Jackie Hernandez
Did you know that 95 percent of fabric shoppers make their purchases at chain stores?
That’s where Project 95 comes into the picture. One goal of Project 95 is to unite fabric shoppers with local independent quilt and fabric shops.
Project 95 is brought to you by The Fabric Shop Network, Inc, the trade association for independent quilt and fabric retailers. They have recently launched a beta version of a searchable map to help you find independents in your area. I plugged in my zip code and was delighted to see this densely packed map fraught with new (at least new-to-me) shops to check out in my area.
So why buy from Independets? According to the Fabric Shop Network:
There are three good reasons to choose independents over chain stores.
- Excellent Service. At independents, expect caring attention to customers.
- Superior Knowledge. Independent shop staffs are quilters and sewers themselves, and have unsurpassed product knowledge that they pass onto you.
- Count on Quality. Fabrics, notions and tools available at independents are the highest quality.
The searchable map is currently only populated for the United States, but eventually it will be international (which will be great for finding shops when you are traveling the globe). To learn more about Project 95: Fabric Shoppers Unite and to help spread the word go here.
Thanks so much for helping to spread the work about Project 95!
I will second the notion of quality fabric. As I was learning to quilt, I thought the quilt store in town was much too expensive and elected for less expensive fabric at a chain store. When I took a quilt class, I found out why the less expensive fabric was not a good idea for quilts after I had learned the hard way. For all the effort and love that goes into a quilt, quality fabric is the answer and the only answer. The quality fabrics usually shows up in the independent quilt stores – not at the chain fabric stores.
Huh. Great idea but not perfect yet. I put in my zip code (NJ) a range of 15 miles and got one result—for a shop in Texas. ????????? HOpe it works for others.
So cool that they’re doing this! They’ve made a good start. But Poppy Fabrics in Oakland, CA, closed some time ago. ;_;