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The Hoffman Challenge® By Kelly Gallagher-Abbott, Curator The Hoffman Challenge is celebrating 22 years of encouraging fiber artists of all experience levels to stretch their design abilities and skills. The Challenge started when Hollis Turnbow asked fellow show vendor, Betty Boyink, what she was holding. She responded that it was a bolt of challenging fabric. Hollis said he’d accept that challenge, and by the end of the show, others had joined in. At the same show a year later, over 100 quilt artists submitted quilts to the friendly competition, all which incorporated the “challenging fabric” Betty had held. Hoffman Fabrics, the manufacturer of this fabric, stepped in with prizes and encouragement, and the Hoffman Challenge has since grown to be the premier Challenge in the quilt, doll, and wearable art worlds. This year, Hoffman teams up with Sulky of America, who is now co-sponsoring the Challenge a few years after discontinuing their own competition. Though Sulky had strong participation and a great response to their displays, they found it too difficult and time consuming to manage. A little over a year ago, they began negotiating with Hoffman, and so these two wonderful companies have teamed up to offer more prizes for the participating fiber artists. Each year, Hoffman representatives carefully review designs and select one that will become the designated fabric. The selection process is difficult, as scale, color, and the fact that the fabric must be completely different from previous years are all taken into consideration. A line of suggested coordinates is also selected, although the entry requirements are that only the primary Challenge fabric must be used. The fabric becomes available in the late fall, and entrants have until late July to send their creations to Colorado. Curator Kelly Gallagher-Abbott receives nearly 600 entries. A team of employees and volunteers process the entries, assist with the jurying and judging of each, and then over 300 selected entries are sorted into 12 different collections. These collection trunks travel to hundreds of exhibitions, museums, shops, and guilds throughout the United States and Canada for a full year. The fabric is available worldwide, and entries come in from many countries. The quilts, dolls, clothing, and accessories (hats, purses, etc.) are incredibly varied and reflect great imagination and meticulous workmanship. Until August of last year, the entire traveling collection had never been seen in one location. The Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival was started by an industrious group of quilters from Fort Collins, CO, and became a venue to display the complete collection. CD Management sponsors the show. The 2009 show will be August 22-23, and our goals are to display the 350 plus Hoffman entries, in addition to 650 other quilts and fiber creations. Classes will be available in quilting, dolls, and clothing, and a wide variety of vendors will be present. Information about this show is available at www.rockymountainquiltfestival.com. You and your customers are invited to enter this completion! A recognizable amount of the Challenge fabric must be used in the main area of the quilt, doll, garment, or accessory. Visible use of Sulky thread makes the entry eligible for additional prize packages. Over 40 cash, fabric, and thread package awards will be presented. Intimidated? Don’t be! Many of our winners are entering the Challenge as their first competition. It is impossible to send every entry out to travel, and unfortunately, we do send home some wonderful creations, but one thing is guaranteed -- by submitting an item, you will certainly improve your creative skills and will learn new things about construction. Challenges are a wonderful way to stretch and grow. Perhaps you don’t like the fabric, so use it in an original way. It’s called a Challenge for a reason! Tips from the curator to consider:
Please visit www.hoffmanchallenge.com:
Reprinted from SQE Professional, February 2009 |