Guild Quilt Show
 

'To have - or Not to have' another quilt show', this is the question.
Our Guild has a membership of about 130. Every other year we have always had a quilt show that has been very lovely. It honestly takes 2 years of preparation, to make a raffle quilt, form committees, schedule vendors and book a venue, etc. Soooo the last couple of shows there has been lots of begging to fill committees and seems to be the same members who step up to the plate. I know - it's that way in every organization. The straw that broke the camel's back - we lost $3,000.
Our President asked for a research committee to look into the whole "Quilt Show Thing". Obviously smaller, less expensive venue are at the top of the list. After the meeting I said I would help in this research - no one else stepped forward!!!! I am a committee of one. And maybe that's ok because I plan to present to the Board the Pros and Cons and I have already sat with previous 'Quilt Show Chairs' and asked some members to write down their thoughts. Overwhelmingly they are saying Too much work, not fun any more. I know other Guilds have stopped doing Quilt Shows and there are so many Quilt Shops that have closed their doors. Are we on a downswing of Quilting interest? Have any of you gone through this same thing? I would Love your thoughts.

My guild had to stop doing shows because we couldn't get anyone to volunteer to do the paperwork much less lift a finger to actually do some physical work so our quilt shows were cancelled. The guild members was getting to be sticks in the mud. I joined another guild that had a bigger membership with lots of eager quilters who loved doing shows, trips, and retreats.

My Guild has a quilt show every two years. It's how the Guild raises money. If you lost money, I can see how it would not be worth it. It's not fun and it's alot of work. I would rather raise the dues than the prep work for the show. Sounds like your members are fine not having one.

We've had local guild shows. As a charter of the State Quilt Guild, they pay US some $ to do it, plus provide quilt stands. You might check to see if your state guild might have some resources.

You could do the show just for the guild members, instead of for the public. We've done the show only 1 day at a local church, which didn't charge anything. Or, we've had it as part of our closing social, and display the quilts in the usual place we meet. We had members drop off their quilts the day before. Board members judged. But we also had a viewer's choice that all attendees could vote for.

My guild has a show every year and will continue at least for a few more years because it's one of our major money makers. Half of the proceeds (or more) are given in cash to small local charities. The remainder funds a very active philanthropy program, as well as helping fund various speakers during the year. Ours is a one-day outdoor show, so we don't have to pay for a venue. However the city and merchants who profit from increased tourism during our show have stopped giving as much support, so our expenses are up and profits are down. We do have members who spend countless hours working toward a successful show, and other members who don't even show up to help out. That's been true of every guild I've belonged to, and probably true of most organizations.

The guild I belong to had a quilt show last year, the first in 5 years (the usual past practice had been every 3 years I think, but that was before I joined).
There has been some talk of holding the next one in 2 or 3 years, but the idea seems to have "stalled". I don't know if/when there will be another one.
They are a lot of work.

First I must tell you that I am not a member of a guild, so what I say is as an outsider. I've been to some events (not always quilt shows) that had very few people coming to see the exhibits.

I have to wonder if there was enough advertising. Radio spots can be very effective and not too expensive. Also the local paper may be willing to have a story about it. You might want to look into that.

Our guild of 48 had two successful quilt shows in 2014 and 2017 and both made money so we are not needing funds at the present time. Our members voted to not hold one in 2020 and very few wanted to do any of the necessary work. We have a small executive that works hard and doesn't want to take on the additional work of a show. We will revisit this decision later this year and talk about a show in 2022. The rent and insurance for a show is making a large show in one place very expensive.

I don’t belong to a guild,but I have been twice to a local guild’s show, which is held every other year. Both were 2-day shows (Sat and Sun) in October . Both times I attended Sunday afternoon. The one in 2016 was noticeably better attended and the workers seemed enthused.

In 2018, however, I entered 2.5 hours before it closed and the place was practically deserted. I had trouble finding anyone to answer my questions. Some Vendors were not even manning their booths! I was surprised by how bored they seemed (probably exhausted,but that doesn’t invite people to buy from you). They were most likely thinking it’s not worth it to schlep all their wares, put someone else in charge of their brick and mortar shop, and so on.

One thing is definitely a factor in people willing to do physical stuff—their age and health. I’d say 80% of the guild workers were over 65, obese, and sitting down rather than on their feet.

As long as the same people keep pitching in to make the shows happen, the rest will not.