Episode 42 - The end of Free Spirit and what it means for the quilting industry

Welcome to Episode 42 of Sit & Sew Radio, a Quilt Addicts Anonymous podcast.

This week we are taking a look at the closing of Free Spirit. On Monday the quilt industry was rocked by news that North American Crafts has decided to close its Lifestyle Fabrics business, which includes fabrics produced by Free Spirit and Westminister Fabrics/Fibers. The news was made public when the Craft Industry Alliance shared a copy of the email sent to fabric designers informing them of the imminent closure.

The reasoning given was that, “Despite our best efforts, we have continued to struggle with an inherent weakness in the business model and have not be able to demonstrate a profit.”

There was no warning that this was coming. Designers were actively working on new collections and promoting ones to be released in June and later after the company will cease its operations. My fabric rep was hundreds of miles from home, meeting with shops and taking orders. The Free Spirit Marketing team sent an email to shop owners promoting a social media marketing webinar scheduled for later in the week.

The internet quilting community came out in force to speculate why and how such a prominent name in the quilting industry and home to some of the top designers in the world could close. There also was an outpouring of support for the employees who will be losing their jobs and designers such as Tula Pink, Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler and more encouraging them to keep creating.

Then on Tuesday more information started to come out. A similar email was sent to shop owners, using the same inherent weakness line to explain the reasons for closing up. I was on this list and have shared the content of the email I received below.

Free Spirit is not sharing much information. Even designers I have spoke to off the record were still waiting as late as yesterday for phone calls from Westminister and Free Spirit before deciding what to do next. Many have taken to social media to thank their fans for supporting them, assuring them that they will keep designing, just with a new company and expressing a positive attitude that this change will ultimately be a good thing for them creatively.

I have learned from my Free Spirit fabric rep that collections slated to be shipped through May 2018 will come out. That includes Tula Pink All Stars, which is already in the Westminister’s US-based warehouse and is being prepped for shipment. However, decisions are still being made to determine whether the much promoted Kaffe Mystery Block of the Month will be fulfilled or if Tula Pink’s De La Luna fabric line, originally slated for June, will be printed.

But as a business woman in the quilting industry, what had me most concerned was the line North American Crafts kept using in its carefully crafted communications, that there was an inherent weakness in the business model. So I invited two presidents of fabric companies to come on this week and talk about the closing of Free Spirit and what it means for the industry.

In our conversations we talk about: • The state of the quilting industry • What is necessary for a fabric company to run well and profitably • How the size of fabric lines and release frequency can impact cash flow - the life line of a business • How new technology is changing the industry • The inherent differences of running an independently owned fabric company, verses being a division of a larger corporation as Westminister Fibers and Free Spirit was • What business expenses are covered when you buy a yard of fabric • And how disruption is everywhere in every industry, so challenges like internet fabric sales just means there needs to be some creative problem solving and innovation to meet the needs of today’s consumer

Ken Gamache, President of QT Fabrics

First up we have the president of QT Fabrics Ken Gamache. Ken started at QT Fabrics in 1978 as a print machine set up man. It was