Park Bench Patter Co - What are Consumer Shows?

I am sure most of you have hear of or been to some kind of consumer show. It may have been a “home and garden show”, “antique show”, boat and RV show”, “gun show”, “computer show”, “bridal fair”, etc. These are consumer shows. They are organized, promoted, and put on by professional promoters. They are open to the public and you pay a ticket fee to enter and the vendors pay a fee for their booth spaces so they can show and sell their products.

The sewing, quilting and needle craft industry also have consumer shows. Most of these are put on by professional promoters. Some are sponsored by local quilt guilds, some are sponsored by hand weaver guilds and are regional conferences with bender halls open to the public. If you have not attended one, it will be well worth your time if you are at all interested in any type of sewing. Ladies who sew or work with textiles are great fun. They are friendly and full of advice, encouragement and information.

These sewing-related consumer shows offer things you don’t see every day at your local stores. These are the places where you will find the unusual things that make sewing special and fun. You get to talk to the people in the industry who create, sell and promote the new products. Many of these vendors travel all over the country and are small independence companies who sell only at consumer shows.


	The shows will change a little each year and there will always be new things to see and new classes to take. It is always helpful to know what is available.

Some of the things you might find at these shows are button vendors who may offer anything from new, unusual or antique buttons, hand made porcelain or clay buttons, buttons from the “rain forest”, imported buttons from all over the world, etc. You see hand-dyed silk ribbons and assorted trims as well as antique laces and trims. You sometimes see African fabrics and hand-dyed or hand-painted fabrics.

There usually are fabric vendors offering fabrics you don’t see in your local fabric stores. There are tailoring supplies, sewing notions, quilting patterns and supplies, specialty threads in every color imaginable, sewing magazines, computer programs for everything from embroidery templates to fitting problems, etc. There is usually a large selection of sewing related books that are hard to find locally.

You will see clothes patterns from small independent pattern companies that you will never see in the large chain stores. Sewing machine dealers are there so you can see what’s new in their market and see demonstrations and ask questions. If you have seen a product or just imagined it, you will probably find it at one of these shows.

There are usually special free exhibits for your enjoyment. These could be anything from antique quilts, art quilts, wearable art to wear, hand-woven fabrics, fashion garments, handmade dolls, or antique sewing machines.

Most of these shows offer classes and workshops. There are great educational opportunities to learn from nationally known educators, many of which you will have seen on TV and/or read about in magazines. Lean new techniques, new skills and update your present ones, get creative ideas, or learn more about your sewing machine and all the extra things it can do. There is usually a charge for these classes, but it is well worth it. There are also stage presentations, demonstrations and fashion shows. These are usually free.


	So now that you are interested . . . where do you find out where they are going to be and are any of them going to be in your neighborhood? Watch for ads in newspapers, ads in sewing and quilting magazines, guild and club newsletters, check in the back of weaving magazines for calendars of events, check with the fabric stores and quilt stores, and ask people you know if they know of any.

People who sew are the nicest ladies around. They are friendly and full of advice and encouragement. There really is a “sisterhood” when it comes to sewing. Talk to your friends and get a group together and plan on attending one of these shows. If it is out of town, then plan on spending the night away from home and make it a mini-vacation. Men take the day off to go to the ball game, play golf or go hunting. Think of this as a “fishing trip” for the ladies! You deserve it!


	Park Bench Pattern Co. PO Box 191399 San Diego, CA 92159-1399 USA Phone: 619-269-9808 Fax: 619-269-9809


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