The BadAss Quilter went Fabric Shopping

It has been YEARS since I had a chance to do a quilt shop run..  3 years, 6 hours and and 4 shops later I have some thoughts to share.

To start I will say that I was not hunting for anything in specific, my main objective of the day was to have a wonderful day with an amazing new friend (and my little roadie) and “pet some fabric”, but being that my work life is on the business side of the  quilt industry and being a former quilt shop owner I always view things from a business prospective and I can say this trip made it clear why many quilt shops fail or at the very least get bad reputations.

While I am going to write this post form the prospective of a customer I will be writing about the same visit from the perspective of a business owner over in my business level Patreon. If you are a shop owner and looking for no-BS straight talk to up your game when it comes to business and you want to become a BadAss Business Bestie you might think of joining over there.

As always I will not be naming shops that honestly I am going to drag a bit, but I will be sharing two that were doing things right from a customer prospective. And a general round up about thoughts and feelings after having not shopped for fabric in person for literal years.

First Shop

Our adventure started at CottonTails Quilt Shop in Kennesaw GA.  What an ADORABLE shop! There was parking out front, the section of town was scenic, and the front porch was so welcoming.  Inside we were greeted immediately by a lovely clerk, who while helpful was not hovering, chatty but not so much that you wanted to poke your eyes out.  I bought 2 yards of fabric for a new Illuminated Appliqué jean jacket project.

The fabric selection was lovely and mostly current with a smattering of older collections. All fabrics were generally grouped and roomed by type batiks, moderns, solids, etc.  They did not have many notions and while I might have missed it not that many patterns either. For me the issue of patterns was actually not an issue since I so rarely use a pattern as to be laughable I do know that this is a big deal to many quilters.  All in all a sweet shop with two lovely employees, a quintessential shop that was nice and yet not overly memorable.

Second Shop

The next shop was about 15-20 minutes from the first, it was large and had what seemed to be more than adequate parking. The inside was well lit ( lighting matters!) with no smell one way or another ( It is amazing how many quilt shops smell like someone’s reheated lunch… ewwwww)

It should be noted that we were NOT greeted when we entered the shop nor at any point were we asked if we would like any help.

Instead we were loudly chastised from across the store by an employee (?) for peeking down the open and unmarked staircase to see if there was a second sales floor since it was unmarked and you could see bolts of fabric at the base of the stairs. The employee told/yelled at us that the space was for classes only we were NOT welcome to go down there unless we were signed up for the class.  This sort of set the tone for the rest of our time in the store.

While looking around and there was indeed a lot to see I was clearly able to hear two different conversation that the staff was having between themselves and with customers that were both telling in their own ways with both making me feel that this was NOT a store that would be overly welcoming to Gay, Trans or Non-binary quilters.

I have NO idea if what these two employees were saying reflected the view of the store owners, hell one of them could have been a store owner for all I know but I can tell you that not knowing what you employees are saying and what they espouse can be a death knell to your store.

So while I did find one fabric and I purchased a single yard since I needed it for an upcoming course I am going to be teaching I decided not to buy well over $200 worth of other merchandise that I wanted but honestly was no longer in the mood to give that store more of my money given that there are SO MANY other shops I could spend it with that I KNOW reflect my values better.  (Edited to say I had the fabric cut before hearing the employees and felt obligated  (perhaps wrongly) to buy it.. I will be talking about this more in another post, but do regret buying that fabric)

Third Shop

We had loaded the GPS to that the order of the trip made the most sense based on the hours of the shops and the most sense given “Atlanta traffic” so the third shop found us in a shopping center that was bustling but had plenty of parking and the shop was easy to access.

We were again NOT greeted when we entered which was especially interesting given that they seemed to be having some sort of event.

We did have one employee follow us after we stopped to talk between ourselves about the merits of getting a new serger VS sticking with what we have now, but honestly it has a bit of a “used Car-salesman vibe” and the moment she heard we were not thinking of buying today she dropped us like a hot rock not even bothering to inquire if there was something else she could help us with.

This was a SERIOUS shame on her part since as the owner of multiple very expensive machines in the brand that store carried there are an endless number of things I could have bought and have on my to-buy wishlist.  The store was average and unremarkable with enough stock but no real personality. We left the store having bought nothing.

Fourth Shop

Truth be told the 4th shop was our intended destination for our jaunt and I was interested and excited based on seeing it online. Mind you that would NOT have have stopped me from dropping large sums of money at any of the previous stops had they stepped up their game, and I had given myself a rather outrageous budget for this outing given that is had been YEARS since I did something like this.

Our 4th stop was at String and Story the retail home of the amazing HollyAnne Knight of String and Story fame.  Holly and I have known each other for quite a few years now and watching her ROCKSTAR growth in the quilt world has done my heart good. She has made quilting  accessible and approachable for so many through her online presence and now through her retail location that I was really excited to visit her shop.

While I would consider Holly and I friends or at least friendly industry acquaintances we have not spoken in quite a few years ( covid, life etc..) so honestly I was not even sure she would recognize me or if she would even be in the shop when we visited this day since I had not given her a heads up that we were coming  to shop.

Holly’s retail location has limited hours so she can devote time to her very busy online business so I was tickled pink to find her in the shop and to get a hug soon as we walked in the door.  I was pleased to see that everyone who entered got a warm greeting from HollyAnne or her staff and I can’t over emphasize how important this is to the experience of visiting a shop, at least for me. Her staff  as well as HollyAnne was helpful  to customers while not being intrusive and this is an art that a lot more quilt shop employees and owners could use a lesson in.

The shop, a former art gallery, while not large had vast ceilings and a gentle welcoming modern vibe. Not dusty, not stuffed to the rafters, this was a seriously curated shopping experience for modern quilters and those dabbling in garment sewing.  HollyAnne herself was even wearing some adorable shorts from one of the patterns and fabric she carries.  Holly’s sweet dog was there and even approved of Mochi our little ride-or-die for the day that Holly cuddled as we shopped.

And shopped we did!

With each of us leaving with much lighter wallets and happy grins. Honestly I am not a dedicated “modern quilter” by any means and yet could not have been more happy to slap down my credit card for the items I purchased, including a large quilt kit, one of HollyAnne’s new Panels and a clothing pattern I will be showing off soon!  There was more I could have bought and have already gotten on her website having regret for 2 things I did not get at the time.

Was this the right quilt shop for everyone? absolutely not. This place was a VIBE ( in the very best way possible), it was pure HollyAnne and her quilting Rockstar energy.

It was not for the collector of cheap sale fabric, or Civil War prints and that is ok. HollyAnne obviously knows her niche and is making the most of it. What her store did have was a feeling of welcome with her subtle nod to inclusivity that was not missed at least by me.

Does every shop have to look like String and Story to be successful… of course not, but a lot of stores could take a serious page out of their book when it comes to making shopping an amazing experience on many levels for the customer since she does a damn good job of it.

Wrapping Up

Owning a quilt shop is HARD work, and not every shop is right for every quilter but above it all and at the same time the bedrock of business is customer service and there is a LOT that goes into that.

Having a staff that not only knows about fabric but how to sell is crucial and it tends to be over looked in the quilting world.

How a shop looks, how it smells and the over all feeling one gets when they walk in the door is critical how how the customer feels and how much they enjoy their time in the shop. The energy is everything!

A lot of my money was lost by  two shops today when they failed at these most basic of retail principles, but on the upside I know a bit more about where I want to spend money and where I will make a chance to stop in the future.