{"id":1303,"date":"2017-10-27T11:30:57","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T18:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.road2cablog.com\/?p=1303"},"modified":"2017-10-27T11:30:57","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T18:30:57","slug":"meet-carolyn-reese-former-owner-and-chief-ghoul-of-road-to-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/road2ca.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/27\/meet-carolyn-reese-former-owner-and-chief-ghoul-of-road-to-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Carolyn Reese: Former Owner and Chief Ghoul at Road to California"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\thundreds of quilts<\/strong> on display, awards over $92,000 in cash prizes<\/strong>, classes taught by experts in the quilt and fiber art world, and over 225 nationally and internationally known vendors.\nBorn 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\u00a0 special week in January each year.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n

What do you know about Carolyn Reese?<\/p>\n\n\n\"Carolyn<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nPersonal: <\/i>Born on Halloween on her grandparents\u2019 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\u2019s 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\u2019s getting a call on her cell phone? It rings a haunted house melody.\"Halloween<\/a><\/span>\nWhen did you learn to sew? <\/i>I learned to sew on my Grandma Anderson\u2019s 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<\/i> 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<\/i> clothes and sold them at a local department store to make money for Christmas.<\/span>\nHow did you get in to quilting? <\/i>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<\/i>. 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).<\/span>\n\n\n

How did The Fabric Patch become a trendsetter in the quilting world in southern California? <\/i>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 \u201cMystery Weekends,\u201d 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.\"newrdlogo\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\nWhen did you get involved in Road? <\/em>I purchased the<\/span>\u00a0Road to California <\/em>brand\u00a0when 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\u00a0accommodate\u00a0us, 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. \u00a02018 will mark Road to California’s 23rd year.<\/span>\nWhat did you value most about Road?\u00a0<\/em>Seeing all the people walk around with a smile on\u00a0their\u00a0face, forgetting their problems and having a good time. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>\nEven 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\u00a0if you see her at Road 2018 tooting along on her sit-down scooter, waving hello and encouraging a new generation\u00a0of quilters.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span>\n\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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