlyn Howell, Knot and Thread Design and Shelly Moore, Ma Tante Quilting

Located: Utah
# of times attending QuiltCon: 3
Was anything new / different at the show this year? What keeps you coming back? QuiltCon is such an inspiring space! I always love the community, the creativity and all the amazing quilts (and bags!). It was different for me because it was my first year vending and my first year teaching a class. I loved teaching and loved being in my booth connecting with so many amazing people.

Q&A

What was the most exciting part of vending for the first time at QuiltCon?

• Kristen: "I got to meet many customers in person who buy from all over the country. I also liked being able to walk the show before the public without the crowd."
• Kaitlyn: "Best part about vending was meeting so many people. So many IG friends and new friends. I also had the opportunity to teach and I loved that so much as well."

Any takeaways from this year or things you're planning to do differently next time?

• Kristen: "Bring more notions and small items; we sold out of all of that stuff."
• Kaitlyn: "Personally, I'm not planning to vend next year. I think there are other ways I can cultivate my brand just by attending without the stress and prep of vending at QuiltCon."

Do you have any recommendations for people considering going to QC for the first time?

• Kristen: "Plan for at least 1.5 days even if you don't attend lectures or workshops. It is overwhelming and hard to do in one day. Wear comfy shoes."
• Kaitlyn: "Bring comfy shoes and for sure plan for at least 2-3 days. (Especially if you want to see all the amazing quilts in the exhibits!) Find meetups and swaps and dinner groups. I have hosted with some friends a dinner the last two years and that has been so fun to have the opportunity to chat and eat and hang out."

We definitely agree on comfy shoes being a necessity! And we second the advice to make time to have dinner and meet up with folks after the show is over for the day - we love the in-depth conversations we get to have while relaxing at night with new and old friends.

If you haven't made it to QuiltCon yet, we highly recommend making the trip if you can. If you go, we'd love for you to stop by our booth and say hi!

If you'd like to watch our full QuiltCon recap and interviews, we'd love to have you join us in the League! 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, Kristen and Kaitlyn!