Market Research & Trends in the Quilting Industry

Summary
In this episode, Andi and Tori celebrate the launch of Season Five, reflecting on their experiences at the H & H event and discussing the importance of recognizing trends in the quilting industry. They explore the concept of 'bed rotting' and its connection to sleep trends, as well as Tori's transition to full-time entrepreneurship. The conversation delves into market research strategies, emphasizing the significance of understanding one's ideal customer and engaging with the community. They wrap up by inviting listeners to join their Patreon for deeper engagement and support.

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Takeaways

• Season five marks a significant milestone for the podcast.
• Tori's experience at H & H was more focused and goal-oriented this year.
• Learning to notice trends can enhance marketing strategies.
• The concept of 'bed rotting' reflects a shift in lifestyle and relaxation.
• Tori has transitioned to full-time entrepreneurship, focusing on course design and digital marketing coaching.
• Understanding your ideal customer is crucial for effective marketing.
• Market research can be simple and quick to conduct.
• Engaging with your audience helps identify trends and needs.
• We offer a community on Patreon that offers deeper engagement and support.

Chapters
00:00 Welcome to Season Five
02:56 Reflections on H & H Event
04:16 Exploring Trends in Quilting
11:30 The Shift Towards Smaller Projects
13:19 Tori's Leap into Full-Time Business
18:27 Understanding Market Research
25:50 Wrapping Up and Community Engagement

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Podcast Details:

Co-Hosts:

Tori McElwain @heytori.tech

Andi Stanfield @truebluequilts

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Transcript

Andi (01:03)
And we're back! It's so good to be here for season five! How have you been, Tori? I'm doing very well.

Tori (01:09)
I've been doing pretty good. How are you, Andy?

Andi (01:14)
And I, you know, season five, that's always a big number when you get to that body of work in whether it's with your pattern business, your long arm business, you know, when you have five seasons or five years under your belt, it feels like a real thing. So how are you feeling? Are people recognizing you as the voice of quilting on the side?

Tori (01:38)
You know, they are

like when I went to H &H I had more people Recognize me than I ever have ever And some people are like, I know you from the podcast some people recognize me from YouTube So I think they're listening to the podcast on YouTube and things like that. So it's been interesting. What about what about you maybe?

Andi (01:46)
Hahaha

Yeah, it's been fun to have people.

say that they've listened to the podcast and I'm just I'm glad that we both are, you know, refuse to give up. We're gonna keep showing up and keep putting our our knowledge and our stories out there. So glad to have you along for this journey. And you mentioned being at H &H and that's where we want to pick right up. That event happens in the spring. So it's been a few months. So you've had some

Tori (02:20)
and

Andi (02:32)
time to sit with that experience. Tell us about it.

Tori (02:37)
H

&H was really good this year. I had a much more targeted goal than I did before where last time was more like I wanted to see what it was all about. I wanted to meet different people. I wanted to show a few people my book that was in progress at the time and now it's been published for... When this episode comes out, it'll be almost a year it's been published. But this year I was much more focused on

getting the word about my book out, actually talking to people. had a shelf, well half a shelf in the book pavilion. So my book had its own little display this time around. So that was really cool. And it was great. I learned a lot. I went to a lot of like trends.

workshops, I went, like I actually paid for the workshop pass this time, the classes pass, I forget exactly what it was called, but I was able to go to quite a few classes and a few panels and of course I went to all the keynotes because I love their keynotes that they do, I think they're really interesting. And even got to see a preview of quilters, the Netflix special that came out a few months ago. So that was really really cool and I got to see some of the quilts that those, the people in the documentary actually made.

They had them there at H &H, that was really cool.

Andi (03:55)
Yeah, that was such a big event for the industry to have that documentary come out. There's a lot of buzz about it. So definitely for our audience, let us know what your reactions were to that documentary. We can certainly talk about that in another episode ⁓ in terms of charity efforts. ⁓ Just some of the things I noticed around that documentary were ⁓ that men in quilting

always get more attention. And it's been kind of a women's crisis. So we've got that whole gender divide going on that people have opinions about. ⁓ Obviously the charity, the rehabilitation, since it was an effort in a prison and some of those.

big societal issues were really interesting too. But yeah, I'm glad, you know, for anybody to get exposed to quilting is a good thing. So that must have been really, really neat to see some of that in person. But you mentioned going to trend talks and panel discussions. So what are some of the trends that they were forecasting?

Tori (05:15)
Well

what was interesting is I learned how to notice trends, which was cool because I never really um... Sorry, there's a little fly.

Andi (05:24)
Yeah

Tori (05:24)
It's like a little gnat thing. Okay, anyway, we... What was I saying? Trends. so what was cool was one of the presenters had trends from different experts. So like the Pantone Colors of the Year, she showed how Pantone had its own trends. Or I don't know if I'm saying that right. Pantone.

had its own trends. Pinterest had its own trends, Etsy had its own trends that it was forecasting. And she was very good at pulling out colors for the craft industry ⁓ yarn because H &H is a big yarn and fabric ⁓ industry show. So you've got both yarn and quilting.

together with like beading and stuff like they had a lot of hand crafts this year a little bit more I think than last year and it was it was a much larger show overall so it was really interesting to see not only the quilting and fabric side of stuff but also the trends going on with the yarn industry because there is some crossover for our ideal customers like our ideal customers are very creative and a lot of them use a lot of different textiles not just fabric and what they create so it was really cool to see and there was a lot of and and

Going back to color, there's a lot of yellows apparently coming, which I'm not a big fan of yellows, so I was like, aw man. A lot more muted color. As you may remember, Pantone's color of the year was like mocha. Moose? Was it mocha moose? I'm gonna close my lid.

Andi (06:50)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that was it. Everybody

called it like the bad pantyhose color.

Tori (06:58)
I know some people loved it and some people didn't and that's always the reaction I think to to a color of the year trend is like some people love it some people don't but because that was the color of the year and the colors that went with it are more muted it's like I saw and I call it dusty rose but they were calling it something else but it feels a lot like the 90s like the pink rose coming back there's a lot of pinks a lot of yellows

Andi (07:12)
you

right? my gosh. Yeah, and some of those

some of those colors remind me of ⁓ Little House on the Prairie that that but we we did see some of that like the the Calico things in Target over the last year have just been ⁓

Been kind of funny, but I guess it's kind of that pendulum swinging to the the hominess of and the the ⁓ In in I'm

thinking independence, but that's not really the word I'm thinking of. Just the do-it-yourself aspect of the American frontier of pioneers and going out there and just building everything, whether it's your garden or your house, your furniture, all of that kind of ties into that hominess and that calico little house on the prairie feel.

Tori (08:20)
Yeah,

no, I recognize that too. And it was a lot of florals, now that you mentioned that. A lot of floral designs were coming out. A lot of trends in flowers, big flowers, little flowers, striking flowers, muted flowers. There were flowers all over these trend reports. And one big one that stuck in my brain that I wanted to share with the quilting world was this idea of bed rotting.

Have you heard of that?

Andi (08:47)
Yeah, I have seen a few things, and it always makes me think of...

my daughter whose life was immensely changed by the pandemic and it hit her at such a crucial time because she was a young ⁓ teen in 2020 and she literally retreated to her room and I think she spent most of high school, like you said, bed rotting. She just lives from her bed because she has her phone, she can pull her laptop there.

and get all her work done. And so it was, you know, such a ⁓ different experience, you know, obviously my generation, we sat up, I had a desk in my room and I would sit at my desk. She has a desk in her room also, but it's usually piled with all her stuff and she's doing her work on her bed.

Tori (09:49)
Yeah, I had a cross, I had both those experiences too. I had a desk where I did a lot of work, but I also sometimes needed to spread out and my desk wasn't quite big enough so I would use my beds. I went back and forth as a team. But bed rotting, if you haven't heard that, it's what Andy said, it's kind of living from your bed, more of a relaxed position. It's taking time to actually actively relax and...

to go along with that sleep trends have been big like how to get better sleep and I think that we can use both of those within our quilting world because quilts go on beds quilter come quilter Perfect for the sleep trend for the bed rotting or like even especially if you do any hand quilting or hand piecing Sitting in bed bed rotting and hand piecing to like relax could be great for marketing So like little things like that were coming up that I was like, let me write this down. Let me write this down

Andi (10:25)
Yeah.

Tori (10:44)
So I had a lot of fun learning about trends and kind of starting to understand where they pull these trends from and she even had like Trends that were and I've got pictures follow this so maybe we can put this on patreon so that everybody can see But she's got Projection trends for the next three years like she knows what the color of the years are going to be for the next three years So like sharing that information ahead of time could get you ready for quilt patterns and quilt examples and projects and things like that

Andi (10:54)
Yeah.

Tori (11:13)
Speaking of projects, that is another trend that is going on right now. We spoke to a lot of book publishers and we spoke to a lot of people in general in the business and a lot of them see this swing where we go and this happens every few years where we swing back and forth between larger projects and smaller projects. And right now we're swinging towards smaller projects. So if you're thinking, what can I release next year? Should I go with a

with a quilt along or should do something smaller, it may be good to go with the smaller project idea. And then when we start to swing the other way, when people are looking for more of a longer term project, you can bring out that longer quilt idea.

Andi (11:57)
Yeah, yeah, for sure. That is interesting to notice and to go back to over the years and kind of think about when.

when the emphasis has been on small, quick items. But I think sometimes those smaller projects always fit in the fall and the holiday season, especially because everybody needs those quick gifts, you know? no, I waited till the last minute, so I have to get something out. But yeah, that is interesting that ⁓ we're...

And I think it follows society in a way that there has been a lot of ⁓ push, ⁓ especially with the tension between remote work and in office. And there's a push to get back in the office, which means you don't have as much time at home to get things done. those small short-term projects could fit that niche.

Tori (13:03)
Hey, that

reminds me, I have a little bit of an announcement. So speaking of being pushed back into the office, I hit a wall with my career in my full-time job and I decided to put in my two weeks notice and go full-time in my business. And I've been going full-time in my business for the last two and a half, two and a half months over the summer. So I've been home with my

Andi (13:29)
Yeah, congratulations

for taking that leap. ⁓ we've always talked about kind of multiple income streams. So tell people what your various offers are now that you are independent.

Tori (13:45)
Well, right now I am.

Wait, hold on. That's getting away from our... Is that okay to get away from our topic?

Andi (13:53)
Of course, we veer around and take the twists and turns as they appear in our conversation.

Tori (13:59)
Okay,

we'll come back to the marketing research because there's more we want to talk about with that But yeah, I am so my main focus and I did this before I put in my two weeks notice was I took a look at what I was offering and what I wanted to what I wanted my business to be and It all came back to the same thing. It has been over the last two years, which is marketing I'm really enjoying doing digital marketing coaching for quilters specifically and then I've been reaching out to other crafters, but nobody's really stuck yet

But I've been helping mainly quilters so the DMMC my digital marketing magic coaching program is the main Offer that I have right now and then everything around it leads people back to the DMMC So I've got my book right now as we're recording this we're doing our book club. So that kicked off last week

Andi (14:48)
And that's for Workshops

Unleashed, if people have not heard yet by Tori McElwain.

Tori (14:54)
Yes, workshops

the least so it's all about helping you with your courses and with marketing so launching your course and getting the word out there and That I'm gonna offer them a slight discount to join the DMMC at the end of that So back to the DMMC I also have a new offer coming out very soon after this podcast is released this episode and it's called the self publishing incubator So I very much love to bring people along with me when I learn to do something as I mentioned my book

Workshops Unleashed has been out for almost a year now and I've been getting a lot of questions about how did you self publish? So I decided and this idea was actually an original idea from Carly Porter. I spoke to her at Hookon

Andi (15:39)
Quick cut.

Tori (15:41)
at Quilcon and she just kind of threw this idea out and I've kind of taken it and ran with it and I've gotten me a tech editor and a content editor. We've come together and we're creating the self publishing incubator to help other quilters publish their books. So that's the next thing we're doing and that's leading back to the DMMC after that.

they're gonna get help launching their book and then if they would like long-term help with marketing they can join the DMMC or they can go on and do whatever they want to do so it's always an option for them at the end of these things and I also the last thing I have is the SEO so the SEO the creatives clarity report which is my AI tool where I can generate a amazing report for your website

Andi (16:14)
is wonderful.

Tori (16:28)
And then I offer, you need continuous support with this? Or you can take this list and go improve your website. So it's all leading back to one main offer. And that has been growing and it has been able to support what we need it to support. And I've been able to be home with my son who is off for the summer. And that was one of the big pushes for why now? Why did I quit my job right now is because...

He needed care over the summer. And as I've shared before in our podcast, he has high needs and I need to be on call for him constantly. So it's been, it's been a transition, but it's been a worthwhile one. And it was one thing that I had planned for for a while and it was great to, take the leap.

Andi (17:11)
Yeah.

Yeah, and it's wonderful to see how ⁓

you are putting into practice all the things that we have been sharing in that you've crafted that offer and then you make sure everything ties so that you're not feeling as scattered and you know thin trying to do it all because it's all part of the same kind of ecosystem. So ⁓ thanks for being such a great example for all of us ⁓ that have been able to be a part of it.

a little bit. So, but that does bring us to the back to the market research topic because you had to look and see what the needs were out there. So what suggestions do you have for people to get started if they're thinking, you know, I have this new idea what what's the next step?

Tori (18:14)
So first thing you got to look at is your ideal customer. think so much of marketing goes back to who is your ideal customer and where are they showing up? So who is your ideal customer? Where are they showing up? And how can you meet them there? And that how is really important because you want to be able to communicate with them in the way that you feel most comfortable.

So whether that's writing, whether that's with your pictures that you like to take, whether that's with video or you like to do a mix of things, that is how you want to show up. That is authentic. It's more fun for you and it's easier for you to communicate and you'll stay more consistent if you're enjoying it more and all those pieces. But then a step further. So into actually doing research. So market research, sounds like this big thing, but it can take just a few minutes. And it really is just looking at

What people are interested in right now? What's the market interested in? We just talked about trends. So right now trending is a lot of people are interested in flowers They're interested in these particular colors They're interested in learning how to sleep better and maybe a weighted quilt or a fluffy quilt It's going to be the thing that helps them get there and just speaking to those trends can help attract your customer to what you're offering You can also look at keywords. So going up to a search bar in

any app, like any social media app, particularly I would look at Pinterest because that's a great way to search. You can also use chat GPT and their search, their, do call it? The research button is a great way to go as well. Cause they can also, that AI tool can also search the internet for you, but you can ask key terms. You can just start typing in quilt and see what comes up. Like those keywords that they'll just pop up. They start guessing what you're going to say based off of what was most popular.

being searched in that moment so that you can go back and you can look at those keywords. And if I'm teaching about curves, you know, I go up to the search bar and search, you know, how to sew curves or how to piece a curved something and see what comes up, see what people are liking, what they're commenting on, what they're sharing. And that can give you a good idea on what you can offer, how to enhance.

your offer or how to pick the words you use in your descriptions, in your social media captions, and then use it, go and use it. So market research can really be that easy. You can also send out a survey. So you can just ask people. I mean, you can go to these industry events like I did with H &H and go to a quilt show and start talking to people and noticing what quilts are up in the show. Cause typically the local area has its own trends.

Andi (20:48)
Yeah. Yeah.

Tori (21:07)
So you can go in and look at that. So there's several ways you can do market research. So Andy, have you ever done market research?

Andi (21:16)
Yeah, I tend to be...

pretty informal with things because, you a lot of us, do spend a lot of time online. We subscribe to various newsletters and just taking a second to reflect and say, okay, I'm like you mentioned florals. I've seen, you know, XYZ or at a local quilt show. my gosh, that's the fifth Judy Niemeyer quilt I have seen, you know, or for a while those

curved flying geese were everywhere. you know, just taking a moment to reflect on what am I seeing more often ⁓ is a good way to think about trends. ⁓ Like you say, even just you notice things at the grocery store, you know, the aisle of magazines, you start seeing the same things crop up on all the different outlets. So ⁓ just our continual reminder to be reflective.

on your experience, ⁓ it will help. yeah, it just, you don't wanna be copying things that you see online, but just being aware, I think, is ⁓ a way to do it. And then you mentioned seeing what people are responding to on social media with...

typical you know how to sew curves maybe maybe there was a video

on one of the social platforms where someone was demoing a curved block. And you can scroll through those comments and start to pick up where are those trouble spots, you know, and that gives you an avenue to present your tips and tricks for the similar topic. But obviously it's going to be in your own voice. So really mining those comments and those message boards are a good way to do some

research.

But it's always good to go to the source, like you said, surveys, reach out to your audience and start those conversations. And this is where I love to participate in live events on YouTube, whether I am the ⁓ presenter on my own YouTube channel having a live video and watching what people are talking about in chat or when I am on some, you know, ⁓

in the chat area for someone else's live video, it really helps to watch those conversations and see what people are asking about. ⁓ really good idea just to be aware and keep your eyes and ears open.

Tori (24:11)
Definitely.

had one person shared with me that the because I asked her how did she come up with her ideas on her new products that were coming out because she has some really great ones that are selling really well and she used YouTube she goes on YouTube and she looks at some of the bigger brands

Sees what videos of theirs are getting the most attention and can she make something similar to what they're offering now She doesn't copy like you said what she does is she looks at okay? So it looks like this bag is going big and this other bag is going big and this other bag is Really going big so maybe I can design a bag that Like that is larger like these that people might like so she goes and designs a bag that she would like to carry that's a larger bag that is quilted that

is in her style. So that's what she does. if another way that she did it was she saw little smaller projects just like we talked about. She saw a quilted...

I forget what she said, but one of the videos was a quilted smaller project, maybe like a hot pad or something. And that video was going big and she noticed it on another account that another account had a small project that was similar to something in the kitchen. So she created her own kitchen quilted thing that she could offer her audience. And that went big too. So looking at trends that way can be a more targeted approach. And you'll notice

that both of the ideas we just shared and some of the things we shared earlier, they don't take a lot of time. They just take intentionally noticing what you're looking at and taking some time to reflect. And then it can guide you to something you know the marketplace is interested in.

Andi (25:42)
Right.

Yeah, for sure. Very, very good points. Well, we have covered a lot here, but it's time to wrap up. ⁓

You mentioned at one point our Patreon channel. So if people want to dive deep, have some opportunities to interact and ⁓ dive more into this topic of market research, we definitely invite you to find Quilting on the Side on Patreon.

Tori (26:26)
Yes,

and we have, just so everyone is aware, we have moved everything to Patreon. So that we have a little Buzzsprout website, which is great search, searching. I was working on some of our background stuff and it does a great job searching episodes. So if you're interested in certain topics, go to our, you can go to Quilting on the Side and QuiltingOnTheSide.com still routes to our little brand, well it's not new, but we're using it now. ⁓

Andi (26:54)
and

Tori (26:55)
Buzzsprout website that has a great search feature so you can type in any subject that you want that you're interested in and it'll bring up any episode that mentions that subject and if you notice that you're looking for a subject that we don't have let us know so we can do an episode on it we'd love to but everything else is gonna be on patreon now they have free to we have a free option on patreon we have a smaller option and then we have a $15 option ⁓

and the $15, the BFF side hustlers. That's where we get to do our live Q and A's where you get to come in and we meet as a community. You can ask your questions and get feedback from both me and Andy and the rest of our community. So you can have a community of entrepreneurs that can help support you in your business.

Andi (27:43)
Yeah, we've seen some really fun growth and helpful collaborations across that group. So definitely join us on Patreon. Lots of options there to find us. And we are just so thrilled that you are here with us for season five.