Out of frustration of my favorite shops closing, I created
www.QuiltersResources.net this past November in hopes of helping all quilting businesses. I think all of your points are valid, but the bottom line is that most shops don't have a budget for advertising, so we, as quilters, only hear about them word of mouth. I'm hoping my site will introduce quilters to new shops in their home state as well as shops in along their travels...shops that are not advertising in the expensive publications. I'm still adding information to the site, so it's no where close to being complete.