At the time we were about to communicate with you all details about the upcoming PPM, the Czech Security Council announced that starting from 11th March, 2020, all public gatherings with over 100 attendees have to be cancelled until further notice.
We are grateful for all your support and are fully aware that you share our sadness and frustration about the event being cancelled and all the work that has seemingly gone to waste.
Cancellation is one thing, financial settlement and counting losses is another one. While all parties have the responsibility to return any deposits and upfront payments, this does not concern coverage of any recurring costs we incurred during the year to prepare and promote the event. It affects not only us, but also our retailers, the hotel, visitors cancelling their trips etc. Only the upcoming months will tell what the real impact will be. At the moment, we are waiting for the our suppliers to return all deposits paid, so that we can start refunding quilt entries and workshop fees. Same will go for all invoices issued to our retailers. Given the volume of items, we anticipate that the whole process may take up to a month.
We tried to stop sending out parcels and agree a return process with the post office. We will be returning quilts already received, but will not be returning postage, if applicable. The quilts are stored in our Prague 7 office in case you would like to pick them up in person (please contact us to arrange time in advance).
Unfortunately, the current situation is not clear, making it impossible to schedule an alternative slot for the show and promise that PPM will simply be delayed. We are an international event with a large number of foreign visitors and have to take into account other events taking place in Europe, seeking to avoid any overlaps. Spring seems to be out of questions, summer holiday period or beginning of new school year in September don’t work either as we do not wont PPM to collide with EPM in France. However, this is a pure speculation as we cannot anticipate how long the current measures will last.
We feel incredibly sorry for having to cancel the event, we loved the quality of quilts entered into our competitions and exhibitions and we will try to find ways to at least share pictures with you in the near future.
Thank you once again for your support and understanding