Quilts

What Quilts does

Quilts, Inc. is a privately held Houston, Texas-based event management and publishing company that has operated the quilting and soft crafts industry for over four decades. Its core business is the production of the International Quilt Festival/Houston, described as the largest annual quilt show in the United States, held each fall at the George R. Brown Convention Center and featuring over 1,200 quilts, 600+ vendor booths, and more than 200 classes, lectures, and events. The company also operates the Houston Quilt Market trade show and the Quilt! Knit! Stitch! event in St. Louis, and is partnered with the Texas Quilt Museum in LaGrange, TX, which runs rotating exhibits.

The company's revenue model is event-driven and multi-streamed, combining transaction fees from event ticketing and class registration, vendor booth rentals, advertising sales in event programs and publications (handled by partner Hunter-McMain, Inc.), and admission revenue from the affiliated Texas Quilt Museum. Distribution is primarily in-person through the Houston and St. Louis events, supplemented by the quilts.com website, the Friends at Festival quarterly ezine, the long-running Suzy's Fancy editorial column archive (originally published 2009-2020), and social channels on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The customer base spans professional and amateur quilt artists, quilting industry vendors selling fabrics, tools, and machines, and quilting enthusiasts and collectors.

Quilts, Inc. operates without disclosed proprietary technology platforms or software systems, relying on traditional event management and publishing infrastructure. The company is privately held with no venture capital or private equity investment evidenced, employs 11-50 people, and is led by President Karey Bresenhan (founder of Quilt Market & Festival) and VP Nancy O'Bryant Puentes. Geographic operations are limited to Texas and Missouri within the United States, with brand reach extending internationally through content partnerships with worldwide quilt artists and guilds.

Name

Quilts

Legal name

Quilts, Inc.

Website

https://quilts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Quilts, Inc. is a privately held Houston-based event management and publishing company that produces the International Quilt Festival/Houston — the largest annual quilt show in the United States — along with the Houston Quilt Market trade show, the Quilt! Knit! Stitch! event in St. Louis, and the affiliated Texas Quilt Museum, serving quilt artists, industry vendors, and quilting enthusiasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quilting Events and Exhibitions

NAICS

Apparel Knitting Mills (3151), Narrow Fabric Mills and Schiffli Machine Embroidery (31322)

SIC

Knitting Mills (2250), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Quilting & Patchwork Shops (CRALADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Yarn, Knitting & Crochet Supplies Retail (CRALACAF)

Keywords

• Quilting events
• Trade shows
• Textile exhibitions
• Fiber arts classes
• Artisan publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Ticketing: Revenue from ticket sales to International Quilt Festival and Quilt! Knit! Stitch! events. Preview Night October 8, with main festival running October 9-12, 2025 for Houston Quilt Festival.
2. Advertising Sales: Revenue from selling advertising space in event programs and publications. Payment addressed to Quilts, Inc. with advertising contact Bob Ruggerio at 713-781-6864 x116.
3. Class Registration: Revenue from over 200 classes, lectures, and events offered during festival periods. Classes begin November 10 for Houston Festival.
4. Vendor Booth Fees: Revenue from 600+ vendor booths at major events. Vendors participate in Quilt Market and Festival events.
5. Texas Quilt Museum Admissions: Related entity Texas Quilt Museum in LaGrange generates admission revenue. Current exhibits include 'My America…What It Means to Me', 'Hooked on Presidents', and 'Old Quilts Made New'.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Quilts produces and operates major consumer and trade quilting events, anchored by the International Quilt Festival/Houston (the largest annual quilting event in the U.S.), the Houston Quilt Market industry trade show, and Quilt! Knit! Stitch!. The company also runs the Artist Residence program and publishes quilting editorial content such as Suzy's Fancy and Friends at Festival, in partnership with the Texas Quilt Museum.

Product overview

Quilts (operated as Quilts, Inc.) is an event management company that produces the largest annual quilt show in the United States. The core offering is the International Quilt Festival/Houston, complemented by the Houston Quilt Market trade event and the St. Louis-based Quilt! Knit! Stitch! event. Supporting services include an online quilt gallery, class programs, quilt submission opportunities, the Suzy's Fancy archival column series, and a quarterly ezine. The company also partners with the Texas Quilt Museum in LaGrange, Texas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Quilt! Knit! Stitch!: St. Louis-based quilt and fiber arts event featuring vendor booths and classes.

Products and services

• International Quilt Festival/Houston

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hunter-McMain, Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdvertising design and production partner for Quilts, Inc. Handles advertising materials delivery at 1980 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 100, Houston, TX 77056. Contact: [email protected] or 713.627.1177.
• Texas Quilt MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated organization in LaGrange, TX showcasing quilt exhibits. Quilts website links to museum and promotes current exhibits. Museums features include 'My America…What It Means to Me', 'Hooked on Presidents', and 'Old Quilts Made New'.
• George R. Brown Convention CentercoreOthersVenue partner for International Quilt Festival Houston events. Located in Houston, Texas.
• Friends at FestivalminorOthersQuarterly ezine publication covering quilt artists worldwide. Partners with Quilts for content distribution to quilting community.
• Various Quilt GuildsminorOthersCommunity partnerships with quilt guilds worldwide. Suzy's Fancy column and gallery features regularly highlight guild activities and community projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• American Quilter's Society: American Quilter's Society (AQS) operates multiple major quilt shows including Paducah QuiltWeek and events in Des Moines and Daytona Beach. Directly competes with Quilts, Inc. in the US quilt exhibition and trade show market with the same event-driven business model serving quilt artists, vendors, and enthusiasts.
• Mancuso Show Management: Mancuso Show Management operates the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, and other major US quilt shows. Directly competes as a multi-event quilt show operator with similar vendor marketplace and educational class programming targeting the same quilting community.
• Road to California Quilt Show: Road to California is one of the largest annual quilt shows in the western United States, featuring quilt exhibitions, vendor booths, and classes. Directly comparable as a large-scale regional quilt festival serving similar audiences with a similar event-driven monetization model.
• Original Sewing & Quilt Expo: Original Sewing & Quilt Expo operates multiple sewing and quilting consumer events across the United States. Directly comparable multi-event operator serving the same sewing and quilting enthusiast customer base with vendor marketplaces and educational classes.

Emerging players

• Missouri Star Quilt Company: Missouri Star Quilt Company has grown from a small-town quilt shop into a major quilting retailer with a massive YouTube presence and in-person events. Represents an emerging digital-first competitor that combines retail, content, and events in ways that could disrupt traditional quilt show operators.
• National Quilters Circle: National Quilters Circle is an online quilting education platform offering classes and tutorials. Represents a digital-native, education-focused player that competes for the same quilters' attention and training spend, particularly between Quilts' major events.

Broad incumbents

• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest annual event held at the same George R. Brown Convention Center used by Quilts, Inc. Comparable as a Houston-based large-scale consumer events operator with similar vendor marketplace, ticketing, and educational programming infrastructure.
• Hobby Lobby: Hobby Lobby is the largest US arts, crafts, and quilting supplies retailer with over 900 stores nationwide. While not a direct event competitor, Hobby Lobby serves the same quilting customer base and represents a significant potential vendor and advertising partner for the International Quilt Festival.

Others

• Etsy: Etsy is the leading online marketplace for handmade quilts, fabric crafts, and quilting supplies. Serves as a digital distribution channel for many of the same quilt artists and vendors that participate in Quilts, Inc. events, with potential to be either a competitive substitute or a complementary partner.
• Jo-Ann Stores: Jo-Ann Stores is one of the largest US specialty retailers of fabrics, sewing, and quilting supplies with hundreds of stores. Serves as a major fabric and sewing supplies vendor participant in quilt shows and a primary destination for the same quilting enthusiast customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/quiltfestivalvideos
• Facebookfacebook.com/QuiltFestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/quiltfestival/?hl=en
• Xx.com/quiltfestival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quilts