9:00 - 10:00 AM

Cut the Perfect Circle: Round Table Skirts

Every round table skirt is one big circle of fabric. The trick is knowing exactly how big — and how to cut it accurately without a pattern.

In this hands-on class you'll learn the simple formula that sizes a skirt for any round table, plus what to do when your circle turns out wider than the fabric on the bolt. Then you'll put it to work: fold, pivot-mark, and cut a full-size circle yourself. We'll close by comparing four ways to hem and finish the curved edge.

You'll leave with your practice circle and a worksheet with the formula for cutting a round skirt with the various finished hem allowances so you can do it again at home.

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Creative Curved Cornices

Taras Kott will show how a flat sheet of Essex Board can be cut, shaped and transformed into elegant curved cornices, opening up a whole new range of creative possibilities for custom window treatments.

Starting with the material itself, Taras will explain why Essex Board works so well for this type of construction and demonstrate the practical techniques he uses in the Kott Soft Furnishings workroom to cut, manipulate and form it into smooth, controlled curves.

Attendees will see the construction process step by step, from planning the shape and creating the framework to achieving clean curves and preparing the finished structure for upholstery. Taras will also share practical tips for working accurately with the material, avoiding common problems and adapting the technique to create different shapes and designs.

The focus will be not simply on recreating one cornice, but on understanding the construction principles behind it. Once you understand how a flat board can be manipulated and shaped, the possibilities become much more exciting.

Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of Essex Board, curved cornice construction and practical techniques they can take back to their own workrooms to experiment with more creative, bespoke designs.

10:15 - 11:15 AM

Ripplefold, Solved: Snap Tape Prep That Fits the Rod Every Time

Ripplefold looks simple until the panel arrives on site with too few carriers, a return aimed into the room, and a seam sitting dead center in a ripple. This hands-on class walks through the snap tape preparation method that eliminates those problems before the panel ever leaves your workroom.

You'll learn how to lay out and mark tape so seams fall in the back spaces where they disappear, how to guarantee your snap count matches the carrier count on the rod the designer ordered, how to orient the return so it turns toward the wall, and how to align the leading edge to either a butt master or an overlap master carrier. We'll also break down the four standard fullness options — 60%, 80%, 100%, and 120% — what each one needs in fabric yardage, and how the choice changes your tape math.

Every attendee receives snap tape to work with during class, and will leave with a finished sample panel for reference plus a step-by-step SOP to bring back to the workroom.

11:15 – 12:15 PM

Parsons Chair Slipcovers: Three Finishes, One Perfect Fit

Transform basic Parsons dining chairs into custom showpieces in this fast-paced, 60-minute live demonstration. The Parsons chair is one of the most requested — and most forgiving — shapes in the workroom, making it the ideal starting point for building a profitable slipcover offering. You'll see the exact pin-fitting and construction techniques that deliver a professional fit every time.

We'll break down three top border and seam finishes step by step:

Double Boxed Welt: Structured, architectural lines with dual piping for a classic, formal finish.
Single Welt: Traditional welted seams for a clean, timeless profile that defines the chair's frame.
No Welt (Knife Edge): Smooth, modern edges that streamline construction and shorten turnaround.

Bring your questions for live troubleshooting on pattern matching, corner fits, fabric selection, and yardage. Workroom owners will leave with methods they can put into production immediately; designers will leave knowing which finish to specify for the look, budget, and timeline each project demands.

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM

Behind the Camera: How to Grow & Monetize Your Social Media

Building a successful social media presence doesn't require a marketing team or expensive equipment. It starts with sharing your work consistently, authentically and with purpose.

In this interactive demonstration, Olga and Taras Kott will show how they built a global community of more than 500,000 followers while running a busy family workroom. They'll share their filming setup, camera settings and angles, editing tools and simple workflows for creating engaging content without adding hours to the working day.

You'll also discover how social media can become a valuable source of income - from attracting ideal clients who are ready to invest in your work, to building educational platforms, subscription communities, Meta's creator programs and brand collaborations.

You'll learn how combining professional and personal content builds genuine relationships that turn followers into loyal customers.

Attendees will leave with practical tools, simple workflows and proven strategies they can start using immediately.

1:00 – 2:00 PM

Build It, String It, Take It Home: A Hands-On Roman Shade Safety & Mechanism Class

Everyone gets a Roman shade kit, builds it start to finish, and takes it home.

You'll start by fully assembling a Rollease continuous clutch with bead chain, piece by piece. You'll handle every component and learn what it does, so you know exactly what to order and how it goes together.

Then you'll move to your own sample-size Roman shade, already made up and ready to string. It's rigged with three cord columns, each using a different safety product approved under the ANSI/WCMA A100.1 standard — rings with ring locks, ladder tape, and shroud tape — and you'll practice stringing all three yourself, side by side, seeing how each one behaves and where each makes sense.

You'll leave with: your assembled Rollease clutch, your completed sample shade with all three safety systems strung, and a printed copy of the safety standards for your workroom.

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Behind the Curtain: Hard-Won Lessons from Window Treatment Industry Leaders

This panel brings together experienced workroom owners and industry leaders for a candid, unscripted conversation about the mistakes that shaped their businesses and the systems, policies, and mindset shifts that came out of them. Panelists will share real stories covering areas like:

-Insurance gaps that left them exposed, and what coverage actually matters
-Legal and contract lessons learned from disputes with clients or designers
-On-site damage and installation mishaps, and how to handle them without losing a client relationship
-Financial missteps in pricing, cash flow, or scaling too fast
-Team and operational breakdowns that forced a rebuild of internal processes

Attendees will leave with practical, actionable takeaways they can implement immediately, rather than vague inspiration. This conversation is designed for workroom owners, drapery workrooms, and window treatment business owners at any stage. From those just getting off the ground to those managing multi-person teams and looking to professionalize their operations.

3:15 – 4:00 PM

The Long Game: Interlining Strategies for Weight, Drape & Light Control

Interlining is one of the clearest lines between standard work and true luxury work. It's what gives a panel its weight, its fall, and that quiet sense of substance clients recognize immediately even when they can't name it — and it's a layer that puts your workroom in a market segment most competitors never reach.

This session compares blackout, flannel, and traditional interlinings across a range of fabric weights, looking at what each does to drape, body, and light control, and where each one earns its place. We'll also walk through the French blackout method as an alternative to conventional blackout linings, and talk through when it's worth the extra labor.

For: workroom professionals, fabricators, and designers ready to make interlining a deliberate part of their offering — and to charge accordingly.

4:00 – 5:00 PM

Perfect Pinch Pleats: Pattern Placement & Hand-Finishing

Beautiful pinch pleats don't happen by chance. They begin with understanding the fabric, reading the pattern and knowing exactly where each pleat belongs.

In this hands-on workshop, Olga Kott will share her practical approach to planning pattern placement and demonstrate how to calculate pleats and spaces to achieve a beautifully balanced result. Working together with a patterned fabric sample, attendees will explore how small changes in pleat placement can completely transform the finished drapery.

Participants will then create their own sample headings using pre-prepared materials, learning how to form and hand-finish single, double and triple pinch pleats to achieve a polished, workroom-quality finish. Throughout the workshop, the focus will be on developing both the eye for balanced pattern placement and the hand-finishing skills that define beautifully crafted custom drapery.

Attendees will leave with completed sample headings, a practical pattern placement reference guide and techniques they can immediately apply to future projects.