Buying a longarm for fun/business
 

We are in the market for a longarm. We have tried all different brands at the Mid Atlantic Quilt show last week. This longarm will be used for pleasure with the intention of doing other quilts to help offset the costs. We have been doing quilting for a number of years by pushing the quilt through the machines. Is there really that much demand out there for finishing quilts? We did one for a friend but really do not know where to advertise other than putting it out on Facebook and forums. Not really wanting full time quilting, but would like to take on some simple edge to edge stuff as we learn the machine. Thinking of getting a Nolting with Intelliquilter.

Thanks for any advice.

Check with local quilt guilds. There are a couple women who do longarm quilting for the public in my guild. They seem to leave every meeting with several quilts do. And I know that a lot of longarmers have quite a backlog of quilt to be quilted so there must be some demand for good work.

I would rely on my LQS and as mentioned by cashs_mom local guilds too, both would be great resources, from answering questions as you mentioned above, specific to your area, and also to spread the word about your work. Presenting some of your work at a local guild would allow quilters to see your work, and give the members and idea of your skill level as you learn your machine and advance your skills. You mentioned, not wanting to do it full time, your in the drivers seat, agree only to accept projects that fit with your time frame.

I know there are several longarmers in our area that do quite well with their business, especially in the month of November when they are so backed up with Christmas quilts. I would also advertise through quilt guilds in your area. I’m sure there is a demand...it’s just getting yourself known. Good luck.

Our local Joanne’s fabric has a bulletin board and allows people to put their business cards on it to advertise, I have found quite a few of my customers were referred by a Employees of the last too.

I highly recommend the Nolting. The factory is in Iowa and help is available by phone. Having a dealer close by would be really helpful, especially for the Intelliquilter. I have a friend who is a Nolting/Intelliquilter dealer. She has sold lots of both in our area and goes to other states to teach and service the computer. I bought a used Nolting from her and I love it.
And also, I think a good longarmer would always be in demand!

If the above do not get you enough business, consider Facebook advertising. They know everything about everyone.

My knowledge is old, but it might still be relevant. At one time, you could advertise on Facebook really inexpensively. They can target zip codes and sites that a user visits. So, maybe you are looking for clients in the xxxxx and xxxxx zip codes. Facebook can find users in those zip codes and users of Quiltingboard, your local guild (if they have a facebook page), etc. Like I said my information is old.

One of my clients suggested it to me before I retired. She suggested I target members of private school groups. She thought that parents with money (private school) needed access to prepared, healthy meals delivered to their homes. She said I could target specific zip codes to get to the people who not only had kids in private school, but had expensive homes.

bkay

My advice is to be very upfront and transparent about the fact you are learning. When I first started I offered a steep discount because I was learning (basically the price of thread). I liken it to going to the cosmetology school to get a haircut super inexpensive because I am the students guinea pig. Many newbee longarmers won't even quilt for pay until they feel they are experienced enough and they will do volunteer quilting instead for groups like QOV or guild charity projects.

My other advice is communication. Always be in communication with your client, especially if there is an issue or a problem. Don't assume anything, ask the customer how they wish to proceed if you have a problem. Make sure you are both on the same page when it comes to thread choice (color, fiber and weight of thread), design used, interpretation of density of quilting (what I think is dense quilting may not be what my customer thinks is dense quilting) and type of batting.

Most all guilds have a newsletter and will sell ad space. We have many LA advertising in ours. I would suggest join a guild then show your work at Show and Tell.

I'm always sort of stunned when someone is buying a longarm and going to immediately start quilting for others in exchange for money. I'd heed feline fanatic's advise and be very transparent about your skill level with the longarm, or work on your own quilts until your level of knowledge with your machine is fairly strong before you start offering to quilt for others. I plan on getting a longarm at some point, but I can't see myself being ready to quilt for others for a long, long time after that. I'd be so scared of messing up someone's hard work!

That said, I don't belong to a guild (not for any real reason, there are a few in my immediate area I've looked into), and I don't use Facebook very much. I do have my quilts longarmed, when I have the money, and I found my quilter via a Google search. I don't have any quilty friends, and most of the ladies at my local fabric store quilted their own quilts, so I didn't have anyone to ask. I ended up selecting her because she was reasonably close to my house, her prices were in-line with other quilters in my area (there are a few that are waaaaay higher than everyone else. Almost all of the others I've found are right around the same price.) and she had an online portfolio (of sorts), so I could see pictures of her work. She usually has about a 4 month long queue, so she seems fairly busy to me.