Business Spotlight: Digital Pantograph Designer Barbie Mills of The Quilting Mill

This month in the Longarm League, I sat down with Barbie Mills of The Quilting Mill to talk about the growth and changes in her business since moving from longarming into digital pantograph design.

Barbie's been a member of the Longarm League for several years, and I was delighted to see her exhibiting at H&H Chicago earlier this year. I loved getting to talk with her about how her business has grown and expanded over the last few years. This year Barbie vended at both H&H and the Fiber + Fabric Craft Festival. We talked about that experience, and the challenge of selling digital products when you're at an in-person market like the shows in Chicago.

We also talked about her husband Kyle joining her in designing, her new Shopify site (amazing), her practice of designing pantos geared to smaller machines to support a wide range of quilters, working with a full‑time VA, and more.

While League members have full access to the recording of the call, we asked Barbie to share a little more about herself and her business with our blog readers.

Without further ado, let's meet Barbie...

Barbie Mills of The Quilting Mill

Located: Utah
In the Longarm League: ~5 years
Machine and software: Innova Classic with Autopilot, ProStitcher Designer for pantograph design

Where to find Barbie
Website: https://www.thequiltingmill.com
Instagram: @thequiltingmill
Facebook: /TheQuiltingMill

Q&A

Tell us a little about your business and the services you provide:
Pantograph Design is 90% of my business, but I also quilt for a few customers here and there. I don't bind quilts anymore.

You started your business offering longarm quilting services and have shifted to now primarily designing digital pantographs. What are a couple of the things you've ended up loving about your current business model?
I really enjoy the creative flow that can hit when I sit down to design. It's almost like a treasure hunt because I don't know what's going to happen most of the time and I'm almost always surprised with the results. It is SO fun to see my pantographs on quilts in the wild—the first time I saw one at QuiltCon was such a rush of emotion! (Atlanta, 2022 I think?) It never gets old. Business-wise, now that I have been doing this long enough, it's so nice that I don't have to directly trade time for every dollar that I earn.

Your Digital Pantograph Squad Membership comes with some fun perks. Could you tell us more about those?
We moved the website over to Shopify in May and with that we re-launched the membership. It is now $15 per month or $165 per year, and comes with $15 of store credit per month ($180 per year), one free featured pantograph each month that I choose, and 25% off any purchases from the website during your membership. The free featured design is always a brand new design that is 9" tall or less, so it is accessible to quilters with smaller longarms.

What are a few of your favorite pantos that you've designed?
Ooh, this is kind of like choosing a favorite child. My favorites are Skipper, Double Wedding, Almost Plaid, Limber, and August's upcoming free design for members, Viscosity.

What advice or tips do you have for other longarm quilters that are wanting to grow or change their business?
I highly recommend coaching, accountability, and good business books, and books that inspire you. My current favorites are Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Practice by Seth Godin. I have listened to the audiobooks at least 4 times each.

Anything else you'd like to share or want our readers to know?
I teach a pantograph design course, you can join the wait list here.

Just for fun

What is your favorite notion for longarm quilting?
These snips on a badge reel such as this, which I glue a cute button to.

What's your favorite part of making a quilt?
Planning stages--drawing on graph paper and doing math to figure out my plan, and pulling it off the longarm when the quilting is done.

What other hobbies do you enjoy aside from quilting?
Gardening, going for walks, and listening to business and self-improvement audiobooks.

If you'd like to watch the business spotlight call with Barbie, or are interested in being a guest, we'd love to have you join us! Whether you're interested in starting your own longarm quilting business, or wanting to improve your current business, check out our Rookie Season course! You can see all the details, read about how the course has helped previous students, and get started here.

Thanks so much for talking with us this month, Barbie!