There has been a long tradition at Friesens with presenting quilts to customers who have had a long relationship with us and extremely successful titles. The criteria has changed a bit over the years to reflect the changing market conditions in terms of print runs and overall numbers.
Prior to the pandemic hitting we had commissioned two quilts and now with travel ramping up somewhat again the presentations have been done and the results are below. The quilts were handcrafted by Trudy Cowan of Calgary.
Milkweed Press
This quilt was commissioned to celebrate the amazing success story of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass (Milkweed Press). Since its publication this book has been a fixture on many best seller lists and continues to print every few months. Trudy Cowan described the braiding on the quilt as one of the more challenging and interesting quilts she has done.
The book has been translated into multiple languages and has enjoyed success success in every market.
Greystone Books
This quilt while commissioned to celebrate the amazing success of the Hidden Life of Trees (Greystone Books). It also served a secondary purpose, to acknowledge the long relationship between Friesens and Greystone ‘s leader and Founding Publisher, Rob Sanders. Too quote our former CEO, David Friesen;
Please give Rob my regards … congratulations, and thank him for all the business he has sent our way. The first job he ever placed with Friesens was a cookbook titled Pork, Perfect Pork which he published at Western Producer Prairie Books in Saskatoon. He’s come a long way. David
Hidden Life of Tress was a title Greystone discovered in Germany and obtained the worldwide rights to publish in English. The book has gone on to be a success story in many countries for Greystone and really shows Rob’s ability to find the gems around the world.
Both quilts were produced in duplicate and will display both at Friesens and the publisher’s respective offices.
