Love Patchwork & Quilting - UK (2019-10)

Above:Laurabastinga quilt

outsideherAirstreamhome.

Right:Makingthemostof campsite

facilities to pin baste a double quilt.

Mostquilters createfromtheir sewingroomordesignatedspace.

LauraPreston doestoo...hersjust sohappensto bein a mobile

Airstream. We caught her for a chat about nomadic quilting

ontheroadandresumeourtravels.

Weusuallyspenda weekortwo in

eachplacewevisit,stayin

campgrounds,worka prettyregular

MondaythroughFriday,9–5

schedule,andthenexplorethearea

we’restayingin ontheweekends.

Thelogisticsof runninga product-

basedbusinessontheroadcanget

a littletricky,especiallysincemostof

mymaterialshavetobedelivered

somewhere.Andsometimesthat

somewhereis a postofficetwo

hoursawaybecauseyoudecidedto

stayin PortTownsendforanother

week!Webuiltin a tonof storagefor

myquiltingmaterialsandsupplies,

buthavinglimitedspacerequiresthe

businessandtheproductselection

tobeverylean.Everythingis made

toorderbecausethereisn’tspace

forinventoryandI havetobevery

mindfulof whatI create and bring

into the studio.

Yourunyourbusiness,Vacilando

QuiltingCo.froma mobile

renovatedAirstream.Tellusmore!

I launchedmybusinessasa side

hustlein February2015,twoyears

aftermyhusbandandI began

travellingaroundthecountryin our

firstAirstreamtrailer.Sixmonths

later,wemovedtotheBayArea,

I gotlaidoffmyremotedayjob,and

decidedit wastimetotaketheleap

andgofulltimewithquilting.Atthe

end of 2016, we decided to get back

Hasthiswayoflivingalways been

anaspirationforyou?

Travelhasalwaysbeena hugepart

of mylife– I’mprettysureit’sin my

blood.Mymothermovedtothe

UnitedStatesfromBelgiumwhen

shewas 20 andhasbeenhereever

since.Aftermyparentsgotmarried,

theyspentsixmonthsdrivingaround

thecountryin a Volkswagenbus.I’ve

alwaysmadetravellingandexploring

newplacesa priority,fromsummer

roadtripstostudyingabroadin

France,tosolobackpacking around

Europeforsixweeks.

EversinceI coulddrive,I’dalways

wantedtodoa long,crosscountry

roadtrip,butneverfoundanyone

tocomewithme.SowhenJohn

proposedthatwetravelaroundthe

countryfora yearin anAirstream,

I saidabsolutelyyes!I neverimagined

thatit wouldturnintothisnomadic

lifestyleandthatsixyearslaterI’d

stillbeliving,workingandtravelling

fulltimein anAirstreamtrailer.But

hereweare!It’sprettyamazingto

seethecountrythiswayandhave

a different backyard every week.

Didyouquilta lotbeforeyou

launchedthebusiness?

I mademyveryfirstquiltin thefallof

2013.I didn’thavea sewingmachine

at thetimebutI didhaveverybasic

sewingskills,andI piecedthewhole

quiltbyhand.I didn’treallyknow

whatI wasdoingandthequiltdidn’t

turnoutsogreat,butI wastotally

hookedandreadytostartonthe

next one. Over the next year or so,

DESIGNER

PROFILE

Laura Preston

54 WWW.LOVEPATCHWORKANDQUILTING.COM

DESIGNER PROFILE