I think it is an ever changing marketplace. This is a very challenging time, businesswise. There is less money to spend on hobbies, than usual, and as a result, those companies and shops that were just coasting along on the wave of interest in quilting, and sewing, are the first to fall by the wayside, when the belt gets tightened. I think it would be very hard to make it on a discretionary spending business model these days. What I will be interested to see, is how Bernina, with their new Series 8 machines, do. The thought of introducing a $11,000 sewing machine into this business whirlwind, takes a real leap of faith. I know that it took them a long time to develop this machine but I bet they were saying, "What were we thinking" when this thing hit the fan. Sure there will always be some folks who will spend whatever it takes to satisfy their needs to have fun with their hobby. But it is just that , a hobby. And I think that those people who might have bought those type of machine just got a lot fewer. The sad part is that we will all suffer with the shrinking of the marketplace.
John