BERNINA of America Honors Outstanding Dealers for 2009 at Annual Dealer Conference

Bernina recently honored their top dealers for 2009 at their annual conference. Among those are a number of FabShop members (indicated in bold in the press release below).

BERNINA of America recognized top dealers nationwide with achievement awards in sales, service and customer education at its recent BERNINA University dealer training conference in Orlando, Fla. John and Judy Curtis of It’s A Stitch-Bernina, Humble, Texas, received the 2009 BERNINA Presidential Award, which recognizes the dealer that best exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and education represented by the BERNINA brand. This includes successful promotion and advertising of the entire BERNINA product line, a modern store merchandising concept, a well-developed educational approach, dedication to total customer service and above-average growth in dollar sales and BERNINA units sold.

“BERNINA’s success is tied to the success of its dealers. It’s A Stitch-Bernina has reaped the financial benefits that result from truly outstanding sales and customer support,” said Martin Favre, president of BERNINA of America.
In addition, BERNINA single- and multiple-store dealerships with the highest sales dollar volume during 2009 were honored. The 2009 Top Five Multi-Store Dealer Awards were presented to:

Judy and John Curtis, It’s A Stitch-Bernina, Humble, Texas
Rhonda Lopez, Nuttall’s Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah
Richard and Rod Borget, Dave’s Bernina, Provo, Utah
Jack Pierce, Atlanta Sewing Center, Duluth, Ga.
John Ramsey, Bernina of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Okla.

The 2009 Top Five Single-Store Dealer Awards were given to:

Ervin and Ella Mae Zimmerman, Hinkletown Sewing Machine Shop, Ephrata, Pa.
Leon and Linda Hoover, Hoover’s Bernina Sew, Mifflinburg, Pa.
Regina Owen, Gina’s Bernina Sewing Center, Knoxville, Tenn.
Timothy and Lois Hoover, Top Stitch Sewing Service, Barnett, Mo.

Merrily Parker of Merrily We Quilt Along, Springfield, Mo., received the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award, which recognizes the new dealer from BERNINA’s Class of 2008 that best incorporated lessons of BERNINA dealer training into its operation, and that delivered impressive 2009 sales volume, market share, merchandising, customer service and educational support.

“Our New Dealer Training program is designed to educate and motivate our newest members to ensure their first year with BERNINA is a success,” said Martin Favre, president of BERNINA of America. “This accolade celebrates Merrily’s achievements in implementing the business development strategies she learned at BERNINA University, as well as her commitment to innovation.”

Along with this Rookie of the Year Award, Parker and her staff were the Grand Prize Winners of the One Million Pillowcase Dealer Challenge. They collected more than 5,000 pillowcases that were donated to the Child Advocacy Center in Springfield, Mo. from March through May 2010.

“BERNINA has always been the only sewing machine for me. I waited five years to become a dealer, and was happy to have lived up to BERNINA’s expectations as a new dealer,” said Parker.

BERNINA also announced 2009 District Dealer of the Year Award winners from the company’s 11 districts. They include:

Robin Parker and Pamela Dunn, Robin’s Sewing Shoppe, Hoover, Ala.
Barb Perry, Aurora Sewing Center, E. Aurora and Williamsville, N.Y.
Terri Gunn, Quilt Quarters, Carmel, Ind.
Judy Munro, Bear’s Paw Fabrics Inc., Towson, Md.
Karen French, The French Seam, Stuttgart, Arkansas
Patrick and Cathy Morin, Bernina Sewing Machine Station, Brentwood, Tenn.
Laurie Mangold, Sew Special Quilts, San Antonio, Texas
Edward Leone Jr., Eddie’s Quilting Bee, Sunnyvale, Calif.
Jenny Yannone, The Sewing Palace, Helena, Mont.
Jean Graham, Quilter’s Haven LLC, Rosemount, Minn.
Marsha Cowen, Bernina Sewing and Design Center, Las Cruces, N.M.

September Releases from C & T Publishing

C & T will be releasing eight new books in September. Contact C & T or your favorite distributor for ordering information.

Picture This! • Marcia Stein	All-Star Quilts • Helen Frost & Blanche Young	Make Cloth Dolls • Terese Cato

Fanciful Felties from mummysam • Samantha Cotterill	Hari Walner’s Continuous-Line Quilting Designs	Piece O’ Cake Designs Tote

Piece O’ Cake Designs Playing Cards	The Art of Quilts Postcard Collection— Animals	Sari Quilt Journals

Independent Handbag Designer Award Winners Annouced

NEW YORK, NY, June 17, 2010- InStyle and Handbag Designer 101 announced the winners of the Independent Handbag Designer Awards™ (IHDA) last night at Parsons The New School for Design.

After receiving more than 900 submissions, eight winners were named in eight different categories including Catherine Meyer of FOLLIS, who received the award for Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design. With more than 212,000 votes cast on InStyle.com, Veronica Suarez of EXEX Handbags by Veronica S. was voted the Audience Fan Favorite.

Tim Gunn, chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne presented the ICONOCLAST Award to Deborah Lloyd, co-president and creative director of kate spade new york.

Other industry notables in attendance included Ariel Foxman, editor of InStyle; Steven Kolb, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA); Simon Collins, dean of fashion, Parsons The New School for Design and Claudia Poccia, global president of mark.™

The winning handbags will be featured in the September issue of InStyle, on sale August 20, 2010. Winners include:

Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design
Catherine Meyer, USA, FOLLIS; presented by Ariel Foxman, editor of InStyle

Indygo Junction Announces “Sew You Wanna Start a Business” Sweepstakes

Indygo Junction is pleased to announce the Vintage Notions “Sew You Wanna Start a Business” Sweepstakes in support of the launch Amy Barickman’s new book. If you haven’t heard already, Amy’s book – Vintage Notions: An Inspirational Guide to Needlework, Cooking, Sewing, Fashion and Fun – is the culmination of a personal journey that started 20 years ago when Amy began collecting rare sewing and needle arts books, vintage home arts magazines and cookbooks. This fantastic book contains inspirational essays and projects; seasonal recipes, crafting and decorating ideas; twelve Magic Patterns (easy-to-make, chic sewing projects); timeless advice on health, character, beauty, style, fashion, friendship and so much more.

Australian Quilt Teacher Lisa Walton Awarded Patterson Scholarship

Quilts Inc. recently announced the 20th and final recipient of the Jewel Pearce Patterson Scholarship for Quilting Teachers. Here is the official announcement.

HOUSTON—May 11, 2010—International Quilt Market is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2010 Jewel Pearce Patterson Scholarship for Quilting Teachers is Lisa Walton of Sydney, Australia. The scholarship—now in its twentieth and final year—provides a commendable quilting teacher with the opportunity to expand her creative talents and improve upon her classroom and teaching skills. Walton will receive round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and paid tuition for the 2010. International Quilt Market and Festival in Houston. Over the course of the following year, she will apply what she has learned during her time at the shows to an exhibit of her work and that of her students. This special exhibit will debut at the 2011 fall editions of Market and Festival.

“What a delight it was to contact Lisa and let her know that she had been selected as this year’s recipient—her response was one of sheer disbelief,” says Judy Murrah, Vice President of Education and Administration for Quilts, Inc. “I look forward to meeting Lisa and seeing her inspirational quilts. And her exhibit promises to be a real explosion of color!”

Walton was thrilled upon learning that she had been named this year’s scholarship recipient. “I was in the car, checking email on my phone, and I screamed so loudly that my husband—who was driving—had to stop. I think I started crying then!” Now, she is looking forward to learning new techniques and technical skills during her time in Houston, she adds. “I am going to absorb every minute of it. I want to especially observe teachers’ styles and their interactions with students.”

A quilter for close to 20 years, Walton began teaching about 10 years ago and has since made it her full-time job. Walton’s classes cover a wide array of styles and techniques including piecing, appliqué, machine quilting, embroidery, couching, and other decorative stitches, and bead embellishment, the latter of which is her area of expertise.

“I cannot believe how much I love teaching quilting and patchwork,” she says. “I love the
exchange of knowledge between my students and myself, and I always learn something from them as well. I love seeing my students have that ‘ahhhhh’ moment.”

Walton is also an award-winning quilter whose work has appeared in various exhibits, judged shows, and private collections around the world, including two solo exhibitions in her home country of Australia. Her designs are regularly published in all of the major Australian quilting magazines, and Walton and her work have been profiled in a number of other international publications, including several in the U.S.

In 2005, Walton and her husband launched their business, Dyed and Gone to Heaven, which offers patterns and kits for her original quilt designs, hand-dyed fabrics, and beads and beading supplies. And recently, she was featured in two educational DVD workshops, which she says—much like her classes—encourage students to “just give it a try!”

The scholarship was created in honor of Jewel Pearce Patterson (1910-2002), a Houston-based quilting teacher who taught thousands of students throughout her career. She was one of the cofounders of what is now the International Quilt Association, as well as the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston. Patterson was also the mother of Karey Bresenhan, Quilts, Inc. president and director of International Quilt Festival and Market.

The scholarship was first awarded in 1990 to mark Patterson’s 80th birthday, and this year—the final year for the scholarship—would have marked her 100th. Over the course of its 20 years, many of today’s best-known quilting teachers received the scholarship and the opportunity to study at International Quilt Festival and Market and, in some cases, Quilt Expo in Europe.

“My mother would have been delighted to know that her love of quilting and teaching resulted in many teachers from the U.S. and other countries receiving scholarships from Festival to expand their teaching skills,” says Bresenhan. “She was a big believer in education, earned three college degrees while working full-time as a teacher and librarian, and always laughed that she retired from teaching to go to work teaching quilting! So, it was a pleasure to offer the Jewel Pearce Patterson scholarship for two decades. Mama was so happy that she got to meet quite a few of the early recipients of “her” scholarship—that meant a lot to her.”