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Bright & Beautiful ~ meet industry designer Tammy Tadd

Spectacular hot pinks and mint greens – these colors, bright, cheery, fun and funky are the signature colors of industry fabric and pattern designer Tammy Tadd.

Tammy has a style that pops. It’s a style she refers to as “one that makes her happy.”

“I’ve never been afraid of color and I just like fabrics and prints that make me happy,” said Tammy. “That is probably the number one comment I get from people who come into or store or our booth at shows. They say, What a happy place!”

Tammy is the owner of Tammy Tadd Designs, a quilt pattern design company in Sycamore, IL. Starting this company was a natural thing for Tammy because she has always been a crafty gal. With a background in art and horticulture/floral design, Tammy has always liked making gifts and things for her home.

“I used to grow and dry my own flowers so I know that’s why I love floral fabrics so much,” shared Tammy. “Quilting came about pretty naturally. When I was in my late 20s and early 30s with small children at home I was always looking for creative outlets and quilting was something my mom had been doing for over 30 years. So she was more than happy to teach me!”

Tammy made her very first quilt from a preprinted panel and hand quilted it. That was the beginning and from then on, she was hooked! However as she became more and more enthusiastic about her new hobby, she often was disappointed with the quality of a lot of the patterns and books on the market.

Explaining, she said, “Many of the illustrations were poorly done and the instructions themselves were not written clearly. Being a very visual person, I basically wanted to be able to look at a pattern and tell within seconds how the quilt was constructed and does it have simple, easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.”

That is when Tammy decided she could design and publish her own patterns. Her business endeavor was to produce high quality, well written and appealing quilt patterns and books. And with the help and encouragement of her mother, Velda Grubbs, she accomplished that dream.

“We began in a small corner in the basement of my home eight years ago,” Tammy recalled. “After about a year and a half, I saw the need to purchase my own longarm machine and therefore needed to move the business out of the house. We moved to our new location and hired our first employee to do the machine quilting and help with the bookkeeping.”

By December of 2006, Tammy Tadd Designs had outgrown its business location and so the decision was made to relocate. However, this time, they not only relocated but they went a step further and opened up a retail store in conjunction with the move.

“It had been my dream for several years to be able to open a quilt shop in our town so when we determined the need to move our design studio to a new location, we decided to find a place that would give us retail space as well,” Tammy related. “So in February of this year, we opened our doors to our new studio and quilt store. We hired eight employees and lined up teachers and helpers for all kinds of classes and events.”

Currently, Tammy offers over 80 patterns and seven books. A couple of her better known patterns are “The Not-So-Square Granny” which is a pattern for a crocheted granny square-looking block that they demonstrated when they appeared on Simply Quilts, and “The Convert-Able™ purse, which is a pattern that has a liner that can be easily removed and inserted into many different outer purses.

Recalling her first patterns launched, Tammy said she began with five patterns which were all introduced at the same time. She began peddling the patterns to local quilt shops that were within driving distance and she asked the shop owners to take them on consignment to see how they would sell.

“I asked the shop owners and customers for advice and comments about what they liked or what we could improve,” Tammy recalled. “This was a great experience for me. Eventually I followed the advice of a few of them who told me I had to go to Market to really get the exposure I needed.”

So, to Quilt Market she went, with 23 patterns, all in one tiny 10’ x10’ booth. Tammy recalls that move as “a really big step and a big expense for a small company just starting out.”

She added, “We’ve come a long way since then. Today, we have several people involved in the process of pattern production. We use several different programs to design and produce our patterns and we do it all in house.”

Tammy’s first fabric line was just introduced this past spring at International Spring Market in Salt Lake City, UT. The line, “Cameo Appearances” has a whimsical, romantic Victorian feel that is somewhere between a pastel and a bright. The line has been printed by Camelot Cottons, a division of Eugene Textiles of Montreal Canada. Currently it is being distributed by all of the major distributors.

Feedback has been very positive on Tammy’s new line. She said her customers and the sales reps who are showing her fabric have nothing but good comments to share. That, along with the thrill of seeing her name printed on the selvedge of her own fabric, has been very exciting for Tammy.

So where will she draw inspiration from for her future fabric lines and patterns? Tammy said, “Literally everywhere!” She looks at floor and carpet patterns, wallpaper, clothing, nature, kids, toys and even food to get ideas!

“Things from my own childhood as well as my kids have spurred ideas,” she answered. “I truly have a magazine and book addiction. I buy current decorating and trends magazines and have a huge library of decorating and gardening books. I love to entertain and decorate and it inevitably comes out in my designs.”

Having so many resources to tap into for new ideas, Tammy is certainly a designer who will be taking the industry by storm. And….later this year she will not only be introducing her second fabric line, but she plans to begin self-publishing her books.

In the meantime, if you want to “start your day… with a ‘TADD’ more,” you can check out Tammy’s blog at www.tammytadddesigns.com.

Reprinted from Quilting Now, October 2007