Quilting while they're ahead

Sometimes, breaking the rules is a good thing. Just ask Nancy and Dan Martin.

When the Kingston couple launched their quilt book company, That Patchwork Place, in the 1970s, they did the complete opposite of what they were told.

"We took some classes on starting your own business, and they gave us a list of things not to do," Nancy explained. "One: Do not go into business with your spouse. Two: Don't make your hobby your business. And third: Don't go into an industry that is dying. At the time, home sewing was diminishing quickly."

This year, however, the Martins are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their thriving Woodinville-based business — now called Martingale & Co. — which is a leading publisher of quilt-instruction books.

Having amassed a pile of awards, including honors from Craftrends magazine, the Independent Book Publishers Association and Publishers Association of the West, Martingale's books are known for their quality, accuracy and reader-friendliness. The company has published more than 700 titles, which have sold at least 15 million copies around the globe.

And selling to crafty types provides ample business opportunities. About 60 percent of U.S. households engaged in crafting in 2002, the most recent year for which statistics were available, according to the Hobby Industry Association. Meanwhile, a 2001 study commissioned by a trade organization, the Craft Organization Directors Association, revealed people spend at least $12.3 billion each year on crafts.

"Fortunately, things turned out very well for us," said Nancy, 62, the company's president. "We were one of the first companies to venture into it [quilt publishing], so that's why this anniversary is a big deal to us."

Humble beginnings

The Martins began their venture in New Jersey in 1976, when bicentennial fever brought a renewed interest in early American crafts.

The couple knew they wanted to start a business, so Nancy began by making quilting kits part-time out of her home. That soon evolved to publishing quilting patterns under the name That Patchwork Place. Martin's first book was 24 pages long, "almost a leaflet," she said. "At the time, I was the only author."

About a year later, Dan was transferred to Seattle by his then-employer, DuPont, and Nancy began working on the business full-time. With quilting on the upswing, That Patchwork Place quickly made a name for itself in the industry.

Over time, the Martins added more authors to the roster. By 1983, they knew they had something special.

"When Dan finally left his job with DuPont, we were pretty confident," said Nancy. "We felt we both needed to devote our time to That Patchwork Place." Dan is Martingale's chief executive; Nancy has written more than 40 books, which have sold more than a million copies.

One local author hooked up with Martingale around 1984 after meeting Nancy in a class she was teaching on miniature quilting.

"Nancy asked if I'd consider writing a book on the subject," said Mary Hickey, who is in her early 60s and lives in Everett. Since that time, Hickey has penned several best-selling quilting books, invented a revolutionary quilting ruler and made appearances on HGTV's "Simply Quilts."

But as more and more companies threw their hats in the quilt-publishing ring, the Martins decided it was time to diversify.

Martingale & Co.

They had the foresight to branch out into knitting books just before knitting experienced a huge resurgence, especially among younger adults.

"Part of it was because of the yarn companies — they got some real interesting yarns in," Nancy explained. "It [knitting] was an easy project, it was portable and a very social thing."

To reflect the broader content offerings, the company name switched to Martingale & Co. in July 1997. Quilting books, though, still boasted the That Patchwork Place moniker.

After that, Martingale moved on to include other crafts, such as rubber-stamping, rug-hooking, fabric and paper arts, painting and home décor. Such diversity has helped Martingale solidify its place in the crafts market.

Several of Martingale's authors are based in the Seattle area, including Beryl Hiatt and Linden Ward, owners of Tricoter in Seattle; artist Nancie Wiseman of Whidbey Island; and Kathryn Perkins, co-owner of Impress Rubber Stamps in Tukwila.

While the company has flourished — there are now 45 employees, including the Martins — the couple is slowly turning it over to their workers through an employee stock-ownership program. Today, employees own some 57 percent of the company, which has instilled even more pride in the people who work there, said marketing manager Donna Lever.

"They have a much more vested interest, and it gives people a desire to work smarter and harder."

And Martingale seems as though it's ending up in very capable hands. "We are looking forward to selling the remainder of the stock to employees, which will allow us to retire," Nancy said. Even so, Martingale will not have seen the last of her.

"I will always be a quilter," she said, "and I enjoy writing books."

Maisy Fernandez is an occasional contributor to The Seattle Times: maiseyf@yahoo.com