For a business class, my daughter is doing a business plan for a quilting business. Her premise is providing one or more longarm quilting machines for individuals to do quilting for themselves. I told her I would put the idea out for your comments. Is this a viable business to have? What are the pros and cons? What suggestions would you have for the kind of machines to provide. I, myself, am a fairly new quilter who has not done any longarm quilting, so cannot offer any opinion--except that I would like to have a few hours on a machine to learn!! Thank you in advance for any insight you might have on this idea.
Cathy (Littlereader)
Cathy
I think it would be a great idea. I would love to have access to a longarm that I could rent time on. Can't give much info on the machines but I would probably recommend either Gammill or APQS because the machines are made for professional quilters and would most likely hold up to the usage better than some of the others.
Vinton, Virginia
Hi littlereader, I'm not sure I've met you yet or said Hi so wanted to do so and say welcome.
I would not rule out the Nolting longarms either as they are also very well made and the customer service cannot be beat.
Life is like a quilt...bits & pieces, joy & sorrow, stitched with love
there are several businesses in this area, that you can rent time on. i haven't looked into how much it costs. you first have to take a class, it was about $70 , on how to run the machine
gini in north idaho
Cathy,
I think this is definitely a viable business. Many quilters like to do their own quilting but don't have the space for, or can't afford, a long arm. Renting time on one can save money and time.
One of our local long arm dealers has one set up and charges $20 per hour for do-it-yourselfers. The provide a block of instructions for free and someone is always available if there are problems.
In Edmonton, there is one place that I know of that charges (i think) 150.00 for a four hour "how to class" that is mandatory for anyone wanting to rent time on a longarm. You get free time with every how to class so it comes out even. Teaches you how to load/thread/use the machine.
I rented a machine for a year before buying mine. A Quilting Place in Omaha, NE. You can google it if you want to see her website. She also does quilting for customers, is an APQS dealer and does classes so there are several services to offer. She also carries thread and batting for sale. I would love to have a business like this!