Welcome to Off the Beat, a weekly Q&A with a local business person doing something a little different. Have an idea or pitch that reflects some unusual business activity? Email mneibauer@bizjournals.com.
Diane Canney is the owner of Loudoun’s Sunset Hills Winery and co-founder of the Covid HOPE Quilt, which has grown exponentially from its three-square start. The panel kits can be purchased for $15 from www.hopequilt.org/shop.
What inspired the HOPE Quilt? In August, my 95-year-old mother asked me to help people during the pandemic instead of buying her a gift. We created the Covid HOPE Quilt loosely based on the AIDS quilt. Its mission: to honor front-line workers and those significantly impacted or lost. Quilts are part of the fabric of America providing warmth and comfort. Children and adults ages 5 to 95 from all walks of life across America participated.
What was the design for the very first panel? Things came together quickly with three squares arriving at the same time. One is by a teenager, another is by a quilter and my mother, Phyllis Liedtke, collaborating across two states with her friend Marilyn McAllister in Georgia.
How did one HOPE Quilt become many? The Quilt project “Letters of HOPE” launched at the Loudoun Arts Film Festival. The 9-foot-tall and 28-foot-long letters display the individual panels for Covid safe viewing. From the 500 panels sent from across America and even London, we grouped 16 squares for each quilt. They grew exponentially.
What gives you hope? People are opening up to share stories with us nominating people for complimentary honor portraits. It is humbling to have families share their emotional stories. I started a 501(c)3, the Art of the Matter with the HOPE Quilt and a public exhibit project, Together We Will Heal. My hope is to receive grants and sponsors to create a traveling public exhibit to capture this unprecedented event for history.
How have you and your mother worked alongside each other in this effort, given that you’re based in Purcellville and she’s based in Florida? The project’s been therapeutic and our success inspiring. She organized seniors’ groups to make panels with supplies I provided. We used Zoom and phone calls. I called her from the Lincoln Memorial, and she watched the Facebook Live 45-minute production we created featuring Eleanor Holmes Norton and actor Lamont Easter.
How did you land recent corporate sponsorships that have come your way? We’ve received great press coverage, including the three-day Honor Tribute at the Jefferson and Washington memorials. Hobbs Bonded Fiber loved the project and generously donated quilting supplies. Sharpie Corp. provided permanent markers for each kit. We’re looking for corporate sponsors for Together We Will Heal to share the faces and stories of their dedicated employees for our planned Together public display, featuring their employees as part of our Portraits of Resilience in America.
Do you see light at the end of the pandemic tunnel for Sunset Hills Vineyard & 50 West Vineyards? We are grateful to our loyal customers for their support. For two decades we have been “Making Great Wine for the Greater Good.” As a solar winery, we give back to the environment and through philanthropy to hundreds of high-impact and low-overhead charities and causes. Our wineries have acres of scenic open spaces. Listening to live music with a glass of handcrafted wines with the sound of laughter with dogs and kids was a safe “greenscape.” We look forward to people celebrating weddings, birthdays and resuming normal activities.
What’s your favorite wine to relax with? Our Sunset Hills Chardonnay is wonderful on a spring day. For special occasions, when the pandemic is over, a glass of our finest flagship red wine, Sunset Hills Mosaic, is fitting. For 50 West, I love the rosé and the Aldie Heights Cuvée.