Do you want me to teach for you?I am happy to take bookings for workshops but I like to be sure that organisers and I understand each other before I arrive. I ask for all travel to be covered. If it is necessary for me to drive my car to you I charge mileage at 40c per kilometre. It is often cheaper for me to fly, and usually it suits my schedule better, but if I offer to drive it might mean I can bring more quilts and my sewing machine. If I fly I also charge the $25 each way that it costs me to take a cab to the airport - but only if none of my three family members at home are able to take me to the airport. I ask for all accommodation to be covered. I am happy to be billeted in places where any other alternative is difficult. However I do prefer motel accommodation. This is not because I am unfriendly or difficult, but because after a day of teaching I like to switch on the TV to absolute rubbish, put on daggy clothes, and read or work on the current project (especially if I have a sewing machine). If I am billeted please make sure it is with a family you would be happy to stay with on a busy trip. If the person billeting me is doing the class they should get their class for free. If not, they should be paid by the guild for the accommodation, food, and extra trouble. I don't eat avocado, melon and tripe - the first two because they make my mouth go lumpy and itchy and I cough for a day. The second because I can't get past the smell. I have, very reluctantly, decided that I am now charging a $150 booking fee for all classes booked from 4 February, 2004. Cancellations usually mean I am heavily out of pocket because I have turned away other work - including when I have turned down five or seven days of teaching at other Symposia in order to do a weekend class. The $150 is not an additional fee, but it has to be paid in advance and it is not refundable. You can cover this amount by asking people who say they want to do the course to pay a non-refundable deposit. I am not listing my fees on the web. I just feel uncomfortable doing that, and they change a little each year. Contact me by email and I will tell you what I charge. For Australian bookings I have an absolute limit of 16 in most classes. For international bookings I will take more. This doesn't mean that I am more generous when overseas. It means that I edit classes overseas so I can cope by removing some elements that can't be done in large groups. Please read through the Facility Requirements before booking the class. Some classes have 'special needs'. For instance, the Images in Appliqué class requires an overhead projector available for the first morning - and I need one for every four students. I beg that you do not alter my Requirement Lists for students. These are constantly being tweaked to keep them as close as possible to what is absolutely essential. If you have a query about an item please write to me to clarify it rather than removing it. Details like times for the class (I fit in with your usual practice) and lunches, and where to park I leave for you to let students know (and me!). This is all written to try to make everything easier for people booking my classes, and for me when I am there. Some things are negotiable. I travel a great deal at the moment - I have been at home for only two months (when you add up the days!) of the last six months. If I don't answer your email within days it might be because I am away. Thank you for getting this far! Jenny Bowker |