Alas, though, fabric stores in general just aren't doing that well, as
people aren't sewing as much.
Is fewer sewers necessarily the reason?
I think part of it is that many fabric sales may be made on the net
these days. That's how I I've bought most of my fabric for several
years. It's a lot easier when you work long hours--on the net you can
buy fabric any time of day without taking the time to drive anywhere.
No, buying on the net is not as much fun as browsing a good fabric
store--and the San Francisco Bay Area is blessed with numerous good
independents. The tactile experience is missing, and getting swatches
(which I seldom do) is slow. Yes, the color can turn out to be a bit
different from the way it looks on my monitor. But I almost always buy
fabric when I see it and decide what to do with it later, so I seldom
run into problems with buying the wrong weight or color for a specific
project.
I buy a lot of vintage tablecloths and trims on eBay and stockpile
those. "Buy it when you see it" is definitely the best strategy for
vintage items.
I only go to Jo-Ann's for notions, and then only because there is one in
a mall a fairly short drive away. I've never set foot in a Wal-Mart in
my life. I try to stockpile notions too--I bought a huge lot of hooks
and eyes, and similar things, in bulk from Greenberg & Hammer--but there
are times when I need some different notion in a hurry. There was a
quilting store a few streets over, where I could buy thread and hand
sewing needles--but they went out of business.
I only see labeling problems at discount stores, the kind of places that
sell garment manufacturer over-buys. There is a chain called Discount
Fabrics here that only vaguely labels most fabrics--like putting up a
big row of "cottons" that clearly includes some blends when you look at
the fabrics. There is a Discount Fabrics near my dentist's, and I
usually go there on the way home after having my teeth cleaned. It's an
OK store, I've bought some good things there, but it's definitely a
place for serendipity rather than planned purchases. So why is it there
that I usually go in person, rather than to the several much better
fabric stores in the area (Britex, Poppy, Satin Moon?) Because I don't
have to make a special trip, I'm already practically there anyway. And
going to either Britex (downtown) or Satin Moon (in San Francisco's most
congested restaurant district) is a parking nightmare.
Fran
Lavolta Press
http://www.lavoltapress.com
I can only get to NY once a year, at most, and I
don't want to shop for everything on line--I'm too tactile for that, so I'll
miss the local outlets if they all go away.
<snip>
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