bkay

It has happened to every kind of mom and pop business. As a young woman, I worked at a Marriott hotel near the "trade center". They had seasonal "markets" where small businesses came and chose their wares for the upcoming season. The whole area was a madhouse during market. The big markets are no more. They tore down the huge market center a few years back. The nice, huge, full service Marriott is now a Marriott Courtyard. Several of the market center buildings have been re-purposed.

With the changes in lifestyle (almost all women work outside the home now), the change in demographics (about 20% of our residents are immigrants) and the change in economics (the middle class is struggling), I can't see mom and pop retail improving. Add in all the taxes, insurance, regulation, paperwork and the need to have an online presence and you've got a tough nut to crack whether you're a quilt shop or an air conditioning company.

bkay

Jan in VA

There are many of us here who have owned quilt shops. Perhaps we could have an accounting of why we closed our shops.

I owned mine in Dallas TX and closed in 2001 following a divorce and inability to find a buyer who wanted to continue. I miss it rarely but have discovered I often dream of opening/running/or consulting for a quilt shop. I can't imagine why I'd even want to do that at age 73 and full of arthritis?!!

Jan in VA

mamagrande

I was a manager of a non-profit quilt store..I was paid 1/2 time but often took work home that took up most of the night. The store ran mostly with volunteers in a very rural small town. If i would have been paid full time and sales persons would have been paid, I don't think It would have survived. It still exists with a manager and associate and many, many volunteers and the non-profit owns the building.

So, I agree with your posting.

Pennyhal

The cost of fabric keeps a lot of younger people from quilting and limits how much fabric I buy now too. I am fortunate to live where I can access a few places that sell quality fabric, but all but one quilt store now exists.

Peckish

Instead of focusing on what shops are doing wrong, I'm going to focus on what shops are doing right.

I live near a quilt shop that is going gangbusters. She's open Saturdays AND Sundays, which is important to those of us still working full-time jobs. She has a classroom and offers a variety of classes and teachers. The classroom is also available for group sewing time, or if you need help or space with a certain project. She has a generous selection of good quality fabrics. She has a full selection of quality notions. Her store is clean, well-lit, and decorated in an attractive and welcoming way.

However, in my opinion, she has two things that most LQS owners do not possess.

First, she bought a computerized Gammill and started taking in tops to quilt. It was so successful that she purchased a second one. It kept the shop afloat during those first two years where she struggled to pay the rent, and it keeps customers coming into her shop. They come in to drop off a top, and while they're there, they find a pattern or some new fabric they just HAVE to have. So they buy it, make a quilt, bring it in to be quilted, and so goes the circle of quilt life. Brilliant.

Second, (and most important, IMO) she is EXCELLENT with customers. She has this wonderful gift of being able to help you at just the right level. If you need help with color placement. If you need help with a technique. If there's something not quite right with your quilt but you just can't figure out what it is, she can tell you what she thinks and offer suggestions for how to fix it. She's a creative, experienced quilter in her own right, and I have found that every suggestion she's ever given me has been right on target. Despite being busy nearly all the time, she will stop what she's doing to patiently admire your latest project, or chat with you about your pets, or your kids, or your husband. She knows almost every customer by name. You don't get the sense that her relationship with you (the customer) didn't end when your transaction was completed and she moved on to the next customer. THAT is what makes this particular quilt shop very successful.

running1

This is becoming a real problem in many states...here in Oklahoma all of our city revenues (this is statewide) come ONLY from sales tax...when people spend their money over the Internet, the towns and cities lose. There are beginnings of a fix for this...but many mom-and-pop stores have already failed due to this very problem. Being the wife of a small town mayor, we shop in town almost exclusively...and all my quilting shopping happens in local quilt shops in the next towns along the way to Oklahoma City. It is a small commitment I've made to the LQS, wherever that LQS is located!

gingerd

Very true.............amazing to think how things have changed in that way.

Jingle

Luckily I have enough fabrics to use i my lifetime and several more. I really only buy remenets or blenders for my charity quilts. Spent lots of money long ago.

We closed our business last year because we didn't want to work the rest of our lives. We only sold industrial things. Most people don't know what they were for nor how to use them. We are enjoying being at home.

sewgull

A friendly staff will help keep customers coming back. Shop owners and customers should remember to thank each other for their services. I rather patronize a friends shop that appreciates my money.

quiltingshorttimer

I see my friend that owns a quilt shop work 6 days a week--one of those she takes a half day off to quilt with a hand quilting group so really not a day off! And long days! She's stepped it up by having an active on-line presence also, so think it's safe to say that profits are there, especially as she only has extra help for sales, hops and a couple of mornings a week. hard way to make a living--but so appreciated that I shop there regularly.