How Holly Potvin Built and Ran Her Longarm Quilting Business in Connecticut

From Hobby Quilter to Longarm Business Owner

If you’re thinking about starting a longarm quilting business, Holly Potvin’s journey offers a practical look at what it takes. Holly began quilting 43 years ago, inspired by the birth of her child and a desire to make a baby quilt. Though she came from a family of sewers, quilting was her own discovery: “My mother was a sewer…but no one in the family was a quilter, and I wanted to make a baby quilt, and I just thought it looked like an interesting hobby”.4:59 She thought, as a new mother, she would have plenty of time for a new hobby—something she quickly realized was naïve, but the passion stuck.

Quilting became a daily practice for Holly, and she describes it as the hobby that lasted when others faded: “Quilting is the one that has just stuck with me for 43 years, and I quilt daily at this point in time”.5:41 Her story is a reminder that many quilting businesses begin with a simple love of the craft, and that passion can be the foundation for a sustainable business.

Choosing Equipment and Making the Leap

Holly’s entry into longarm quilting was driven by her desire to take her craft further. In 2003, after a good year in her insurance career, she bought her first longarm—a Gammill freehand—using her bonus money.2:10 She chose that brand after seeing it at a show and being impressed by its reputation for strength and durability: “From my perspective at that point, and probably still now, gamel has a reputation of being the strongest, the sturdiest, the best”.2:48

For the first five years, she worked hard to master freehand quilting, taking classes and practicing on her own quilts and a few for others. Holly admits, “I never felt I got really good at it”,4:22 but she persisted, showing that skill-building is a gradual process. In 2009, after retiring from her insurance job, she upgraded to a Statler Stitcher and decided to take the business seriously. “We built a studio for me on the property that we owned, and I decided I was going to be a professional quilter”.7:09

Over the years, Holly owned four Statler Stitchers, at one point running two simultaneously—one in her house and one in her studio.7:54 She also taught quilting lessons and ran a small shop, diversifying her business and deepening her connection to the quilting community.

Building a Client Base and Finding Customers

Holly’s business was based in Colchester, Connecticut, a well-populated area. She didn’t know for sure there would be enough customers, but she built relationships with local shops: “There was a quilt shop about three miles from my home, and I established a very good working relationship with the owner of the quilt shop. That was a good way to gain business, and I was at a phase…where I could focus on the business”.10:20

She made herself accessible to customers, often being available when they needed her, and relied on word of mouth to grow her client list. Holly’s approach was personal: she handed out business cards, had pens made with her name, and gave small gifts to her best customers.22:06 She also had a website, built with help from her daughter-in-law, but found that most of her business came from personal connections rather than online leads: “I got very little of my business through my website”.21:52

Holly’s experience shows that, especially in a local market, relationships and reputation can be more powerful than digital marketing. She also notes that when she started, there were fewer competitors, but today, many quilt shops have their own longarms and offer in-house services, making it more challenging for independent longarmers to stand out.11:41

Setting Prices and Managing Workflow

For those starting a longarm quilting business, pricing is a key concern. Holly charged by the square inch: “I was charging two and a half cents a square inch for edge-to-edge, and as you went up, added a border, added this, added that, it went up to eight, nine cents a square inch for really complex stuff”.12:38 She timed herself on a few quilts to help set her rates, but mostly followed the going rate in her area.12:23

Holly’s workflow was rigorous. During her busiest years, she worked at least 40 hours a week, running two machines and promising a two-week turnaround—a commitment that became her business’s niche.8:30 She did both edge-to-edge and custom quilting, adjusting her prices for complexity and additional borders. Holly did not track the exact number of quilts she completed, but she estimates that even now, quilting only for friends, she produces about one quilt a week.9:20

She emphasizes that edge-to-edge quilting was the bread and butter of her business, but she was always honest with clients about what fit their budget: “You get a quilt coming in that you think should be custom quilted, but their budget only allows for edge to edge. You need to give them what they want, what they can afford, and you need to be flexible”.20:42

The Importance of a Niche: Fast Turnaround

In a competitive market, Holly found that her promise of a two-week turnaround set her apart: “My niche was the turnaround time…It was very hard. It was a lot of work, but it was a commitment I made, and I found it fairly easy to live up to”.23:03 She notes that not everyone can offer such a quick turnaround, but for her, it was possible because she was at a stage in life with fewer outside demands.23:17

Holly’s niche attracted customers who valued reliability and speed. She believes that having a niche is more important than ever for new longarm quilters, especially as the market becomes more crowded: “I personally think you need to establish a niche. For me, the two-week turnaround that I established when I started was hard to meet sometimes, but my customers knew that I could meet that demand for them”.20:17

She also points out that being flexible and honest with clients is essential. Sometimes, she would recommend edge-to-edge quilting even for quilts that might have benefited from custom work, simply because it fit the customer’s budget and timeline.20:42

Mistakes, Difficult Customers, and Lessons Learned

Holly is candid about the challenges of running a service business. Mistakes are inevitable: “One of the hardest parts I had was when I made a mistake, a big mistake on a customer’s quilt, and had to apologize up and down and fix mistakes and eat the money that I would have received”.17:03 She recalls giving significant discounts and even adding an applique to cover a hole: “If you make a hole in somebody’s quilt, from my perspective, I felt I needed to give them a significant reduction in the cost, as well as figure out what to do with that hole, and that might mean running up to the store and buying a beautiful applique butterfly that went to the quilt and sewing that on, but you always had to be honest with the customer, too, that it was your fault”.17:31

When faced with impossible-to-please customers, Holly did her best to satisfy them, then suggested they find another longarmer: “You will run into customers that you cannot make happy no matter what you do, and that’s not a reflection of you”.18:19 She stresses the importance of honesty and integrity, even when it means taking a financial loss. These experiences, while difficult, helped her build trust and a solid reputation in her community.

Adapting to a Changing Quilting Market

The quilting business landscape has changed since Holly started. “In Connecticut, most of the quilt shops currently have a longarm within their walls, and many of them are selling longarms. So, it’s certainly a different marketplace right now than when I started”.11:41 She believes it’s still possible to start a longarm quilting business, but it’s harder and requires a clear niche and strong customer service.

Social media and websites play a bigger role now, though Holly notes she got little business from her own site: “I got very little of my business through my website”.21:52 She suggests that while online presence is important, personal relationships and word of mouth remain powerful tools for finding and keeping customers. Holly also used business cards and branded pens as tangible reminders for her customers, reinforcing her brand in a personal way.22:06

For those considering entering the field today, Holly’s advice is to be realistic about the competition and to find a way to stand out—whether through turnaround time, specialty techniques, or exceptional service.

Retirement, Life Changes, and Quilting for Passion

After seven years running her business full-time, Holly retired in 2016 following the loss of her mother and husband. “I lost my mother and my husband within six weeks of each other, and took that as a sign that I needed to reassess my situation and what I wanted to do with my life, and financially, I didn’t need to be working”.14:23 She moved closer to family but continues to quilt daily for friends, maintaining her trademark quick turnaround for a select few.23:42

For Holly, quilting is more than a business—it’s a lifelong passion and a source of happiness and connection. “Quilting is what keeps me sane, keeps me happy, keeps me with friends, and I was able to pick up and move 45-50 minutes from where I was, and establish new friends through quilting. So, yes, I just, I’m very passionate about quilting”.15:25

Even in retirement, Holly’s story shows that the skills and relationships built through a quilting business can enrich your life long after you stop working full-time. Her experience is a testament to the enduring value of craft, community, and adaptability.