Notes from Moda: Getting the Party Started

Dear Emma,

Happy belated birthday! As I read the blog about your birthday party, I thought about all the things that have to happen behind the scenes to plan a party. Of course you have to have a cake or two, invite all the guests, and of course, a place to have the party. Your Mom & Dad did a lot of planning and scheduling to make your party happen.

All of this made me think of the upcoming quilt market in Portland Oregon. Mark Dunn always says Market is like birthing a baby. Cheryl and the Moda designers do this twice a year. They do not even have stretch marks to show for these births. Market is kind of like a party. A great big party for quilters! We get to see a lot of our friends. All the new notions, books and fabrics are like hundreds of presents everywhere you look. Right now we are working on making “the quilter’s party” happen. I thought you would like to hear about some of the things and people that help Moda put on the party.

We pack two 18-wheeler trucks full of props, table covers, chairs, extension cords, tool boxes, order pads, catalogs, fabric bundles, snacks, first aid kits, extra strength Tylenol and plenty of chocolate. These are just the basics of our party much like your table covers, balloons and funny hats. Hassen and Sara help us with the big parts of our booths. They have been building and painting and creating for weeks now. Today they were testing all of the electrical cords, make sure all the lights worked, bracing the crates for another shipment.

Photo shoots have taken place so that you can see all the new items from Moda Home.

Mariza and her team are busy making capsets for each of the salesmen to sell from during the three-day whirlwind “party”.We figured they will go through 73,968 staples in the next three weeks. The marketing team has finalized our “Playbook,” this is what we call our Market catalog. Susan Stiff is putting the finishing touches on the playbook as we speak. It is a much sought after item at market full of all the new moda fabrics, quilts and more.

25-30 quilts will be made within a month’s time to showcase the fabulous fabrics and patterns deputing in Portland. There is one person who touches every quilt for Market. Carolyn sews that backing and bindings for each and every quilt. She picks the thread and batting for each project. She knows everything about threads! A special thank you to her because she also sews on most all my borders!

Erin, Jen, Outlaw, Ducky, Holly, Alison and Whitney have been planning the 30 booths. (And I helped, too.) The funny thing about Market is that it takes us two very long days to set it up. The doors open. The party starts! Before you know it the party is over! The entire booth comes down in about five hours. Two days to set up, five hours to tear down. Someday, I am going to film it for you so you can see how it all happens. These are just a few of the people that help us throw the party. I will tell you about the Moda team next week, along with introducing you to a couple of new Moda designers.

Lissa Alexander
Marketing Director for Moda