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.
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While the recipe is pretty simple, Jen and her family have made some changes along the way. For one, instead of using oleo, they use butter. (Shortening also makes the cookies “extra tasty”).
Another important step is to mix-mix-and mix some more. After the dough is mixed thoroughly, Jen wraps it in plastic and sets it in the fridge until its firm. This makes rolling it into balls so much easier and less messy.
To insure the balls are the same size and that they will cook evenly, Jen uses a cookie scoop. After the balls are made, she rolls them in sugar and puts them on a cookie tray, not too close together so they have room to spread out.
Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack and watch them disappear.
Are you a holiday baker too? What is your family’s favorite holiday treat?]]>
