Market Prep Day

Good morning, dear readers. It was a long drive (570 miles) from Gaylord, Michigan to Roseville, Minnesota yesterday. I'm finally getting my second cup of coffee and my first awareness of the day.

Ed and I oohed and aahed at the many clumps of lilacs that we saw yesterday. We spotted a clump in the wild about five miles south of the Big Mac Bridge and kept seeing lilacs all the way into Minnesota. Our absolute favorite place for lilacs (besides our yard) is the Royal Botanic Garden in Hamilton, Ontario, pictured here. Yesterday's spots of purple, lavendar and white reminded us of the wonderful Canadian gardens which we visited last May.
Today's work will be fun. I'll be setting up a half booth (six feet by ten feet) with all of the new samples from Tapestry of Texture and some of the samples from our previous books. The half booth format is new to Graywood Designs. Business has been slow and I decided to do a half booth for Spring Market rather than skip the market.

Our photo shoot last Saturday went very well. We used the Graywood Studio Store in Pigeon for background and setting spaces. Photo stylist Danielle Damen raided the antiques collections of her family and provided stunning settings for Tapestry's table runners and table covers. Photographer Steve Jias was sprawled on the grass for garden shots. Steadicam operator and photo guru Will Eichler assured us vertical and horizontals of most shots before a set was broken down and we moved to another spot.

All of this photography and packing and travel has been a backdrop in my life. My dear mother-in-law moved to assisted living on Monday. While Ed and I cared for her transition along with his family, my staff has rallied round the tasks at hand that needed to be done to get Graywood Designs (me) to Market.

So, off to the Convention Center to Booth #3404. Stop by when you are at Market. Thangles has their booth right next to us, too.

If you are a Quilt Shop buyer and have not received our Market email, call Lori at our office -- 888-453-4554 and talk with her about our May Market offers. She can connect you to our email list so you can see Graywood's new products now.