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Public Museum of Grand Rapids - Museum Committee
WMQG at the Festival of the Arts
West Michian Quilters’ Guild’s first time ever as a vendor at the Grand Rapids
Festival of the Arts was a positive experience.
In spite of bouts of rain and lightening storms all three days which closed down
sales for a couple of hours or so each day, the participants felt that the we
got a good response and that it would be worth doing again next year. Although
Festival-goers are not primarily a shopping crowd, the booth did attract a
steady flow of visitors and over the three days we sold about $1,700 worth of
merchandise.
Ten members contributed a diverse range of items, from wallhangings and baby
quilts to felted- wool coasters and cell phone bags, “It’s a Wrap” placemats and
baskets, art quilts, tote bags in several sizes, and antique footstools with
hooked wool upholstered seats in antique quilt block and applique patterns.
Participating quilters were Deb Sweemer, Julia Voake, Ginny Withey, Sue Botma,
Mary Etta Zwart, Julie Clason, Susan Shantz, Sarabeth Carr, Nancy Roelfsema,
Susan Rand. Other members — Terri Watson, Carol DeHaan, Bonnie Golder, Betsy
Carlson and MargEd Kwapil — did not have items for sale but contributed to the
project by working several three-hour shifts.
The group had a debriefing session a few days after the event and felt that
overall the Guild presented an attractive and appealing image, and that Festival
provides an excellent opportunity to educate people about contemporary quilting
as well publicize WMQG and its activities and present a showcase for the talents
and skills of guild members. It also provide an outlet for members who want to
sell their products but don’t want to do the arts and crafts show circuit. The
event also presented the opportunity to publicize the 2008 quilt show and to
recruit new members to the guild.
The consensus of the group is that we’ll do Festival one more year to hone our
system and our marketing and presentation skills, and then explore the
possibility of doing one arts and crafts show, which specifically attracts
shoppers, in addition to Festival of the Arts.
Just a Reminder
The Guild has a standing invitation to display Christmas quilts at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum every year November through mid-January. They can use two or three 80 inches across, the rest of varying sizes down to 45 inches or so. This is a nice opportunity for Guild exposure as well as a showcase for the handiwork of our members.
Books for the Public Museum’s Collections Department
We still welcome donated books even though we have grant money to buy books, too. You can give the books to any committee member: Gina Bivins, Pat Boucher, Norma DeBoer, Carol DeHaan, Bonnie Golder, MargEd Kwapil, Beth Ricker, Cindy Samson.
Building a WMQG Archive
The Public Museum has offered to create a WMQG archive, to be housed at the Community Archives and Research Center (CARC), the old museum building on Jefferson Street. As its name infers, the facility is a community repository but managed by the Public Museum.
This is an important move for the guild. It will preserve our records and therefore our history.
We are asking members, and especially past and present officers and committee members, to turn in records and documents relating to guild business and activities. Materials do have to be originals, not copies. If you are not sure about the validity of an item, check with committee members. Once the archive is established, it will be available to members, scholars and researchers for use on the CARC premises.
You can bring materials to guild meetings or other guild gatherings and/or turn them over to a museum committee member: Gina Bivins, Pat Boucher, Norma DeBoer, Carol DeHaan, Bonnie Golder, MargEd Kwapil, Beth Ricker, Cindy Samson.
For the time being, we are collecting all materials and putting them in our storage room at Calvary Reformed Church. In a few months we will organize a work day to sort and collate items in preparation for turning the materials over to the museum.