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What Happened on Registration Day?!?

Monday, July 23rd, 2018

Of all the comments we have received regarding our new online registration system, there was one reoccurring remark that I wanted to directly address. It was one that generally followed along these lines: “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Because we saw it many times, it told us that there were several users who did not understand why we would replace an online registration system that on its face has served us well for many years. Why did we feel the need to change out the old online registration system?

Security– We take the security of your data very seriously. When I purchased Road, I hired a team of highly qualified IT/Programming and Security professionals to implement some security patches on the software. They told me, at that point in time, that the old system was secure, but that they recommended designing a new system to meet our long-term goals and flexibility regarding ongoing and ever-changing security patches.
User Interface (Experience) – We had received multiple complaints in the past from our attendees saying that the old system did not work on touch devices. Given that the web traffic on our standard website (road2ca.com) is over 40% mobile devices, we needed to create a system that would be touch-interface friendly.

The old online registration system was an industry leader for many years and served us well. We were the first Quilt Show in the United States to have automated class registration, quilt jurying online and a dedicated application for return quilt shipping. For all its greatness – the old online registration system required some necessary updates that would have had to be addressed sooner rather than later. So, now you know the “why” we switched. Here’s the “what happened” to our new online registrataion system on Saturday morning, July 14th, and why it wasn’t really all that uncommon of an experience considering today’s technological world: Road’s software is hosted in a world class server farm. Our hosting package is one that grows with our demand. On Saturday morning, the server was not even close to capacity, yet as many of you experienced, it acted like it was. What we discovered was that there is one tiny setting in the web server that limits the number of active sessions that the server will allow. The web server was receiving over 500 requests per second – way more than the default setting on the server. We had over 2,000 eager quilters at the SAME TIME trying to register for their favorite class, causing the congestion that some of you and us in the office to experience.

new online registration system for Road to California quilt show

In other words, think of trying to merge onto a crowded freeway that is at a standstill. You can’t go anywhere and you’re extremely frustrated but once the flow of traffic improves, you are able to navigate to your final destination. What happened that Saturday morning was similar to a crowded freeway, except the server was taking who clicked first at that particular point in time, not who was first in line like on a busy freeway. To put our situation in perspective, Amazon also experienced this kind of problem on their Prime Day. It’snot an excuse, but if a multi-billion dollar company like Amazon can have these issues – anyone (like Road) can too.

We learned a lot through this experience. Ever since, our developer has been inserting additional code into the new online registraton system to speed it up and make the process smoother. We also have appreciated the additional suggestions we’ve been receiving from our users and are attempting to include many of them in future releases of the software. The bottom line is, our new online registration system is better than ever before to serve you. More positive changes are planned in other areas to continue to enhance your Road experience. We are grateful for all our valued customers and their enthusiasm for Road 2019. It’s going to be an amazing show.

Matt Reese Owner Road to California]]>

Tags: Amazon Prime Day, Computer Security, Mobile Device Registration, Online Registration System, Quilt Show, Road to California Quilt Show
Posted in behind the scenes, Road to California | 18 Comments »

The Batty Lady Is Resilient And Resourceful

Wednesday, April 25th, 2018

The Batty Lady is a familiar vendor at Road to California. Started in 2008, The Batty Lady’s mission is to “provide quality quilt batting, at a reasonable price to quilters all over the world. Plus, share quilt batting knowledge to those quilters whether they be beginners or advanced quilters.” Alicia went above and beyond to fulfill that mission statement at Road 2018 when she had to overcome a robbery of her merchandise just days before Road started. The first week of January, Alicia was returning from a show in Arizona with her trailer loaded with product. She took her trailer to her brother’s business in Yorba Linda, California, to store temporarily until Road to California. On January 6^th, around 5:30 AM, the trailer was stolen. Alicia immediately went to social media to get help in locating her trailer. She sent out two separate posts that combined, received over 200,000 impressions!! On January 9^th, the trailer was located in a church parking lot in Anaheim, about 10 miles away. Unfortunately, the trailer was cleaned out. How was The Batty Lady going to keep its commitment to their customers at Road to California in nine days? Having a high quantity of product in a high-quality booth is important to Alicia. Luckily for her, having shared her plight on social media, individuals and businesses knew of her circumstances and rallied to help out:

Companies like Hobbs, Fairfield, and Quilter’s Dream got her product within 24 hours
Friends gathered notions to be sold in the booth

Alicia and her staff were able to pull it together in time. Their booth didn’t have the familiar look, but it was ready to help customers. Throughout the show, random guests stopped by, giving words and gifts of encouragement which Alicia so appreciated. One quilt group even made Alicia a care package to help her get through the show.

Not only did Alicia have to worry about keeping The Batty Lady booth running, she also had a $5.00 Lecture Class – Batting, Batting, Batting-So Many Choices — to teach on the first day of the show, adding to her stress. Teaching about the different types of batting for different types of quilting was the easy part. Alicia was worried though about the samples that were promised to attendees in the advertising materials. Thankfully, Quilter’s Dream came through and donated prizes for her students.

In the end, Alicia felt that a very negative situation came out positive. “I could have been crying,” said Alicia. Instead, she experienced first hand the warmth of the quilting community on her behalf—and it wasn’t just from all the batting in her booth!! The Batty Lady travels to different quilt venues throughout the country as well as operates the The Batty Lady Warehouse and Wonderfil Threaducation Center in Orange CA.. For information about warehouse hours and locations where The Batty Lady will be headed in the future, please visit their website.]]>

Tags: $5.00 Lectures, Fairfield, Hobbs, Quilt Batting, Qulter's Dream, The Batty Lady
Posted in behind the scenes, classes, Road to California 2018 | 2 Comments »

Siblings That Quilt

Tuesday, April 10th, 2018

Karla and Karen took Jenny Doan’s class together at Road 2018 as a chance to meet up and

learn some new quilting skills. Karla is a retired teacher living in Alta Loma, California and Karen lives in San Diego. For 15 years when she was teaching, Karla helped her students create 12- block quilts as a memory of all they learned in her class that year. Now that she is retired, Karla uses her free time to take advantage of taking classes at Road for the first time, quilting at home, and embroidering. Karen has been to Road to California 8 times and “absolutely loves it.”

Both sisters were familiar with Jenny Doan and looked forward to taking her class together. Karen watches Jenny’s YouTube Tutorials all the time and was “blown away” at her Trunk Show on Friday night. Karla has been to Missouri Star Quilt’s home in Hamilton, Missouri twice. She refers to it as “Disneyland for quilters.”

There’s no better place to spend a “Sister’s Week” then Road to California says Cheryl,

Sandy,and DeNese. All three sisters are quilters. DeNese started quilting in 2012 when she retired from Delta Airlines. Cheryl was inspired to start quilting from her mother-in-law. Sandy figured that since her sisters were quilting, she might as well too. They get together two or three times a year to share quilting techniques and go to quilt demonstrations. They enjoy piecing, paper piecing, and collage applique and make quilts for their children and grandchildren.

As far as their opinion of Road to California, DeNese, who lives in Utah, said, “It is bigger than anything I have been to and I spent more money than I thought.” Cheryl, who also lives in Utah, said that Road was “Really fun. I thought I would get bored but there were so many interesting things to see.” And Sandy, a resident of Palm Desert, California, commented, “There are lots of gadgets to make quilting easier that I didn’t know existed.”

These three sisters and one sister-in-law all have their roots in Iowa. As quilters, they chose

Road to California 2018 for their “Sister’s Retreat.” Karla lives in Escondido, California and planned their retreat to include Road. Karla has attended five times in the past, but for everyone else, it was their first time. When the Road 2018 class schedule was posted in July, the women were notified that an Aunt had left them money in her will. Karla said “it was a sign” that they should use the money and take classes at Road. They each took two classes plus attended Preview Night and Jenny Doan’s Trunk Show. And of course, they did a lot of shopping!!

All four are established quilters. Oldest sister Karen, Karla and Pam grew up sewing. Their grandmother taught them how to quilt and they‘ve been quilting for 30 years. Sister-in-law Liza learned how to sew in a 7^th grade Home Economics class. Her quilting influence came from her mother and grandmother. She said that she couldn’t believe “how many people are here” at Road and was excited to see so many other quilters, especially those who had quilts in the show. Will you be bringing a sibling to Road 2019?]]>

Tags: National Siblings Day, Road to California, Sister's Retreat, Sister's Week
Posted in behind the scenes, Road to California 2018 | 2 Comments »

Our Staff Make The Difference

Friday, February 2nd, 2018

the Reese family knows that it takes many dedicated employees to insure the show remains the best quilt show in the West. Most of our staff have been working with the show for many years. They keep coming back because they love sharing their love of quilting with the thousands of people who attend the show through their contributions behind the scenes. Cathy Norell was Road’s first employee outside of the Reese Family. She started with the show in 1991 when it was housed at the original Marriott Hotel on Holt Boulevard. At the time, Road to California consisted of only a few classes. By its third year, Cathy remembers, it had grown to a full show offering not only classes but vendors and even a fashion show. Cathy started out helping with registration and has for many years worked with the vendors, personally greeting them every day, making sure they have everything they need for a successful show. She says that she really looks forward to seeing the vendors each year. They have become “like family to me.” A quilter for over 70 years, her favorite quilts are the ones “that can be dragged around and loved.” Traditional quilters Patti McCormick and Karen Jones, have become familiar faces to guests in the main hallway as they assist with registration and information. Patti has worked with Road for 18 years helping with buses, classes, and registration. At Road 2018, she was in charge of checking people in, helping them with their packets, and answering general information. Her favorite part of Road is seeing the show come all together and meeting people from many places with many different quilt interests. Stationed at the North Registration desk, Karen not only answered questions and gave directions during Road 2018, she helped guests with their entries to the daily giveaways. Seeing the excitement of the guests is one of Karen’s favorite things about the show. In addition, Karen really gets in to the spirit of the show with her quilt jewelry. Husband and wife, Rae and Michael, are both quilters and are both part of Road’s staff. Rae is busy before the show even starts, checking in the vendors when they arrive to set up. Michael also helps with setting up the vendor floor. During the show, he is busy offering support for the classrooms. Rae says that working for Road is “fun” and that she enjoys getting to know the people behind the scenes. We appreciate these and many more diligent staffers who truly make the difference in helping us present a quality show. ]]>

Tags: Quilt Show Staff, Road to California
Posted in behind the scenes, Road to California | No Comments »

Returning Quilts Safe and Sound

Monday, January 22nd, 2018

Why do our guests come to our show?

Some come for the vendors. Some come for the classes. Some come to see friends. But everyone comes for the quilts.

Show quilts accepted for our annual contest and for special exhibits begin arriving at our office in December. The quilts are meticulously logged in and stored until the Sunday before the show when they are moved to the Ontario Convention Center for judging and displaying. When the show closes on Sunday at 3:30 PM, dismantling the many quilt displays begins immediately. Each quilt is removed by white-gloved volunteers and carefully stored until the next day, when the process for packaging and shipping begins. Other large shows can take up to a month to return their show quilts to the makers. At Road to California, we pride ourselves in developing a process where over 1,000 quilts are readied for pick-up by FedEx by Monday afternoon following the show.

Show Owner, Matt Reese, personally oversees the packing and shipping of the quilts. “I am 100% directly responsible for this special task,” commented Matt. “I do not delegate this responsibility to any of our staff. Through the years, I have retained full oversight even when I was in law school and even when I was sick.” Matt has spent the past four years perfecting Road’s packing and shipping method. His goal is to have the job done as quickly as possible without compromise. Matt says using computers, having multiple packing stations, and hand-picked volunteers make the difference. Road 2018 Teacher Pat Yamin of Come Quilt With Me, stays in California an extra day after the show so she can help volunteer with the process.

Each quilt has a return instruction sheet completed by its owner that accompanies it throughout the 5-step Shipping and Packaging Process:

Step 1- Expediting

One person verifies the return instruction sheet along with the quilt’s assigned tracking number and a volunteer matches it to the quilt.

Step 2- Packaging

A volunteer folds the quilt as it was originally received, per the owner’s direction, and puts it in a plastic bag to protect it against any possible insect or water damage in shipping.

The quilt is then placed in a brand-new box that matches the dimensions requested by the owner. These boxes are put together on site and are filled with acid-free packing paper to avoid movement of the quilt during shipping.

Occasionally, when a quilt is received, the owner asks to have it returned in the box they provided. In those cases, Road holds on to the boxes until final shipment. And sometimes two quilts are returned to the same owner in the same box.

Step 4-Weighing

All boxes are weighed on a scale and the weight is recorded on the return instruction sheet.

Step 4-Computer Station

This is the final check point for the quilt. It’s number and box contents are verified and a packing label is printed.

Step 5-Sealing and Mailing

The boxes are sealed and the mailing label is affixed. Also, the number of the quilt is written on the side of the box. All sealed boxes are stacked, ready and waiting for the FedEx truck to arrive. The FedEx driver loads the boxes, verifies the order and takes all the boxes to their main hub at Ontario International Airport for shipping.

We know there is a a lot of trust in us and our system by the quilters. We take pride that we can assure them that they should be receiving their quilts safe and sound by the end of the week. ]]>

Tags: How to Package and Ship a Quilt, Matt Reese, Pat Yamin, Quilt Show Take Down, Quilt Show Volunteers
Posted in behind the scenes, Road 2017, Road to California | No Comments »

So You Think You Know Jenny Doan of Missouri Star?

Wednesday, January 10th, 2018

Missouri Star Quilt Company, teach a couple of quilt classes during the week and offer her popular Trunk Show on Friday Night. Are you familiar with Jenny Doan? Superfans of Jenny’s might think they know everything about her. But we asked Jenny some unique and unusual questions that you might be surprised to learn her answers. What do you like best about living in a small town (Hamilton, Missouri – Population 1,724) I love that there is no traffic! Also it is so nice to live in a town where everyone knows your name and watches out for each other. You also can’t beat the friendliness of our town! Missouri Star is made up of several themed buildings. Which one is Jenny’s favorite? I would have to say Penneys. It is our most colorful shop with all the solid fabric you could ever want! I love color! It’s all about family at Missouri Star, a family owned and run business. Jenny’s children and their spouses play major roles with Missouri Star. What about the next generation? The Doans currently have 21 grandchildren, ages 7-20 years old with one on the way, a baby boy coming this May. Jenny is a You Tube star!! t What is the hardest part of filming her show? To be honest, the hardest thing about filming is to only share 1 idea. I can see countless ideas in each tutorial I film. I see it doing so many things. Has she had an embarrassing moment when filming? I feel like my calling in life is to do something to embarrass my children. lol But that aside, I would say one of those moments was when the puff foam part of my microphone popped off and I couldn’t find it anywhere! Luckily, I learned long ago to laugh and just go with it! Missouri Star Quilt Company sells lots of quilting and sewing supplies. What is Jenny’s favorite sewing tool? The Splash rotary cutter. I love that you can use it with either hand and it has a quick blade release. I don’t like cutter with scissors. As a classroom teacher, what does Jenny want for her students? I will be teaching them to ask themselves… WHAT HAPPENS IF… I want them to try to think out of the box and start having fun creating. Road 2018 will be Jenny’s first time at the show. What is she most looking forward to? Sunshine What can Missouri Star fans be looking forward to in 2018? We will be opening 2 NEW SHOPS in Hamilton!! At the end of the day, what is Jenny’s favorite treat? I have 2 favorite treats. The first is frozen grapes. I love to pluck them off, pop them in the freezer and have them ready to pull out and eat. The second would be almost a daily favorite that my husband makes for me. Sugar Free Cook and Serve chocolate pudding! Tickets are going fast for Jenny’s Trunk Show. Remaining tickets are available at the Registration Desk at the Ontario Convention Center or at the door of the event.

Tags: Hamilton Missouri, Jenny Doan, Missouri Star Quilt Co., Road to Caifornia
Posted in behind the scenes, classes, Road to California 2018 | No Comments »

A New Generation For Road To California

Friday, December 15th, 2017

family owned and operated show. Purchased by Carolyn Reese in 1996, it began with just a few classes and through Carolyn’s vision, has become what it is known for today: a week long premiere quilt show hosting over 39,000 visitors from all over the world who come to see the hundreds of quilts on display, take classes taught by experts in the quilt and fiber art world, and visit over 225 nationally and internationally known vendors. This past year saw Carolyn retire from Road and the show acquire new Reese leadership. Road’s new owner is Matt Reese, Carolyn’s grandson and someone very familiar with what makes Road to California the special venue that it is. Through the years, Matt has held many different positions at Road. He started out doing “go-for-it” work: moving teacher equipment from the storage rooms to the classrooms and back as well as handling other functions during the week of the show. In February 2008, Matt was hired to help with the logistical planning of the show which gave him the opportunity to get his hands in just about everything. After he graduated from California State University- Long Beach, Matt was promoted to show manager and worked full time at Road while attending and graduating from the University of LaVerne Law School. Why did this young husband and father decide to purchase a quilt show? Explains Matt, “I am a fourth-generation small business owner. It’s in my blood to be in business. I was facing a decision of stability for the future of my family as to whether I was going to continue at Road, or leave to join the legal profession. I knew my grandmother was getting older and whatever uncertainty may occur if something were to happen to her, left me in a position where I would not be able to offer stability to my family. Therefore, my wife and I decided the easiest solution– and the one that I preferred the most — was to purchase Road.” Of course, continuing to produce a top-quality quilt show is Matt’s highest priority. He is currently working on a couple of new and exciting ideas that will ensure that Road’s attendees continue to have the best possible experience. Additionally, Matt hopes these changes will have a positive influence throughout the quilting industry. During Road 2018, Matt will be directing his staff, ensuring a smooth operation without micromanaging. Guests will be able to see him at a couple of the larger events like Party Time and the Trunk Show with Jenny Doan. Matt says he will know right away if he’s done a good job planning for this year’s show: the office will be quiet but the floor will be buzzing with activity. Matt wants to assure Road’s guests that the familiar Reese faces will still be actively helping at the show. A cousin is still coming to be the night manager. His uncle Darrell will still be managing the daunting task of all the equipment and his Dad, Mike, will be up in the office. The Road booth will still be staffed by Matt’s mom and aunt and other cousins still living local will be involved and working the show. Guests will even see Matt’s wife Jen. She handles the contest quilt unpacking and shipping program. The only Reese not with a job currently is four-month-old Braden but Matt is confident they will find one for him as time goes on!! After being in the business for so many years, Matt says he genuinely “loves all quilts” and feels that “they all have an important place in quilting.” He has quite the collection of Egyptian Tentmaker quilts and is starting to amass a collection of artistic miniatures. Matt has also started to think about collecting some antique quilts as well. Through the years, he has had some wonderful gifted quilts given to him. One that stands out is from the ladies of Sew Kind of Wonderful. They presented Matt with a small, modern wall hanging last year which has become one of his favorites because “the quilting is fantastic and the color scheme perfectly matches my house.” While Road 2018 is just a month away, Matt is already looking forward to 2019 and beyond. As Matt explains, “It takes between 18-24 months to fully plan and prepare for an event. We pride ourselves on covering details that some other shows aren’t able to cover. A lot of our special touch comes from the lessons I learned from Carolyn’s travel as a vendor oh so long ago.” Join us in welcoming Matt Reese, Road’s new owner, who is bringing a new generation of leadership to the world class event that has become Road to California.]]>

Tags: Carolyn Reese, Eqyptian Tentmakers, Matt Reese, Quilt Show, Reese Family, Sew Kind of Wonderful
Posted in behind the scenes, Reese Family, Road to California, Road to California 2018 | 5 Comments »

Meet Carolyn Reese: Former Owner and Chief Ghoul at Road to California

Friday, October 27th, 2017

hundreds of quilts on display, awards over $92,000 in cash prizes, classes taught by experts in the quilt and fiber art world, and over 225 nationally and internationally known vendors. Born on Halloween, Carolyn felt there were no tricks when it came to overseeing Road to California but there certainly were plenty of treats. A love for family, friends, and quilting, combined with a keen business sense, all came together for Carolyn one special week in January each year.

What do you know about Carolyn Reese?

Personal: Born on Halloween on her grandparents’ homestead in Oklahoma, Carolyn and her parents moved back and forth between Oklahoma and California twice before finally settling in Southern California in 1953. Carolyn’s Halloween memories revolve around trick or treating with her children when they were growing up. Since becoming involved in the quilting world, she has spent many Halloweens at trade shows. How does Carolyn know she’s getting a call on her cell phone? It rings a haunted house melody.

When did you learn to sew? I learned to sew on my Grandma Anderson’s treadle machine. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I was making my own clothes. I worked in the yardage department of the May Company store in Lakewood when in college. We used machines to measure the fabric and then tore it off the bolt. Several years later, I sewed Barbie clothes and sold them at a local department store to make money for Christmas. How did you get in to quilting? Raising a family of three sons and a daughter, I found myself a displaced homemaker after 27 years of marriage. My mother and I decided to open a fabric store, The Fabric Patch. We soon found that we were the last two women in the area still making their own clothes. I decided to take a quilting class taught by Blanche Young in 1981 and soon after, we changed the emphasis of the store to quilting. (I finally put the binding on that first quilt to finish it in 2011).

How did The Fabric Patch become a trendsetter in the quilting world in southern California? We were one of the first quilt shops to be a vendor at guild quilt shows, one of the first in the country to offer “Mystery Weekends,” and the first to offer fiction books about quilting. I was instrumental in the forming of the Southern California Association of Quilt Shop Owners and started the Quilters Run in Southern California. I sold the store ten years ago.

When did you get involved in Road? I purchased the Road to California brand when it was just a few classes, nothing more. I had a vision to turn it into something more: classes and a quilt show. Road was first held in Anaheim and as it grew, I moved it to Ontario, California, first in the Marriott Hotel. When I was able to add the quilt show, the Marriott could no longer accommodate us, so we moved to the Hilton hotel. The show was located in the atrium of the hotel. We continued to grow in scope and attendance and moved to our current location at the Ontario Convention Center where we are their largest client. 2018 will mark Road to California’s 23rd year. What did you value most about Road? Seeing all the people walk around with a smile on their face, forgetting their problems and having a good time. Even though Carolyn retired last year from Road to California and her grandson Matt Reese is now the owner of the show, her heart is still with the show. Don’t be surprised if you see her at Road 2018 tooting along on her sit-down scooter, waving hello and encouraging a new generation of quilters.

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Tags: Halloween
Posted in behind the scenes, Road 2 CA Blog, Road 2014, Road to California | 10 Comments »

Charity Quilt Hand-Off

Friday, June 30th, 2017

At Road 2017, Road to California sponsored its first Roadies Give Back charity quilt project to benefit cancer patients at the Robert and Beverly Lewis Cancer Care Center at Pomona Valley Hospital .

Before the show, Anita Grossman Solomon created a quilt block pattern just for this project and made it available for quilters around the country to sew the blocks that were going to be used for the project. [caption id="attachment_4662" align="aligncenter" width="528"]

Anita is pictured along with Matt Reese and Matt’s mom, Shellee Reese, an administrator at the Cancer Care Center.[/caption] Then, on Saturday night of the show, quilters, some class teachers, and even a few vendors, got together in the Ontario Convention Center to sew the blocks together into lap size quilts as well as begin quilting the quilts.

After the show, unfinished quilts were given to the Nite Owl Quilt Guild to finish the quilting. In the end, 41 quilts were completed. On June 29, 2017, Road to California owner, Matt Reese, along with his wife Jennifer, presented to the Robert and Beverly Lewis Cancer Care Center the Roadies Give Back quilts which will be given to cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at the center.

Each unique quilt was folded into a Road to California reusable bag, accompanied with a card explaining the significance of the quilt and its care instructions.

While they were there, Matt personally distributed quilts to five patients including:

Joseph Derowen has been a patient at the center since December, 2016. He said that he “really appreciated” the gesture because 99.9% of the time, he is cold when he receives his treatment. He was looking forward to trading his “funky jacket” for the quilt to keep him warm. Joseph’s wife, Elaine, thought receiving the quilt was “very thoughtful” and was grateful that now her husband will be “wrapped in love.”

Joyce is battling Breast Cancer. She knew that the quilts were “a lot of work” and remarked how beautiful hers was. Joyce commented that it was “very generous for the quilters to donate their time and materials.”

Petra de Leon has been battling Lymphoma since April. Petra replied in Spanish, “I am very happy to get this quilt. It is very pretty.”

Ray Hardy told Matt, “No one has ever given me a quilt before. This is cool.” Road to California wishes to thank everyone who participated in this special project. They look forward to offering Roadies Give Back again in the future.]]>

Tags: Anita Grossman Solomon, Cancer Quilts, Charity Quilts, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Roadies Give Back, Robert and Beverly Lewis Cancer Care Center
Posted in behind the scenes, Other Quilting Events, Road 2017 | 1 Comment »

White Glove Treatment

Wednesday, June 21st, 2017

White Glove volunteers. The role of White Glove volunteers is to greet visitors at the quilt displays, answer questions about the quilt(s) they are assigned to and show the backs of quilts, ensuring that visitors do not touch the quilts. White Glove volunteers are the only ones allowed to get up close and handle the quilts. How do you know someone is a White Glove volunteer? By the white gloves they wear, of course. White Glove volunteers are also asked to wear a black skirt or pants and a white blouse. Linda has been a White Glove volunteer for six years. A member of the African American Quilters of Los Angeles quilt guild (“the best guild ever,” says Linda), she likes seeing the quilts up close and talking to the people. “The stories I hear are so interesting,” remarked Linda. Aysheh and Valerie belong to the Inland Empire Quilt Guild and live in Riverside, California. They regularly sign up to work together as White Glove volunteers. They enjoy talking to the people, seeing the quilts up close, and the free show registration they receive for volunteering. Diane lives in San Pedro and participates with the South Bay Quilters. She has been a White Glove volunteer for 8 years. “I have a good experience every time,” says Diane. She always tries to find out about the people who made the quilts she is assigned to and what the quilts symbolize. “The first quilt I white gloved for was a Sharon Schamber’s quilt. After that show, I took a class from her.” White Glove volunteers serve a minimum shift of 2 hours. If they work six or more hours during a show, they qualify for priority class registration for the following year. Hours available to work for Road 2018 are Wednesday, January 17, 2018 – 7 PM – 9 PM, Thursday – Saturday, January 18 – 20, 2018 – 8 AM – – 6:15 PM and Sunday, January 21, 2018 – 10 AM – 3:45 PM. If you are interested in serving as a White Glove volunteer, please visit our website for further information on how to register.]]>