Beautiful little quilt, lorchen congratulations.

Yes, I agree, I'm also repeatedly very very angry when I see the pricing of the bernina's in the states. I actually have the same problem with price differences between here and in germany or other of my neighboring countries. Up to a certain point it is explained by the higher rents, higher salaries, etc. but it is not that much higher!
Ok, I was very lucky and managed to get a demo model of the B830 at a fabulous price. But then again, it's been used to teach the sales reps for the past year or two (they're doing a complete service and exchanging all the important parts)... But, I just ordered my extension table from germany, because if I buy it here, I'll pay almost 50% more! And that is absolutely not justified!

Thank you very much for all the compliments.

No, this exhibition does not go to the US.

Lorchen, love your quilt. You must be very proud that it goes all those places

Wow, what a gorgeous quilt Lorchen! Definitely has to be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible. Do you know if at some point will it be traveling to the USA?

I love you quilt too, Lorchen. The marbled fabric is beautiful. Your quilt deserves to be on show, and you can feel very proud. Congratulations!

Du bist so Nett, Lorchen, danke!

That is such a pretty quilt, the colors flow together and the design undulates from the center like something out of the galaxy... and the fabric you created goes so beautifully against the striped background. I am so glad I asked for the picture. Barbarella, boy, that's a blast from the past... Thanks again Lorchen!

Love your quilt, Lorchen! Thanks for sharing. Congratulations on being included in the show! That is so cool!!

Nancy

Thanks Lorchen. Congratulations on having your quilt on tour.

Renata, "Dein Wunsch ist mein Befehl" (Your wish is my command)!

Picture was taken in August 2011 at Festival of Quilts in Birmingham where the over 160 pieces of "Freedom, Freiheit, Liberté" premiered. Mine is the one in the middle of the second row from the top. The artist's statement explains that it would be wonderful if we all had the freedom to visit galaxies far away from us. The main fabric used was hand-marbled by me. Do you remember the film Barbarella with a very young Jane Fonda? That marbled fabric could have come straight from that cult movie.

Lorchen, I think you hit the nail on the head about the reason for Bernina price differences. As for your traveling quilt that was juried in, how nice!!! Do you have a photo to share? Would love to see it.

The US is the biggest market for Bernina, and there is also the most fierce competition. I would not be surprised if the pricing (and all the special offers we never see outside the US) is due to sales volume and competition. Not a lot we can do about it. Big sigh!

On a very positive note: Bernina is very active in some ways that a lot of folks are not aware of. For example, they regularly sponsor a competition for small art quilts. One of mine got juried into it over a year ago, and ist still travelling. My little quilt has been to several locations in Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Tschech Republic, Khasaksthan, and more. It's still travelling. Bernina is making it possible with their generous support. This latest exhibition is called "Freedom, Freiheit, Liberté". I just wish I could travel with my little quilt.

Zarah wrote:
Just asking because I don't know. Is the higher cost in Europe due to Bernina's pricing policy or is it the duties involved when products cross borders? I am thinking that maybe the European dealers have a higher cost getting those machines into their shops and if they'd give the 30% discount we are accustomed to in the US they wouldn't have much of a profit.

It's unfair . It's produced by a Swiss factory and we almost always have to pay more than you. Lotti, I guess you read this. How can we influence this? Tell Bernina about the wonderful customers, they have in Europe or what? Make a demonstration?
The one thing I'm not going to do is telling them that I will never buy another Bernina. I have been making stitch bibles for my three machines and then I really got a demonstration of what the Bernina is able to do, that I can't with the others. F.ex. the increments in the settings are very small which gives you a lot of opportunities. The ability to move a seam to the left or right is essential, if you try to do something accurate and the ability to switch between stitches where the machine remembers your personal settings is something I have come to really appreciate. This just to mention a few.

I don't know about elsewhere, but for folks in the United States, at least, this means that you can probably get the Bernina 780 E for $7699 because Bernina USA often has sales on their machines at 30 percent off.