when an award winning quilt is sold, who gets the ribbons?
 

Hey y'all,
I've recently sold my quilt that has won several awards at AQS and Mancuso shows. My question has to do with the ribbons that the quilt has won. I did all the quilting myself and there is a first place ribbon for sewing machine workmanship, an honorable mention ribbon, a judges choice ribbon and also participation ribbons for some other shows the quilt has been in. Do the ribbons go with the quilt to the new owner, or do I keep the ribbons since I am the person who made the quilt and quilted it???

Thanks,
Rob

Interesting question. I have no idea how to answer it, though.

IMHO I think you earned them you keep them. They are buying the quilt not the prestige.

Either is acceptable. You don't have to include them, but you can negotiate that with the buyer if you want to. Personally, I would keep them.

The same is true with award winning photographs and other award winning pieces.

Another alternative is to include photos of the awards with your quilt.

I should think you keep them of course. You can give photographs of the ribbons, attached to the quilt, to the buyer if you so desire, but they are your ribbons.

I’d make a nice shadow box with a picture of the quilt and the actual ribbons it won. Without your effort and creativity, it’s just fabric. If the new owner has an interest in documenting the quilt’s winnings (provenance?), give them a notarized photo of its ribbons. Just my opinion. (0:

I would keep them, it was your work that won them.

If I was the buyer, I would at least want a certified picture of the ribbons.

I would want to be buying the "prestige" along with the quilt itself.

It would be hard to brag about this quilt being award winning with no evidence to back it up.

Just my opinion of what I would do. If I didn't care enough to keep the quilt then the ribbons would go with the quilt. If I had to sell it for financial reasons then I would keep the ribbons and feel proud I had created something that helped my family.

Interesting topic!

I say they are your ribbons. I like BJ's suggestion of a good quality photograph of the project with the actual ribbons for yourself, nice shallow box that can be displayed if wanted or simply stored easily and as a nice reminder if not. As a quilter and collector of objects, I would want the provenance/story of the awards for appraisal or just documentation purposes, and would be thrilled if someone had that ready for me with purchase and would probably forget about asking about it myself and kick myself later. If someone wanted to buy the ribbons I think that would have to be decided as a separate value/transaction and that you would have every right to refuse to sell.

Rob, first off, congratulations on your awards! That's awesome.
Just my feeling- you won them so you keep the awards.

With you. You did the work and earned the ribbons.

My thoughts exactly. They didn't earn the ribbons, you did. You are not selling ribbons, are you? You sold the quilt.

Congratulations! You should keep the ribbons. Perhaps you could take a picture of them to pass on to the new owner.

I agree. Keep them.

Would you give the buyer the award money or other prize that may have come with the ribbons? I think not, so keep the ribbons also.

Congrats,Rob! Have we seen a picture of this quilt?? Regarding the ribbons-they stay with the creator (you) and you can maybe take a picture of all the ribbons and have it printed off and ofer to sew on the back of quilt. But you are the winner--not the quilt buyer, even though they may feel like they've won with such an awesome quilt!

I totally agree. That ribbon is yours to keep in my opinion.

Congratulations. The ribbons were given to you to honor your artistry. I would not expect the ribbons if I had purchased the quilt.

The first question that came to my mind is: Did you sell it as an award winning quilt? If so, then there should be some documentation to back that up (not necessarily the ribbons themselves, as has been already mentioned). I would think that would be something that would be negotiated as part of the sale.

Jim

I only have one ribbon to brag about but not giving it away! I too love Bj's idea. Congratulations Rob do what makes you happy!

I,too, feel you should keep them but provide proof of the awards if you sold it as an award-winning quilt.

I agree with toogie. Keep the ribbons.

this is my favorite comment so far. :thumbup:
i also agree with those who suggest providing photos of the ribbons and the quilt together, plus copies of any other documentation regarding the awards.

It would never occur to me to give the ribbons with a quilt that I sold. They'd have to pry my cold-dead fingers away from those ribbons before I'd give them up.

If the new owner was interested, I could provide proof of the awards, but not my ribbons!!! LOL!

If the new owner is impressed with the awards, how about taking a photo of the ribbons to put on fabric and attach it as you would a label on the back? The ribbons are part of the quilt's story. Personally, I would prefer that as the ribbons themselves can be lost.

Keep the ribbons. If you cited the awards it won as a selling feature to the quilt, I think I would include notorized copies of any paperwork with the quilt for provenance such as judging critiques or any paperwork that says this quilt earned xyz at show abc, but not the ribbons, they are yours, you earned them. Another way to look at it.... I have adopted/purchased retired show cats. Both cats achieved championship status in their show careers. One was a big regional winner in the CFA (takes many ribbons to get to that level) and the other earned triple grand champion status. Both of these cats earned the huge rosette style ribbons. The ribbons did not come with the cats and I wouldn't dream of asking for them. I didn't do any of the work to get them into the shows (transport, fees, grooming, benching, travel time, etc). Even though the cats earned the ribbons, they couldn't have done it without all the hard work of their breeders. I feel it is the same for the quilts. Keep the ribbons. If the new owner wants to try showing the quilt to try and earn a ribbon, that is now their prerogative as the new owner. Although I would certainly hope they give credit where credit is due and not attempt to show it as their own work. Toogie's post was spot on.

You made it and owned it at the time, so the ribbons should be yours.

I would keep them but be sure to take pictures of the quilt for yourself before you pass it on the the new owner. I like the shadowbox idea from bj so you will always have a nice record of your quilt & notarized photo of the ribbons for the buyer. Congratulations & could we see that quilt?

You did the work, the ribbons should be yours. It might be nice to include a picture of the quilt with the ribbons attached when you give it to the new owner, but I would save the actual ribbons.

My day job is in a different industry. We win alot of awards for the products we produce. Until recently we have always kept the ribbon and plaques when the product was sold at a Charity Auction. In the past several years, there has been a shift and that is the person who buys the product expects to keep the ribbon, plaque, silver cup etc. Even though the money goes to charity they figure that they paid the money it belongs to them. Long story short, I would make sure that everyone is on the same page before the transaction is final.

I agree with your evaluation.

You made the quilt and earned the ribbons. They paid for the quilt, not the accolades.

Definitely keep them, Rob. They are part of your quilting credentials. And congrats, by the way!

Keep the ribbons. They are for workmanship/design, etc. The quilt had nothing to do with these things, the quilt is the result of your work. As stated previously, you could take photos of the ribbons with the quilt to give to the buyer. Congratulations on selling your quilt. I hope you got a good price for it.

Congratulations Rob, for the awards and also for the sale. I agree you keep the ribbons but believe that the new owners should have the provenance. Having been in the antique business, provenance adds not just credibility but actual value. The idea of putting something on the back is a good idea. What will happen to the quilt when the new owners pass away? A lot of people that don't sew or quilt are amazed when they find out the value of something special like yours. Even insurance agents. There has been some discussion on here about insurance. Since this is an award winning quilt they may need documentation to back up their valuation for insurance purposes.

The poster who made the analogy about prize money has an excellent point. The ribbons -- for which you are to be congratulated! -- were awarded to you, for your work, so they are yours to keep. It would be nice to give photos or documentation of the awards to the buyer, but I wouldn't make a shadow box. I'd let them do that, if they want one.

I think papers come with some pedigreed animals?

I still think that the actual ribbons/awards can stay with the original maker - but - if the buyer is paying for "an award winning quilt" - that there should be some sort of documentation to back that claim up.

You keep your ribbons, trophies, awards. They are yours. When I’ve sold a quilt that I won awards with I keep a really nice photo of the quilt with the ribbons and awards.
i did sell one that the purchaser wanted to be able to see- show it had won awards. I gave them a copy of the photo showing the quilt with it’s ribbons.

Keep them!