We had one shop here in town - she moved out of state, as did her shop - she tried to sell it - but... her interest was mostly selling machines and the business did not do well anyways (maybe this had to do with no one wanting to buy it?). Another store just north of here (reasonable distance) closed due to the owners retiring. It was a nice shop but one of the reasons they had to 'retire' is because of online buying by their customers. It was a nice store, but they seemed more interested in working on their projects - even when customers were in the store. Then the third one just south of here (again, reasonable distance) is FANTASTIC!! and always hopping with customers - no matter what day of the week, or time of day, there are at least five or six other people there - it is a small shop, but they just extended to the next bay for a sewing room... yes, it's more expensive sometimes - but worth it. There are a couple more we frequent but are further away and we go to them when one of us wants more choices - about four or five times a year. I love supporting the mom/pop stores - as we have ours - in a different industry but still - small business owners need to help each other out when they can. The fabric people have to make a living too - they can't necessarily give us breaks all the time.