Quilt Market was 3 weeks early this year. It generally crosses over with Halloween at the end of October. The Alexander Henry booth had this wonderfully creative and creepy display at the center. Details like the thread rack with all black, brown and grey spools.The witch sewing the quilt on an old black & grey industrial machine.
Alexander Henry is unique in how they present new designs and deliver their fabrics. New designs are developed and presented twice a year in the Spring and the Fall (obviously you can order all year long but those are the times the brand new stuff is shown). The collection is a series of drawings and paintings all glued into a large portfolio book (you can often see the brush strokes on the art). You go through the book the first time and mark pages with post it notes. You then go back through the book and re-look at the marked pages and ultimately decide what to order.
photo courtesy of TrueUp.net
The book is divided by collection. Some collections are ongoing like Folklorico, Fashionista, In the Kitchen and Nicole’s Prints. I am such a die hard fan of the Dia de los Muertos prints that fall under Folklorico I literally can not wait to get to that section and see what new design they’ve added. Other collections are more self-contained like Tillbrook and Natura.
The delivery dates are very loose, sometime over the next 6 months boxes will appear. This drives some retailers nutty, for me I have a budget for my Alexander Henry fabrics and I just take them as they arrive, excited to tear open the box and see the design on cloth for the first time. I also like that they’re not all matchy, matchy and not at all trendy in the traditional sense of a ‘fabric collection’.
photo courtesy of TrueUp.net
10/28/09 – I’ve updated this post to correct some misinformation I originally posted about the operation and ownership of the company. Please accept my apologies for the mistake, I need a fact checker! Kathy
Alexander Henry Fabrics is owned and operated by Marc DeLeon and his two children Nicole and Phillip (thank you to Kim Kight from True Up who took this photo of them together at the Fall 2008 Quilt Market). Marc is President of the company and originally the sole designer of the Alexander Henry Collection. Nicole shared with me that he is still very involved with the design process that Phillip and she oversee and paint. At Spring Quilt market I had the pleasure of hearing Phillip talk at length about their methods of drawing and painting as the base of their fabric designs. It’s such a unique manufacturer in the industry, truly one-of-a-kind. It makes me appreciate what they’re producing all the more.
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The blog giveaway. Leave a comment on any of these Quilt Market posts and you’ll have an entry into the random drawing.
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I created a Quilt Market Fall 2009 set on Flickr to round up all the photos
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I need to wrap up this re-cap and get on with my life, please bear with me as I crank out the final posts today!
I didn’t realize they painted each fabric idea. I thought it was all computer design until they went to print. I have really enjoyed the tour of market. I would be soooo overwhelmed! Hope your weekend is a good one.
Alexander Henry is definitely one of my favorites! Can’t wait to see what you carry in the shop!
I have always been a fan of the Alexander Henry prints. Thanks for the background info on the company.
Wow, this was really informative. I like to hear the back stories behind different fabric houses and designers. Thanks for such great write ups!
You really are great Kathy – keeping us all enamoured with your pictures! The witch at the Alexander Henry booth is amazing!
wow! what an awesome booth! I love those creepy halloween prints.
Really interesting…I really love their Natura collection – now I understand why it looks like it’s painted on!
I am so overwhelmed by all the posts about Market, I can’t imagine how overwhelming the actual event is!
thanks so much for these market reports — it’s not quite as good as being there, but almost!
Thanks so much for all the great pictures!
I love Alexander Henry designs too. I tend to collect fun and funky
fabrics like their designs without a firm idea of how they will be used. Never knew how they produced their fabrics….very cool and interesting too!
Wow, painting fabric by hand?? I like that pumpkin fabric too!
I so enjoy being able to put a name with a selvedge. I especially love Alexander Henry fabrics. And now I love them even more knowing they paint the design. Amazing.
I’ve recently discovered how wonderful the AH prints are. Lucky you to see this wonderful booth in person!
I agree about the Alexander Henry fabrics being pieces that stand alone and don’t necessarily come from a collection. I’m a big Alexander Henry fan.
Ooooh I love Alexander Henry!!! His fabric can be sprinkled into about any other collection too!
I love AH fabrics….always been one of my faves!
I didn’t know Alexander Henry was owned by a brother and sister- thanks for the tidbit of information! (P.S.- I love their fabric!)
I always learn so much from these Market posts! I really enjoy hearing about the people behind the designs and manufacturers…it’s just one more level on which to appreciate my stash. Thanks Kathy
This booth is gorgeous and so fancy looking!