Happy holidays everyone!
No matter how you celebrate this time of the year, Rick and I want to reach out and wish you peace, joy and a wonderful new year!
We also want to say THANK YOU! As we look through the data for 2023, we’re reminded just how important ALL OF YOU are to The Quilting Connection. Whether you’re a Handi Quilter owner, renter, class attendee, shop customer or some combination thereof, we wouldn’t be who we are without you!
Hopefully you’ll get a little break over the holidays. We want to remind you that we’re going to take some time off too. Both the Elkhorn and Appleton shops will be closed from Sunday, December 24th through Tuesday, January 2nd.
I mentioned looking at our 2023 data. Well, I thought I’d share a little of it with you today so you can get a glimpse into the nuts and bolts of The Quilting Connection.
2023 Highlights – A Great Year in Review!
Let’s begin with some sales statistics. 60 customers either purchased a new or used Handi Quilter OR upgraded their machine. The most popular model this year was the Amara 20 equipped with the Pro-Stitcher computerized quilting system.
Of the machines purchased, 56% of them included the Pro-Stitcher. Of the upgrades, 5 people added the Pro-Stitcher.
We also serviced 85 machines this year to keep them happy and running for years to come!
And you know how we offer local setup/delivery and service? Have you ever wondered what “local” means? In 2023, we drove over 42,000 miles (which did include a trip to Utah for our annual Handi Quilter training at Retailer Academy). Our closest customer stop was in Elkhorn, just 1.6 miles from the shop. But we also drove to Lino Lakes, Minnesota which is 330 miles (or 5 hours) one way!
Actually, our furthest 2023 service call took us to North Carolina, a trip of over 900 miles. But we flew for that one!
Renting time on our Handi Quilter longarms is also a big part of our business. In 2023, over 205 customers rented machine time in either Elkhorn or Appleton. They spent over 1,080 hours on the machines. Of that time, 82% was spent using the Pro-Stitcher computer system and 18% was spent doing either pantograph or free-motion quilting.
74 quilters completed our beginning longarm rental class in 2023. That’s 74 more quilters trained to work on the Handi Quilter longarms in our shops!
Have you ever wondered how much batting and thread our renters use?
We sold over 188 yards of batting in 2023. The most popular choice was the 80/20 cotton/poly batting. A close second was the 4-ounce polyester.
Over 700 bobbins were used by our renters this year. That calculates to over 64,000 yards (over 36 miles) of thread! Now double that figure to account for the top thread too!
And what about the Quick Zip Zipper System™? Do you know that we have some days dedicated to just marking and preparing zipper systems? In 2023, we stamped and packaged over 4,000 zippers! Over 1,500 quilt/renter zipper sets and over 450 machine sets were sold all over the world. Our customer base extends to Canada, Puerto Rico, the UK and Australia!
Here’s a peek at our zipper storage area in Elkhorn!
You know that education is our primary focus. We offered several classes this year both in Elkhorn and Appleton and by Zoom. Our instructors included national Handi Quilter educators and local, award-winning experts. Our most popular classes in 2023 were the Free-Motion Fridays taught by Wendy Fuller. (See the Classes tab of our website for classes scheduled in 2024!)
We also participated in six quilt shows this past year. The shows took us to West Bend, Pulaski, Mukwonago, Manitowoc, Madison and Elgin, Illinois. Some of these shows are biannual so we won’t be returning to Pulaski, Manitowoc or Elgin until 2025, but our 2024 calendar lists seven shows including: West Bend, Mukwonago, Menomonee, Green Bay, Appleton, Madison and a second trip to West Bend. (See the Shows/Events tab on our website for details.)
That’s a lot, right? And see how it all centers around you, our amazing customers! We are so blessed!
There were a few other notable events in 2023.
We expanded our Appleton location, moving into the neighboring space and tripling our floor space.
We launched our biweekly blog, publishing 22 posts this year. By the way, if you have any topics you’d like to know more about, let me know. We’ll include them in our 2024 plans!
And we introduced two major new products, the Handi Quilter Moxie XL and the full line of LauraStar steam iron systems.
How can we top all of this? Well, we’ve got a surprise or two lined up for 2024! Want a hint?
Stay tuned! Big announcements coming soon!
In the meantime, if you have ANY questions or want additional information about the products and services we offer, please call us at (262) 723-6775 or email us at info@QuiltingConnection.com.
You can also visit us online at QuiltingConnection.com or in person at 21 Adams Street in Elkhorn, WI (usually M-F 9-4, please call to confirm we’re open) or 1017 W. Northland in Appleton, WI (W, Th & F 10-4, S 10-3).
Finally, check out our blog at QuiltingConnection.com/blog and our Facebook posts.
Please share your thoughts and questions with us. We love to hear from you!
Angie