Meet Jackie Vujcich | Quilt pattern designer and quilt shop owner,

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jackie Vujcich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jackie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Every business starts because of a problem they hope to solve. I started this business because I believe there’s an alternative to frustration!

I loves designing quilts, especially landscape quilts, and I have a 20-year stash of landscape fabrics to aid in this endeavor. These quilts eventually become quilt patterns for retail. Unfortunately, when people see my patterns and want to re-create them, they don’t have access to my stash.

So I got into this business to bring as many landscape-type fabrics together from major manufacturers as possible in hopes to make the consumer’s search easier.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Quilting almost went by the wayside in the 1970’s but has really revitalized in the last 30 years.

Most quilters create quilts by piecing squares and rectangles together. My quilting expertise falls into a small niche of quilters that create “art quilts” which is quite different. Both groups use fabric to create; but art quilters’ primary goal is to create something visual that you would hang on the wall similar to any other art media.

I’ve taken to pictorial art quilting because the traditional piecing just wasn’t feeding my creative soul. I live just outside the foothills to the Rocky Mountains and see natural wonders everywhere I look. I like to take pictures of special natural places and recreate them in fiber to hang on a wall (rather than store a picture in a box or on an electronic device never to be seen again).

Quilters saw my creations and asked how they could create one for themselves. This led me to start designing quilt patterns easy enough for others to create their own masterpieces.

It was relatively easy to move into this industry as I had a prior career in business (accounting, CPA) that helped with setting up the financial end of the business. I was fortunate enough to part ways with the business career to concentrate on the creative career due to a loving husband that supported me (and “brought home the bacon”). I also gathered what worked and what didn’t work from numerous quilt stores that I was associated with. While I was teaching quilting to customers at these stores, I always kept an eye on how things were done in the various quilt shops.

Looking back, I think that any hands-on knowledge you can get is time well spent. I took a huge pay cut going from a good salaried corporate job to an hourly wage at the shops. But what I gained in the experiences, how things really get done in this industry, was the reason why I felt confident to start a business of my own.

I am so much happier making less money but creating on a daily basis doing what I love. I play not work. Not many can say that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m in northeastern Colorado area. Just an hour away from ski areas and my favorite Rocky Mountain National Park. Here you can climb trails to little know pristine lakes or sit and watch a sunset on the Continental Divide or watch elk bugling. Guess it’s not a secret anymore! I usually start with a great breakfast at The Buff in Boulder, CO before heading up to RMNP as the locals call it. The Buff is right next to CU, University of Colorado, where the mascot is a buffalo. If you head east on I-70 you can see Hanging Lake (a somewhat strenuous hike to a magnificent lake under a waterfall), swim in the hot spring pool at Glenwood Springs, take a hike to Maroon Bells near Aspen, or take a jeep ride to Crystal Mill near Basalt.

If you head south on the western side of Colorado, you can visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, view ancient ruins at Mesa Verde near the Four Corners area (where you can put your 2 hands and 2 legs in 4 different states at one time) in the southwest corner of the state.

Heading back to the southeastern side of the state, be sure to stop at the Great Sand Dunes, or visit the alligator farm (Reptile Gator) near Mosco, Co. Finally drive back north on I-25 passing Pike’s Peak and the unsinkable Molly Brown’s house (she survived the Titanic) in Denver.

As you can see, I’ve known and appreciated nature in all it’s glory my entire life. That’s why I aim to recreate it in fiber.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom started quilting in 1999. She dragged me to a major quilt show with many vendors selling their product. I wasn’t at all interested in quilting but loved looking at the fabric and putting colors together as I have an instinctive ability for putting coordinating colors together. This was something that my mom didn’t have and the reason why she persuaded me to attend the show.

From then forward, she influenced and mentored me and this would become a lifelong hobby that would turn into a fulltime business.

Website: https://coloradocreationsquilting.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradocreationsquilting/

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Image Credits
All images were designed and taken by Jackie Vujcich