Originally Posted by Lyncat
... a store called S.A.S. in Phoenix that was filled with fabric that was overstock from factories, and was sold by the pound.
...They had big barrels of buttons that were sold by the cupful, trim that was very inexpensive.
...The best part is, the store is still there, so I have been shopping there for at least 45 years.
Fabric by the Pound - Our daughter is now working for her Grandmother-in-Law at a little fabric shop in Elkview WV that still sells some fabric by the pound today. You don’t see many shops that do that anymore.
Trim - The previous owners of our shop left us with over 1200 bolts of trims, much of it from back decades ago. When we sell out of some trims, that’s the last of it. We can’t re-order it.
Bulk Buttons - We have a local landmark in our little shop called “The Button Box”. It measures 4’ long, 2 1/2’ wide, and 1 1/2’ deep. We changed the location of it in the store when we took over in 2006, and it is so heavy that we had to take the buttons out of it to move it. By counting buttons in sample scoops and multiplying by the number of scoops, we calculated that there are at least 200,000 buttons in that box. It was established at least 50 years ago (in the same building) by Mr. Kelley who operated “Kelley’s Outlet”, a variety store that included fabric and sewing notions. Several local ladies that worked for Mr. Kelley have provided the history. When the store changed hands to become the “Spinning Wheel Fabric Center” in 1975, the Button Box was continued by the new owner, Mrs. Floyd for the next 30 years. Mr. Kelley and Mrs. Floyd both sold buttons out of that box for 5 cents each, and we still sell them for the same price today. I buy buttons at auctions, Estate Sales, and yard sales and dump them into the box to keep it going. We have Grandmothers that bring their Grandchildren in just to play in the Button Box like they did when THEIR Grandmother brought THEM in to play in it.
The store is still there - I would love to visit that store someday!
CD in Oklahoma