I share that dream. Then I go to my stash closet - hehehe

It has always been my dream too. I have this dream of a victorian house, bed and breakfast, along with a big barn
converted as a quilters retreat haven. I also, wanted to own
a fabric store, it is my dream, I have all the ideas, just no
money. There is a little store down the street to rent...
ha ha, $3000. a month to rent. Yeah, we could make that
work. One thing is you have to have either one floor, or
have a way for people to get up stairs. I think that is so
important, too many people have stair issues these days,
and deters them from even entering places.

Sounds like a great dream. Can your area support a quilt shop?I live in a city with 45,000 people and both shops have closed. One was due to finances and not sure about the other one. Hope your dream comes true and good luck.

It won't happen, but it has been my dream since I was about
12 and that has been a long time ago.

Sweet dreams! Before you lock into a name for your quilt shop, Google it. If there is already a business or website with that name, pick another name. You will want to have a website, even if you don't sell anything on it. It's a great place to post class schedules, pictures, directions, etc.

I have been a successful sales and marketing person, so I can help you with training and ideas for advertising-because of course, I would support your shop!!!

Very exciting dream!!! Keep it alive and work hard...you'll get there! Love the "Material Things" name...how cool!

I like the name "WIT" "Wrapped in Threads"

There was a shop near here named Material Things. She closed the shop but still is a vendor at shows and online. Don't know if there would be any problems with the name already in use.

My dream requires winning the lottery. I want to open a sewing studio and teach young girls. BUT I want to be able to supply everything, machines, fabric, patterns and other people to help.

Sounds great to me. I have always wanted a small store to sell homemade things. But with the prices of store rental and the economy I don't think it will happen any time soon. BUT don't give up your dream, I'm not and I am 60yo.

And it's a very nice dream! Hope it comes true. :thumbup:

I like the name your husband picked! Good luck!

I share the same dream with you! I know that mine will be years and years from now. I truly believe that if you can dream it, you can achieve it!

Lots of great suggestions. How about offering trips to the big National Quilt Shows like Sisters, Paducah, Houston. Most guilds offer trips to more local shows but acting as travel guide to some of the biggies (maybe even other countries) would be great.

My dream is to convert my large 1750's barn into a studio space. Downstairs would be a wood shop for DH and upstairs my space with huge windows to look over the fields and skylights for lots of sun. Of course a nice spot to relax with a cup of coffee and peruse some great quilt magazines is a must too!

I think if you tried...your dream could come true. :) Quilters are wonderful people.

One of our LQS (9 miles away) sarted way small, now has a
LARGE inventory, She carries plastic template material
etc. and all sorts of notions, about anything anyone could
want. She also has yarn, has had tating lessons there. And
it's an older downtown building, so has an upstairs and they'
have over-night sew-ins, and evidently they have a 'ball' up
there. She also does machine quilting of course. Has sure
built it up.

There is a shop in Marine City, Mi called Quilting Dreams.

"Material Things" is a wonderful name for a lovely dream. I have a friend who opened her own small town shop and she runs exhausted all of the time. It is a lot of work......hours are long. If you would love to do it.....go for it!! We girls can do anything! Good Luck and when you open make sure we heard about it :-D

Can I come and work for you??

the Small Business Administration is a helpful place, too. We used to have a restaurant and they sent out someone to advise us.

The best thing I learned is that the name of the shop should reflect exactly what you sell.

I think Leesa's Quilting Supplies would be a good name. What a grand dream- can I come and work with you?

Material Dreams Quilting Haven - get it.....they buy the "material and dream about the quilts they'll make.......you sell the material and dream about the friends and money you'll make - win win :) and the haven is where they escape (your shop) from the reality of their lives.......

don't know about other states, but in Washington you can give away alcoholic drinks without a license- so give every man who comes in with his wife a beer! and a place to sit and drink it...

How do these sound for a name. "Leesa's Material Things". "Leesa's Piece Makers Shop" "The Piece Makers Shop"
"Piece Makers Heaven" "Dream Makers Heaven"

"Have A Dream Craft Shop" You could cover other areas like crocheting and knitting as well as quilting. Just a thought.

Leesas Country Material Things Shop!

You really need to think it through before jumping in. I made very good friends with the previous owner of our LQS and she never had time to sew or quilt anymore because she was so busy with the actual running of the shop that even when she went home, she was doing inventory, spreadsheets, accounting, etc. It's a lot of work and I really appreciate those who persevere in this venue for those of us with fabric addictions!

I am dying to find a rental longarm in a shop so I can quilt some of my favorite tops...but not have to pay a fortune for someone else to do it. Please consider having those!!!!

Let me know when your dream comes true.....I visited Ar long ago and have always wanted to return.

I too want to have a quilt shop someday, but with a little different "flair"....ours will have a nature preserve attached, with cabins...

Always pursue your dreams

I used to live in New England, NH,and one day I had been visiting friends in the southern part of the state, and made a wrong turn, which is easy to do in thick forest, but I wasn't lost really, because all the forest roads will eventually come out on a state highway.
Suddenly i saw a sign among the thick trees along the side of the road, PINK POODLE QUILT SHOP - or something like that.
Of course my car turned in! It turned out that the lady who lived there was the wife of a man who had a trucking business. She was a dedicated quilter, and had a nice little
quilt shop downstairs in her house, one room with its own entrance. She had some fabric on bolts, and lots of great patterns from Canada, a cutting table, She directed me to the shop door,which was decorated with a pretty painted sign, and both she and her husband, who happened to be home, came down the back stairs and let me in. They were both charming, and I had such a good time. Her husband just took a delight in her shop.
I bought some patterns for wall hangings, and we chatted a good while!
I remember that as one of my favorite visits to a quilt shop ever!
...and the thing was, she had just made her quilting room into a little shop, she had just arranged her sewing equipment into a tiny store. and added some merchandise, like rulers and bobbins and needles, and interesting patterns, of course.
She did all her quilting down there. She had remote sensors to tell her when a customer arrived in the parking space.
Well,
my friend,If she did that, maybe this will inspire you to try the same?
All this in the middle of a thick forest!
Jeannie
PS. I hope I got the name right - forgive me, dear heart if I didn't!

I rent my LAM by the hour. Wish you didn't live so far from me.

In our area, the community college offers a non-credit course in starting a small business. They teach developing a business plan, getting loans, etc. You might check with a college in your area or the Chamber of Commerce to see what is available. Keep dreaming!

I wish you lived closer to me, I would be happy to rent your machine to do my quilts. BUT I would have to learn how first.

An old saying is: To Believe is the first step in making your dreams come true....wishing your dreams come true for you!

I guess I could call it Leesa's Material Things. So far, I have seen many wonderful suggestions here. I knew I could count on you all for help! I'd like to do all the things mentioned. But, looks like I'd have to hire a rather large staff. But, of course, we're dreaming right? There is an old Walmart building in town that is vacant. I wonder...........

Well, of course!!! I'll fly you down in my personal plane!!You'll love it here in Arkansas!

omg....a quilt store the size of an old Walmart....girl you are a lady after my own heart....wouldn't that be totally awesome!!! :-P :-P :-P :thumbup:

Mine is so easy to use. Most people are comfortable after playing for just a couple of minutes.

I don't like "material things" its more than than...like other members of this board, the long arm machines and offering classes and rentals of the units are a plus. I'm happy for you but retail business is a tough business, long, hard hours but if you enjoy what you are doing, it doesn't matter. Dream BIG!

I also want to comment, their are many of us that do less than a couple dozen quilts a year , does that justify plopping down $10,000 on a long arm quilt? I truly enjoyed taking the classes from a LQS and learning in doing this myself. The cost was $15/hr to rent and it was well worth it as I ended up doing a queen or king quilt in less than 2.5 hours and the staff are there to help you if you run into a jam. I also supported the LQS, even though it wasn't local, I traveled 50 miles to do this, but I wanted to see them survive.