I agree. having the basic tools is very helpful and having people to talk "quilting" with is very inspiring. Soooooooo maybe one of the things we should mention about becoming an owner of a quilt shop is that it is very helpful to customers to have a knowledgeable person to speak with and probably affects sales. I think most of us probably spend more than we were planning to spend when we are out shopping for our quilting supplies or maybe I'm just a sucker for thinking I need to have whatever someone has just told me works so very well.