Within the past year, four Atlanta area quilt shops have announced closures. Only one was due to business being affected by COVID-19. One closure was due to health concerns and the other two due to the owner’s retirement. I understand one of the “retirement” shops has a potential buyer. Hopefully, we’ll know more soon. It’ll be interesting to see if we even have enough shops left to hold The Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop in 2022.
Only one shop in the area, Tiny Stitches in Marietta, is back to business as usual, 7 days a week. The remaining shops are open 2-4 days per week with limited hours. Stitch ‘N Quilt – long considered my “home” quilt shop where I taught kids & adult classes for 5 years – now closes at 3 p.m. No more stopping by on the way home from work! Now I’m basically limited to shopping at my LQS on the weekends. Part of summer break has been spent taking day trips to various shops in the North Georgia mountains to get a feel for each particular shop’s vibe. Along the way, I noticed a number of sewing machine dealers now stocking lines of quilting fabric and notions. It simply gives shoppers more options.
For me, where I shop depends on what I need and how fast I need it.
Weekdays: Hobby Lobby & Ashby Sewing
Saturdays: Stitch N Quilt, The Cotton Farm, Pickens County Mercantile & Quilt Shop, Atlanta Sewing Center (Duluth location)
Sundays: Tiny Stitches & Joann
I also dusted off my wholesale credentials and established accounts with certain suppliers. When I made t-shirt quilts, buying supplies wholesale made a noticeable difference in my profit margins. Now that I am regularly making project samples (and selling them) plus providing project kits for students, it was time to look at wholesale again. Saving money and time by having the essentials on-hand means I have more funds available to spend at my LQS and more time to create.
Come Stitch With Me, LLC 