I had a fantastic time attending the 2018 Janome Education Summit near the Janome-America headquarters in New Jersey last week with more than 35 talented educators and industry professionals. Janome invited us to gather together for a fabulous week of learning, sharing ideas, creativity, and nurturing friendships both old and new. They invited their top-notch educators plus some of the best up and coming industry professionals who blog, quilt, sew, and design. Hosted by Regena Carlevaro, Education Manager for Janome, we were introduced to many of the hard-working, dedicated Janome staff members including David Menierka, Vice President and Shin Yamamoto, President and CEO of Janome.
Shin Yamamoto, President and CEO, Janome-America, Inc.
I arrived a day early and jumped in to help with final preparations for the arrival of all the attendees. Regena outdid herself gathering swag. She suggested we each bring a separate bag because there was so much to take home, and she was right!
Goody bags and boxes awaited the attendees’ arrival.
Name tags were lined up waiting for each attendee.
Mike Seminara, Marketing Manager, and his marketing team did a great job setting up lighting, camera equipment and a special backdrop to create the perfect photo-op spot.
After an evening social on Monday, we spent time getting to know each other better.
On Tuesday morning, I was excited (and a wee bit nervous!) to be the first presenter of the week and my first official presentation as the new Janome National Spokesperson. It was fun putting my PowerPoint presentation together prior to the event because I got to revisit some of the garments I made when I was young, including this five-piece, snazzy “leisure suite” ensemble made from stretch knits and double knit polyester with self-covered buttons. (Check out those bell bottoms!)
After the lecture portion of the morning, I taught a class on how to make perfect flying geese featuring my EZ Flying Geese Ruler to make Flying Geese Crossing (below). Everyone got to take home a ruler and a jelly roll of Solid-ish — more swag!
The ultra-talented Janome educators and attendees rocked the project! (I wish I had photos from the class to share, but I was so busy teaching I completely forgot to take pictures). Everyone sewed on Janome Horizon 9400 machines in the brightly lit classroom. Even when I was speaking with 36 machines all sewing at once, I didn’t have to raise my voice to be heard because they are so unbelievably quiet!
In the afternoon, the talented Amy Johnson taught machine quilting using rulers with the new Ruler Foot which is available with the latest software upgrade. If you own a 9400 or other model, check with your local dealer. You NEED to get the upgrade and this fabulous new foot! It will literally change everything you know about machine quilting.
We enjoyed a PJ and pizza party for dinner and celebrated a special birthday with Ann Hein. Each of the attendees brought a custom quilt block to create a special commemorative quilt using one chosen fabric and a specially selected palette of colors. The blocks were incredibly unique and fun to see grouped together.
Regena Carlevaro and I created a couple of Janome logo shirts as a surprise for my sweet hubby, aka “Mr. Kim.”
Of course, there were lots of silly moments and laughter throughout the week…..
Sam and Terry were such great sports…..
Nicole modeled the knit skirt she made in a little over an hour!
More silliness from Sam and Terry
And we enjoyed a wonderful demo of the binding attachment by Liz Thompson. She shed new light on what this attachment might be mistaken for by TSA personnel!
On Wednesday evening we were treated to an exciting trip into NYC for a dinner cruise on the Hudson River. The weather simply couldn’t have been more perfect!
The evening was perfect for spending time relaxing and chatting with friends.
Miriam had a “Marilyn Monroe” windy moment!
The NYC skyline was absolutely breathtaking!
And seeing the Statue of Liberty up close at sunset was a moment none of us will ever forget!
On the last day, we learned how to create our own printed digital fabric by Eileen Roche.
I truly enjoyed getting to know Tamara Kate, the Janome National Spokesperson for Canada! She gave a wonderful presentation and introduced us all to what she — and Janome — are busy doing in Canada. Look for more fun and exciting things coming from the two of us in the future….. Incidentally, she did an amazing job with her version of the flying geese project — I LOVE how fresh and modern her geese turned out!
I had the opportunity to catch up with Autumn Pengally, a brand-new Janome freelance educator. She and I met quite a few years ago when we were both stationed overseas with our husbands in Germany. Having our paths cross again now was such a lovely bonus!
Although some of the attendees had to leave prior to this photo being taken, I think our happy smiles say it all: It was one amazing, unbelievably wonderful week! Thank you, Janome, for investing in such a valuable and worthwhile event. We all learned so much; about the company, the employees, new sewing techniques, new machines, and we can’t wait to share these tips, techniques and sewing innovations with students, customers and sewing enthusiasts everywhere. I’m already looking forward to the next summit!
If you’d like to check out some of the other attendees’ blogs with recaps about the summit, I invite you to click on the following links:
Here
What a wonderful memory you’ve made to share. Looking forward to hearing more of your experiences being Janome spokesperson.
Thanks for sharing it was wonderful to see all the fun and learning that happened. I love my Janome.
That quilt is spectacular! Love the movement in the quilt and the colors are spectacular!
I love my Janome! For Mother’s Day I got a Memory Craft 15000. I previously had a Skyline S7 for everyday sewing and a 500e for embroidery. I’m loving my new machine. Miriam is just fantastic. I’ve been fortunate enough to take some classes from her at my local shop, Wish Upon a Quilt in Raleigh, NC. She’s just a fabulous educator. Looks like you all had a fantastic time.
What a great re-cap! I’m going to parse mine out over multiple days…. I’m still buzzing from the week together.
Thank you so much for sharing the photos. I really enjoyed seeing them. And reading about your fun trip.
Oh, oh, oh……..what a simply marvellous trip that would have been… I love my Queen Fifi, (she’s a 15000, but I don’t say that out loud – she’d look down regally from her throne with a bit of a glare..!) and she and I love to create together.
Kimberly, do come to Australia and do a Janome tour here please…!! Pretty please!