cassiemae

That was a very nice article and is the way it goes. Where I live Hancock's closed down and some other stores in the mall we have here have closed due to the rent being raised too high. Thanks for that nice posting.,

jclinganrey

I owned a quilt shop in central Illinois for 5 years. I closed because the economy in the area just couldn't support the shop. Also, I closed just a couple of months before the Big Financial Crash in 2008. Good timing, huh?

If I had it to do again, I would sell online right from the beginning in addition to walk-in business. I tried to start online selling a few years into the business but for multiple reasons, it didn't work out.

I was closed on Sundays and took most Tuesdays off. I had a customer 'suggest' that I be open on Sundays, maybe from noon til 4 or 5 PM so she could stop in after church to browse. I felt like saying, 'Sure. If you want to pay my employee, part of the utility bill and chip in on some of my rent. Sure.'

I now live in Southern California and there is a LQS closing right near me because she wants to retire. She tried to find a buyer but no luck. The other LQS near me prices their fabric at $13-15/yd and I can understand why; I'm sure their rent is astronomical. They have quite a mark-up on pretty much all their inventory for the same reason.

They also do LA quilting and while I haven't gotten any quotes from them, I'll bet it's really pricey too.

It's a very tough sometimes thankless business. I had customers and even employees try to take advantage of me.

Tothill

When I read threads about quilt shops closing I am so thankful for the three quilt shops in my small town. One is fairly new, it opened in the last 5 years or so. Once has been around 10+ years and the third is inside of a big box fabric store. It is interesting to be able to check side by side quilt shop quality fabrics with big box fabrics.

The newest shop has a mid arm Juki on a frame that customers can rent time on, as well as regular classes from talented instructors. Amrit, the owner, is very welcoming and remembers her customer's names which always makes me feel good. She does not carry an extensive inventory, but her fabrics appeal to me.

The 10+ year shop I do not get to as often. I am not sure why. The owner is lovely, she has beautiful fabrics. I think in part because she really does not have a web presence. I like to see shops post new stock or classes on Facebook, it reminds me to stop in. Her website only has the address and phone number.

The Quilt shop in the big box fabric store has an interesting variety of fabrics. When the big box shop has 40 or 50% off sales, the rotary cutters and rulers are also marked down, it makes them more affordable.

45 minutes to the north and south I have 6 more quilt shops available to me.

Thinking about this a bit more, the active web presence of quilt shops, ie Facebook posts, Instagram etc, are what reminds me to go in and check out sales, new fabric lines, classes etc. My life is busy and if I did not get reminders it is unlikely I would spend as much as I do. I know I am just one woman, but I probably spent $600.00 in Amrit's shop in 2017 because of her Facebook posts. Half of that was on a bolt of batting.

I am participating in the Kaffe Mystery this year, because of a post on the Victoria MQG FB page. Otherwise I would not have known about it.

I am not discounting the challenges of running a retail business. My former Husband had a customer service business and it was challenging. Over 15 years we did not have a holiday where the phone did not ring. He had to deal with a power outage on Christmas Day one year that was caused by a squirrel. Hydro did not show any outages in the area, because it was just out building. Luckily we had a generator to keep things running (Web hosting servers). I did the books, often at the kitchen table after dinner and after working my own jobs for 8 hours a day 6 days a week. Both incomes were needed for us to stay afloat.

I guess what I am saying is you all need to come to Vancouver Island. Do not let the average or $18/m we pay for quilting fabric deter you, American's have the advantage of the exchange rate.

JoyjoyMarie

Interesting to read through this post. I love to feel the fabric I buy, too, so really appreciate buying my stuff in person. That said, I am retired, and between Soc. Sec. which changed it's rules (unfavorably for me )when I was 61, and Wall Street, (day traders with computers have carefully harvested a lot of our savings), we are financially strictly ON A CAREFUL COURSE. So I only buy what I need for a specific project, and spend a lot of creativity making quilts from scraps. The other thing I have noticed is generational. The younger generations are not as interested in the quilting as we boomers, I suspect. They are looking for quick answers and love their technology. Although my grandchildren have received several wonderful quilts from me, they love, love, love the new fluffy, cozy wraps, and I don't especially blame them. So a number of factors are playing in here. The one thing I just always remember is the quote: "The only constant is CHANGE" and I'm sure we can count on that.

newbee3

I can remember when you could buy fabric at Penney's Sears and a few more stores like Montgomery wards and so on and I don't believe we had a Walmart around at that time and the internet was not So why did these stores stop selling fabric. There was a time most of us made clothes for our families and our home. Now the quilting thing is pretty big

M.Elizabeth

Based on classes for senior citizens my husband and I took a couple years ago, we never use our debit card. We used to use them exclusively. However, the leaders in these classes said credit cards are much safer because if you lose the card and someone goes wild spending with your card, you are only responsible for $50 and the card company covers the rest. If you lose your debit card, your bank account can be emptied in a hurry with no recourse. So now we purchase only with a credit card and pay it in total when the bill comes. Just for your info.

Sandygirl

even similar shops with similar type of owners eventually make the decision to shut down. I have seen Quilt Sampler Top Ten Shops shut down within a few years of being in the magazine. Nothing is a guarantee. They are human.

sandy

Peckish

Well of course, nothing lasts forever, and even good quilt shop owners who make all the right decisions will retire someday....

cashs_mom

There's a quilt shop very near me who does not have a very friendly staff. I drive 3 times as far to go to shops who are more hospitable. One of the things I don't like is that the owner's teenage son is often working the register or cutting. He's a nice enough kid but he's still a teenage boy with limited interest in quilting so not really that enjoyable to talk to and can not offer any help if you have questions. The owner herself appears to either not like me or just not be very friendly.

I would say its more often than not a bad idea to hire a friend or relative. My husband has hired a couple friends to work for us and neither ever worked out well. I gave hiring relatives a thumbs down from the start. I find that's rarely a good thing.

Feathers-N-Fur

I started quilting in my late 20’s. I hated quilt shops. Everyone I went into either completely ignored me, or was flat out rude. So I shop the big box stores where that behavior is not allowed. I will say I don’t have that issue now that I’m in my 40’s but still. I read these LQS threads because I have strongly considered opening my own LQS, but it does not look like a wise investment.