Hatch Embroidery at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair: Connecting with Creators, Crafters and the Next Generation

Table of Contents

• A steady flow of visitors
• Connecting with the Hatch community
• Welcoming new embroidery enthusiasts
• Opportunities for the next generation
• Supporting home businesses at every level
  • Congratulations to Our Prize Winner! 🎉
• Looking ahead
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The definitive choice when selecting embroidery software for your home embroidery business.

The Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair once again brought together passionate makers, quilters, sewists and creative enthusiasts at ICC Sydney. For Hatch Embroidery, this year's event marked our fourth time exhibiting at the show, giving us another opportunity to meet the Australian embroidery community, showcase our software and connect with people interested in discovering what machine embroidery can do.

Across the event, we met a wonderful mix of existing Hatch users, embroidery enthusiasts, quilters, home-business owners, educators and people considering taking their first steps into machine embroidery.

One of the most rewarding aspects of returning to the event was seeing how much the Hatch community has grown. We met people who regularly use Hatch, customers who recognized the team from our online Live sessions and YouTube videos, and visitors who arrived with their own embroidered projects or specific questions they wanted help solving.

A steady flow of visitors

The show floor maintained a strong and consistent flow of visitors throughout the event. While previous years have sometimes seen quieter periods during the afternoons, this year's event remained busy, with people continuing to pass through the show well into the final hours of the day.

Our stand location made it easy to engage with people passing by, but one of the biggest attractions was the embroidery machine running continuously on the stand.

Having Mai demonstrate embroidery throughout the show naturally drew people in. Visitors would stop to watch the machine stitching, which created an easy starting point for conversations about embroidery, software and what they could create themselves.

It was a good reminder that sometimes the best way to demonstrate the possibilities of machine embroidery is simply to show it happening.

Connecting with the Hatch community

Meeting existing Hatch users was a particular highlight.

Many visitors stopped to share their experiences with the software, ask questions or show us things they had created. Some were familiar with our Hatch Academy content and Live sessions, while others were discovering these resources for the first time.

Mai was also able to provide practical, on-the-spot assistance with a range of questions. This included helping a customer with a workaround for using Scan and Cut with an applique pattern, demonstrating how to assign custom threads, creating a merrow-look badge border and showing how existing Hatch tools could be used to create an animal effect.

These conversations highlighted the value of being able to meet Hatch users face-to-face. A question that might take several messages to explain online can sometimes be solved in minutes when you can sit beside someone and demonstrate the solution directly.

We also introduced existing users to the latest version of Hatch Embroidery and its new features and improvements, as well as Hatch Academy, where users can build their skills through a wide range of courses and lessons.

Welcoming new embroidery enthusiasts

The show also provided plenty of opportunities to introduce Hatch to people who are considering getting into machine embroidery.

Visitors were curious about what embroidery software could help them achieve, particularly those who currently purchase embroidery designs or rely on auto-digitizing. For these users, Hatch offers the opportunity to move beyond simply using existing designs and start creating personalized projects of their own.

One question we heard repeatedly was whether Hatch is subscription-based, highlighting the importance of communicating our purchasing options clearly to people comparing different embroidery software products.

It was also surprising for many visitors to learn that Hatch is a Sydney-based company with a long history in embroidery and a connection to Wilcom. Many had assumed Hatch was an American brand and weren't aware of the wider Wilcom story behind the software.

Opportunities for the next generation

One of the most interesting developments at this year's show was the focus on attracting younger people to sewing and embroidery.

While the overall Craft & Quilt Fair audience still tends to skew towards older crafters, we noticed a larger number of younger visitors than in previous years. Conversations with educators were particularly encouraging, with several high school teachers interested in how Hatch could be incorporated into student projects and major works.

Some educators already had access to single-needle embroidery machines, while others were considering adding embroidery software and machines to future school budgets.

This presents an exciting opportunity for Hatch to explore more collaborations with schools, educators and events targeting younger and beginner-level makers.

Supporting home businesses at every level

We also met many people interested in using embroidery for their home businesses.

There was strong interest in creating products such as badges, T-shirts, tote bags and caps. When visitors were introduced to Hatch through machine manufacturers, many were looking for software that could help them turn their embroidery machine into a tool for producing these kinds of products.

This reinforced the importance of demonstrating that Hatch isn't just for large commercial embroidery operations. Single-needle and smaller multi-needle machine owners can also use the software to create personalized and marketable products.

There was also considerable interest from people currently using other embroidery software, including Janome, Brother PE-Design and Husqvarna/Viking software. Some were looking for an alternative because their current software felt outdated, increasingly expensive or was moving towards subscription-based models.

These conversations revealed a clear opportunity to make it easier for people considering a switch to understand why Hatch could be the right choice for them.

Congratulations to Our Prize Winner! 🎉

A big congratulations to Lizabeth Cooksey, the lucky winner of a license to Hatch Embroidery Digitizer! Lizabeth and her daughter were thrilled to hear the good news and are looking forward to getting started with Hatch, learning the software and working on some beautiful embroidery projects together. We can't wait to see what they create!

Looking ahead

Our fourth Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair was a rewarding experience, both commercially and personally.

There are plenty of opportunities to build on the experience at future events. More quilting-focused samples would help us connect with the show's large quilting audience, while additional examples of badges, caps, T-shirts and totes would demonstrate the possibilities for home businesses and entry-level machines.

We could also explore running introductory presentations or hands-on classes, collaborating with machine manufacturers and complementary exhibitors, and creating more content during the event through interviews with makers, attendees and industry partners.

Extending event offers beyond the show itself could also give visitors more time to return home, try the software and decide whether Hatch is right for them.

Most importantly, the event reinforced the value of meeting our community in person.

From helping experienced Hatch users solve problems to introducing new crafters to machine embroidery, we had countless conversations that reminded us just how creative and enthusiastic the embroidery community is.

Thank you to everyone who visited the Hatch Embroidery stand at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair, shared your projects, asked questions and stopped to watch the machine in action. We loved seeing familiar faces, meeting new members of the community and hearing what you're creating.

We look forward to seeing you - and your embroidery - at the next show.

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The definitive choice when selecting embroidery software for your home embroidery business.

Hatch Embroidery software is a comprehensive embroidery design solution that offers a range of tools and features for both beginners and seasoned embroiderers.

Here’s why it's a great choice for your business:

• User-Friendly Interface: The software is designed with a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for anyone to start creating beautiful embroidery designs, regardless of their experience level.
• Powerful Editing Tools: It provides powerful editing tools that allow users to resize, edit, and adjust embroidery designs with precision. This is essential for businesses that need to customize designs according to specific customer requirements.
• Wide Range of Formats Supported: Hatch Embroidery supports a wide range of machine file formats, making it versatile for use with different embroidery machines. This flexibility is crucial for businesses operating with multiple machine types.
• Professional Quality: The software generates professional-quality stitches, ensuring that the end products are of high quality, which is vital for maintaining customer satisfaction and business reputation.
• Extensive Design Features: With features like auto-digitizing, lettering, monogramming, and even special effects, businesses can offer a wide range of embroidery services, increasing their market appeal and potential revenue streams.
• Regular Updates and Support: Hatch provides regular software updates and robust customer support, ensuring that businesses can always access the latest features and get help when needed.

Overall, Hatch Embroidery software equips your business with the tools necessary to create stunning, high-quality embroidery designs efficiently and effectively, enhancing productivity and customer satisfaction, making it pivotal when selecting suppliers and supplies for your home embroidery business.

Hatch Embroidery software products are in popular use in over 120 countries. It is time to join the global trend and give Hatch a try! The 30-Day Free Trial grants you unlimited use of all the amazing features and the 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee ensures that there is absolutely no risk involved. In fact, choosing Hatch Embroidery software is one of the smartest things you can do when selecting suppliers and supplies for your home embroidery business.

Enjoy over 200 FREE lessons presented by our own embroidery experts at Hatch Academy. Grow your confidence and embroidery skills fast to start creating your own beautiful designs in no time!

Hatch Academy over 500 FREE lessons for software owners	30-Day FREE Trial all the tools & features	Money-Back Guarantee ease of mind	Hatch FlexPay monthly installments