Visited one of our local quilt shops today (about 25mi travel) that was having a grand opening of their new shop.
I was a cute shop to begin with...in an old building with lots of character but poor lighting, uneven floors, cramped and worst of all the classroom was up a flight of stairs that was a killer.
New shop is spacious, well lit, airy, merchandise is well-displayed. Also has a great bathroom which is very important to some of us seniors! Classroom downstairs with lots of electrical receptacles on the floor at each table. How cool is that! The owner, Kathy, is so customer-oriented she had a customer who uses a personal mobility conveyance come in before the shop opened to try it out and see how handicapped-accessible it really was. How great was that!
Now, you won't find any $4.00/yd fabric here although she
does have a sale room. She also gives a discount to guild
members. The four ladies who work for her are THE BEST.
For me it is worth the ride (I am aware that some of you ladies will think 25mi is outrageous but this is a rural area)
and the not-so-cheap fabric (again, I know some of you will find $9-10/yd fabric preposterous either financially or philosophically and that is very much your right) to get great service, current merchandise, and a great day out with my friends.
Never saw a child in this store in its three years of operation but that's more a function of it's location and population demographics than anything. Kathy has several chairs in the store for quick time-outs or if you're waiting for your buddies to finish up shopping (or husbands!) and a couple of rocking chairs on the porch.