People

One of our staunch supporters and very good friend, Marianne Jäntschi, is currently exhibiting her extraordinary work in Garching in the Greater Munich Area in Germany.

You will see quilts in Marianne's usual quirky style - "classical" quilts focusing on recycling and re-using fabric and always with a twist - and work including her latest passion, silk-screen printing.

Heidemarie Mönkemeyer is not a stranger to us here at Quilt around the World - after all, she participated in our first International Block Swap. Her IBS1 block apart, Heidemarie  doesn‘t see herself as a quilter but took part in IBS1 because she found the idea so interesting....

Among the quilters who know Marianne a little, she is well-known for her imaginative and clever ideas about how to remodel discarded clothing into beautiful, useful and sometimes very funny items...

And what does a “normal” day in your jobs look like? Which event do you remember as the nicest so far in your profession lives? And which experience could you have done without? Buying and collecting old, vintage or antique quilts is something not very common in Europe. Do you have any advice for novice buyers or collectors? What are the most common errors of judgement in your opinion?

Outside North America, the quilting world and the “quilting business” are less developed and shaped very differently. Many activities are only possible because of the initiative of individuals who give their time and talent freely and without pecuniary compensation. And we hope that this will remain so for many years to come. However, we thought it worthwhile looking across the big blue ocean to America (and across the Channel to the UK) to learn more about three job descriptions barely known in other parts of the world: the quilt museum curator, the antique quilt dealer and the quilt appraiser.

All three have a lot to do with antique, vintage and old quilts, but many aspects, especially the treatment, storage and restoration of quilts and the appraisal and determination of value, are almost certainly of interest to the maker and/or owner of contemporary quilts.

For this interview, a first at Quilt around the World, we assembled a panel of interviewees, and are delighted to welcome Katherine Hebert from England (Collections Manager for the American Museum in Britain), Mary Koval from the United States (antique quilt dealer and fabric designer) and Diane Shink from Canada (expert on textiles, quilt appraiser and author) and to tell us more about their jobs, their daily routines, the challenges they face and the joy their profession brings them.... (25 September 2011)