annie123

Boy. I could not disagree more! I'm sure glad I don't live in your area or frequent your local shops. no one around here would look at this as a "space rental "just a welcome opportunity for local quilters to meet and share good times and for the shop owner to increase their goodwill and sales and they are all happy to do it . Most LQS around here don't supply food if they do it is not a big meal and most people just bring fast food or a sandwich not a crockpot. I could see a small fee for an extended day ie 12 hours to cover electricity and heat if the store is open longer than usual but if it is during their regular hours no fee should be charged. At any rate 7.00 is way over the top. I think the friend was doing her shop owner a favor by telling her she was nuts!Perceptions are certainly different depending on what part of the country you live in!!

lclang

A group of quilters gathers at our LQS every Wednesday afternoon and sewing lasts until 4:00 or whenever they get tired. The shop provides electricity, water, and coffee. No charge since they are open anyway. This group sews disaster quilts to be sent following tornados, fires, etc. It is a fun bunch and of course they keep track of new merchandise, and purchase sale items and whatever they forgot at home from the shop.

SueSew

My favorite shop recently had a free 'open quilting' on a Saturday just to give us some air conditioning and company. There were some pastries and a coffee pot and it was from 10-3PM! And there was a discount on anything we purchased that day if we had signed up for the open day. It was great! And she sold a lot of merchandise.

Another shop I like charges for the 'open classes' at $40 for 2 hour sessions, but there is an instructor who can help you with your projects; you are supposed to buy the material from their store for your project. It's a lot of fun and we all learn something.

I don't think you can object to paying for use of the store workspace. It's sure more convenient than getting 12 people gathered around my kitchen table, or crammed into my sewing room, blowing fuses left and right, fighting over the ironing board, wondering what happened to the Best Press, complaining about the lack of A/C...LOL -

Poodles

7.00? I have never gotten to meet together with or without food for 7.00 except with our own quilting group. If this is an extra something the owner is using for everyone to get to know each other or whatever, she still has the expense of keeping you cool, water to flush the toilets or clean up spills in the floor and Lights burning for you to see whatever you are doing. I wouldn't complain about 7.00 unless all I was doing was invited to do is come in the new shop and visit and see what all she has.

Barb in Louisiana

I have never known a quilt shop to charge for groups meeting in their shops. For classes with an instructor, definitely YES.

I always show my appreciation by managing to spend a lot more than the 5 or 7 dollars. If the shop is a new venture, free sewing would get more traffic in the shop and more sales.

I agree with the others. Food isn't really necessary. Maybe a finger food tray, but I really wouldn't want oils or dressing from the food on any of my fabric. Bottled water, yes, but sell the bottles. In the Deep South, we also like our coffee, especially in the winter.

If I were the shop owner, I would offer the space for groups and if they want refreshments, then charge a price. Having people sewing in the shop when it is open for business creates energy and sales. People coming in to check out things have a great time chatting with the members of the groups and get ideas and buy stuff. You see where I am going. Having a meeting when no visitors can attend is just not a good idea to me. If the shop has to be open for the meeting, then let that be the one night a week that the shop is open late for other customers. The shop has to be welcoming to get me to come back. Closed meetings aren't welcoming.

sewbizgirl

She had four paying participants... made $28, but probably paid out more than that just for the food. If you feel you are in an advisory capacity to the shop owner, you might mention that no food and no fee could get more people to come in and participate. If she sells a few yards of fabric during the evening she will come out ahead of charging for admittance.

The bottom line is that it's her business and she has to figure these things out for herself if she is going to make it.

cpcarolyn

$7 is pretty cheap for a space to quilt with food and drinks.

Farm Quilter

My LQS has a similar thing twice a month for 3-4 hours AFTER the shop has "closed" where she provides food and drink, you bring your own project to work on, and she doesn't charge anything. She figures that if she gets you in the shop, there will probably be something you just can't go home without!!

athomenow

There have been many good suggestions offered here and I appreciate all of the ones who were trying to not be critical but helpful. There doesn't seem to be a clear cut decision on how to handle this but I'm going to talk to her about maybe trying the free approach to build the business. I love the idea of an open house concept and none of us who attended the first one really wanted the food. I would rather spend money on fabric or supplies. I can eat out whenever I want and go where I want. Thanks for the input. It's important for me to hear from people in similar circumstances and towns where there are not a lot of options for this kind of thing.

institches33

Our LQS charges $25 for a Sunday where quilters can come, spend the day and work on UFOs. Quilters bring their own machines and snacks to share.

I thought the price was out of line but was told that staff, heat, air, etc. had to be paid. People go regularly. Go figure.