These are not your grandmother's quilts! Abbey Pattison takes the traditional baby quilt and updates it with trendy patterns, colors and textures. Her modern baby items will inspire any nursery decor. From blankets to burp cloths, we adore her custom printed fabrics that are sure to make both mama and baby happy!
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Abbey and I own a small handmade business called abbey’s house. I make baby items – quilts, blankets, burp cloths, swaddles, etc. I like to think that I do more than just sew baby items. My hope is that my items are part of those special family moments like cuddles on the couch and building forts in the living room. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that something I made will be a gift for a new baby, or a focal point of a nursery, or that a mom to be chose something of mine out of all of the available items on the market. It’s humbling. I live in Crystal, MN with my husband, Gabe and our son, Oliver. We love to spend time together outside, reading books, and at our family cabin.
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What’s the latest thing you’ve been working on?
I’ve recently started working on more custom fabric prints. It started a few years ago when I was at my first craft show and I saw a scarf with little MN outlines on it. I thought it would be so fun to create MN-themed fabric. My husband is a graphic designer so we took the idea and ran with it and ended up with an amazing line of custom fabrics. Last year we did a few custom prints that were not MN-themed and we got a really good response so we are working on more and more prints. I don’t know if I would ever get to the point where I only sell items made with my own prints, mostly because I love fabric shopping too much, but it is really a fun part of the business to see our own work on our fabric.
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What do you love most about craft show vending?
The people! The tough part about primarily selling online is that I don’t really get to meet my customers, but that all changes at craft shows. It is so fun to get to meet customers and see who my products are going home with. I love to share about my process and my inspirations and let people get to know me too. I also love having the opportunity to walk around and shop from other handmade and local vendors. It’s a great chance to meet and support other makers.
How did you get started in your business?
I have always had a love of creating and working with my hands, but this business basically started by accident. In the fall of 2010 my mom asked me if I wanted to take a beginners quilting class. I hadn’t touched a sewing machine since middle school home economics class but it sounded like fun. I was in grad school and in the middle of an internship but I thought it would be nice to do something creative and relaxing. I remember going to the fabric store and having no idea what type of fabric I needed but I immediately fell in love with all the prints and colors and the process of pairing fabrics together. After that class, I was hooked. Eventually I ran out of closet space and friends to give quilts to so the business was born.
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What are some inspirations for your work?
I’m really inspired by the state and community I live in. Minnesotans have so much state pride and we celebrate the things that are good about this state. I love that I can capture that spirit in my fabrics. I’m also really inspired by other makers. I’m starting to get to know other people in my local maker community and they are all amazing! Everyone is so different and has different reasons why they do what they do and it pushes me to be better.
What are some tips or suggestions you’d like to offer to fellow makers?
I think one soapbox I tend to find myself on is that of community over competition. I see several people in different entrepreneur groups I’m in get upset when someone asks them about their process or how they do what they do. I get it. I really do. I worked really hard to get where I am today and I didn’t have a lot of help. I know the feeling of being protective of your work. I just think there’s room for everyone at the table. I was incredibly grateful to the people who did help me and I want to be that person for someone else. So my advice would be to be gracious and work hard to build community with other makers. The more you create a relationship of support over competition the more successful you will all be.
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Check out more of Abbey's beautiful work online, and be sure to stop by her booth at the Minneapolis Gift & Art Expo, November 3-5, 2017 at the Minneapolis Convention Center!
www.abbeyshousequilts.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/abbeyshousequilts