My quilt shop has a show and tell once a month on Friday and Saturday. They show new products that they have and ideas for making things, also give door prizes and then have the show and tell for all the ladies to show off their quilts. It is a big hit!!

Pat in MN

Have classes in the evening or on weekends for us poor people that have to work. If I could find a shop that does this I would only shop there

I patronize three LQSes on a regular basis

Shop 1: almost everything in your list -- classes, samples, nice staff, excellent machine servicing, evening hours
Shop 2: no classes; no evening hours; some but not a lot of samples; always new fabric; the best and most friendly and helpful staff
Shop 3: no classes; incredible variety of fabric; mostly internet business but friendly helpful staff in the bricks and mortar store; when looking for something specific that they didn't carry they instantly volunteered to order it.

I shop each one for what they have to offer and don't fret too much about their "imperfections." The one I am in is my favorite that day.

Ultimately, other than the owner having a good "head" for business, the bottom line in what we like about our local LQS is atmosphere. Yes, we want a large selection of fabric, notions, patterns, etc., but do we really shop at the store that offers all of that and no warm fuzzies? If I feel comfortable in a store, I'll go back again and again. If the selection isn't always there, I sometimes supplement by shopping online, but continue to support my LQS, even - gasp - by breaking out of my color comfort zone!

When you stop and really think about it, the LQS is not the only type of store that is suffering because of the economy and the big box stores. Think of all the gas stations, mom and pop grocery stores, small pharmacies, and hardwares that have closed due to the big comglomerates. We need to flex our spending power to keep those stores that we really like in business. I'd much rather shop where most of the staff know my name and even my kids' names, because sometimes they run errands for me by going to the LQS. For me to shop at my LQS, it's an all day event because it takes me an hour to get there. We used to have one right here in town, but I only went there twice and did not have a good experience either time. So for me, if I owned my very own LQS, customer service would be top of the list. Without that, you can have all the bells and whistles there are, but you won't be getting my business.

Friendly sales staff.

There is a small shop in Foley(MN), Quilts on Broadway. Barb Erickson is always friendly. She's helpful. Coffee and cookies are offered, too. She has new ideas every time I've been there. Lots of samples line the walls.

Lots of great ideas! Along with everything else, customer service and new stock, sometimes I just like to look. There are 2 LQSs close to me. One I do not go to often because the owner will actually comment on the amount of your purchase. I've been quilting long enough that sometimes I just want to look and not be pressured to buy. She has cute displays and does kits and 2 BOM programs.

The other LQS has been around for years, has a large selection of fabric. I go there when I need to match fabrics. However, there is nothing to look at except the fabric. There are very few samples, and the ones that are there for class examples are YEARS old. There are no kits made up with new fabrics. There are no cute displays to look at - nothing to keep me looking around. The notions are mostly on a wall behind the cash register! So, it's not a browsing store at all unless you are shopping for fabric.

When we go on the local shop hop it's so fun to see the fun displays in the other shops. I can't afford to buy a twin size kit every time I stop in a store so I love the smaller kits, mystery scraps bags, store fat 8ths bundles and oodles of FQs or pre-cuts.

When are you going to open your store? I would definitely shop there!

Not sure if this was mentioned, but it would be great to have a nice empty table with great lighting that you could audition fabric on. My biggest problem with any fabric store is I end up having to either stack on floor and look at it sideways or bring someone to hold the bolts while I decide if they are "just the right color"

I do understand a blank space is basically wasted space, but with quilting especially, sometimes you have to try different mixes to get the perfect one. Would be nice to have a spot that is well lit and empty.

My LQS in Houston (Quilter's Emporium) has everything you mentioned and even does cruises. I love going in there, the staff love to help you chose fabric and ahhh over what you chose. They know exactly where that perfect fabric is in stock and never tsktsk over your choice. I love going there.