I have been rolling an article around in my head for a while now but have been unsure at best how it would go over since the truth is I am very vested in the outcome. I had kept it under my hat for a while but after reading this article about the deceptive front that comes part and parcel with the career as a writer I thought I would take a stab at it.
Here goes nothing…..
Please note, this is by no means a definitive piece on this topic, if anything it is an opening volley in a conversation that I think needs to take place and is part of the larger We Are Sew Worth It conversation. <– go ahead pop over for a read and then come back.
We own a small quilt shop, SPOOL it is new ( 1.5 years old) and by all indications it is doing really well. We are having lots of fun, we have some really amazing customers, and the reviews and feedback we get about our carefully cultivated selection of bright, happy, modern fabrics has been nothing short of amazing ( really you people make me cry with happiness sometimes) but amidst all that happy there is something lurking that most quilt shop owners will only talk about after you really get to know them or you get a couple glasses of wine in them. The fact is that in the current model of business brick and mortar quilt shops are dying, and they are dying fast.
I thought I knew what I was getting into
I really thought I had done my due diligence when investigating owning a shop. In my case it was a not a rash choice but it was one that once set in motion happened quickly when my favorte and large LQS closed up shop ( Hello hint number 1). I spoke with quite a few shop owners, financial people and more and yet the truth somehow eluded me. The fact is that very few quilt shops are able to produce enough profit to provide a comfortable/livable income for an average sized family even after multiple years in business.
Yes, there are those shops that are doing this ( So don’t flood my mail box with angry letters) but the fact is that they are rare and in the minority to those who are just hanging on or who are running and covering their costs but only because it is not important for them to turn a liveable profit due to living expenses being covered by other means.
The truth came slowly
After becoming a part of the industry the truth came seeping in and I am not sure that every quilt shop owner will be happy for me talking about this but the fact is that for as important as quilt shops are to our communities they are not charitable endeavors, they are businesses and we should expect a business at some point to provide a living for all the work we have put into it over the years.
I have spoken in confidence with many shop owners about the fact that while they might not be going under a whole hell of a lot of owners are not even taking a living wage salary for themselves even 5-10 years into owning a shop. Yes they are paying the bills, they are paying their employees, the taxes etc… but they are able to take little or nothing for themselves for what is one hell of a hard job no matter how fun it looks from the outside.
Snuggling up with the truth
Many quilt shops run on the direct benevolence of spouses with full time (good) jobs, or due to a healthy pension. So if you ever wonder why you see so many quilt shops owned by older couples the fact is that you are looking a second career that is mostly afforded by one of both of the owners doing their 40 years on the job and funding their life with retirement and running the store for the joy of it and this makes me really uncomfortable.
Again, not all quilt shops are in this boat but I have spoken to enough who have been honest with me to be really disturbed by what I now know and am not sure that I even know how to make it better for myself or my industry but that does not mean I am not going to give it a try.
What’s next?
Perhaps at one time owning a quilt shop would have been enough to put bacon on the table and some fancy forensic accounting and history sleuthing would tell the tale but in the face of today’s economy I am sad but not surprised with each announcement of a quilt shop closing. I am very honest when people come to me asking about opening up their own shop. I have busted more than one bubble already and anyone who knows me knows that is hard for me to do. I am a born cheerleader, I love to root for the underdog and I think entrepreneurship can be an amazing experience for those who have what it takes and yet if you want to make money I cannot recommend owning a quilt shop.
I think that this topic hits hardest in the world of the modern quilt shop since demographically it is younger owners opening these shops – I hope to talk further about this very soon.
As to what all of this means for our tiny shop, I just don’t know and I am guessing that only time will tell.
But each time you you go to your local quilt shop remember that there is most likely someone behind the scenes making it all possible. They might not be cutting your fabric ( but then again they might be), just send up a silent thank-you and buy that extra 1/2 yard so maybe, just maybe your favorite shop owner can at least take a vacation this year.
I look forward to your thoughts on this matter.
