Some advice for the LQS from a senior quilter with a bad back.
 

I have just come back from my lqs and now I have a sore back. The new location is beautiful, bright and spacious, except that 75% of the fabric on display is located on single long shelves on the floor - which required me to squat (kinda out of shape) and/or bend to see if the fabric matched what I had in mind. It would be so much more customer friendly, if the bottom shelf held baskets of fat quarters, rolls, etc,( instead of being located on top of the single shelves) and/or the fabric shelves were 18" or more higher off the floor. Marketing shows that most of us shop "eye level" and in food stores this level commands high prices. I cannot imagine that I am the only shopper who finds this "not customer friendly". Does anyone else out there pay more attention to the "eye level" products.

I would have difficulty too. My eyesight is not that great and having to look down at the floor lowers the light available to see color and pattern. Plus, I cannot get down and back up any more.

I would suggest a letter or phone call to the owner and tell them what the problem is with the displays. If enough complain, maybe some changes will be made. I cannot imagine having fabric down close to the floor unless there are mulitple levels and then it often can be overlooked.

I have also mentioned to stores that having things on the high top shelves that short people might want is not a good idea either. We have a discount bookstore and the craft magazines where even too high to reach without a rolling stool. Not a safe situation with an older population.

I am not lucky enough to have a local shop where I can go through the fabric and shop. WalMart is our closest place of purchasing fabric and it has just come back to our local town. These fabrics are placed about eye level so there isn't a problem for me. I also have a bad back, I feel your pain. I find that a lot of my fabric has come from ebay, not ideal because you can't really plan your quilt as you would in a fabric store.

Perhaps you can suggest to them that they get a couple of stools with casters so you can sit and wheel around at the lower level. It would certainly cost them far less than redesigning their entire display area.

I must share this with my quilting friends. I recently went to Walmart to purchase a new sewing machine. I sat on the floor and reviewed each machine and what they would do. I am not ashamed for anyone to see me on the floor, they don't know me. I have been doing this for years, I am 64 this month. My husband was sitting on a bar stool in sight of me, he can't stand long. We were a cute old couple. While I was there I gave this young man my old sewing machine that was in the car.

I have never seen a Lqs with a lot of there fabric displayed like that. Shops in my area have things like a few solids, extra wide fabric, , machines, ect on the lower shelves and they are very happy to lift the fabric up higher if you are intrested. Wall space can be limited in some buildings.

I try not to leave a mess while I shop -

HOWEVER -

if the bolts of fabric are wedged in so tightly that I need a prybar to make enough space to put the bolt back on the shelf - I will either leave the fabric leaning against the shelf or laying on top of the bolts.

I don't have the upper body and/or arm strength to be able to shove the bolt back in.

Or - if/when I try to pull one bolt out to look at it - and five or six more come crashing down along with it -

I realize that shelf space is probably limited - but I will just walk away when that happens.

I agree! The other problem is when the fabric is folded in such a way that you have to practically undo the whole bolt to see the manufacturer, price, etc. printed on top of the bolt.

all of the shops in our area have the fabric 12 - 18 inches off the floor. Didn't think about how lucky I was

I have to admit needing a pry bar to get a bolt out really is quite bothersome! If they are wedged in that tight ... I often will just scan and move on .
One shop by me has such bad lighting , if you think you found just the right one.. you have to go outside to see its true colors... and often its not what you thought it was.. so after back and forth outside ... I just give up. Bad lighting only encourages me to go to the internet for purchases... my monitor has a better color read than the lighting in the shop.