Originally Posted by acesgame
Most of the pictures I have seen are of heavily quilted complicated patterns. I love them and aspire to be that good. My question is do you think there are enough people who just want their tops quilted with a nice even all over pattern or simple patterns well placed?
I don't want to go into this in debt for the machine and then not be able to support my habit. I have saved about half of what I want to spend and I am not good at waiting but the joy will go out if I feel slave to the payment.
Thanks in advance.
Stacey
Hi Stacey-
I've been quilting for over 40 years and longarm quilting for 5 years. I did research for 6 months before purchasing my machine. My research included surveys of local quilt shops, local quiltmakers and guilds, and local longarm quilters. I asked a million questions.
The most importance answers I got came from local longarmers who would be considered "competition"--about the market, what clients are looking for, their turnaround time, startup costs, maintenance and expenses, loans and insurance and accounting and taxes.
Most longarm quilters quilt for the public for about 2 years before making back their initial investment of approximately $20,000 for their machine, books, pantos, and thread. Don't just look at the price per square inch. that is very deceptive and can look like you're going to get rich quick.
Remember you will have a higher electric bill and increase in your insurance also. And please remember that you pay back approximately 1/3 of your profit in taxes. Mine here in PA are 28% Federal, 3% state and 1% local. When I factor in electricity and insurance, I figure that I actually clear about half of what I charge for my quilting services.
Information varies regionally quite a bit, be it prices or preferred quilting services. Try to talk to some local guild members, shop owners and longarmers to get an idea of market conditions, design preferences, and the economic outlook for your area.
Best of luck to you in your efforts.