Sunday Stash #221 – Martelli’s Notions

Are you ready for the next leg of my journey? It feels like a lifetime ago, and there are still two more stops! Last week I told you all about popping in to A&E Fabrics and meeting the wonderful Juliette. Well, this saucy minx had a little surprise in store for us! She said, “Now Molli, you finish up here and then meet me down the street at Martelli’s. I’ve phoned ahead and told them you’re coming.” Okay, then! This caused me to get my booty in gear and finish up my fabric shopping quick smart. I immediately felt like I was a contestant on Supermarket Sweep, and I was sweeping everything into my cart(s)! But when Juliette says, “C’mon!” you c’mon!

I had heard of Martelli’s a tiny bit, but I had no idea they were based in Pensacola, Florida, right where we were shopping. Well, what a win-win situation that turned out to be. When I arrived, I was immediately met by Traci who started showing me around the shop. Within five minutes we were swapping martini recipes and talking about getting our hair done together, all the while demoing their ErgoCutter. That really sums up Martelli’s: a down-to-earth, family team that listens to their customers and tries to help them get where they need to go with laughter and original solutions. They are a family owned business that prides themselves on addressing the needs of quilters (and crafters) by creating unique notions that are a little bit outside of the traditional box.

Their most well-known product is the ErgoCutter. It’s been designed with feedback from orthopaedic surgeons and occupational therapists to create a truly ergonomic tool for cutting fabric. If you’re a fabric shop owner cutting yardage all day long, this really is the blade for you. When you first start to use it (here’s an instructional video) there’s definitely a learning curve. It feels quite unnatural to be holding and using a blade in a more ergonomic way. However, I soon found that I was whipping through layers, and my hand and arm felt better because of it. Now, have I thrown my Olfa rotary cutter away? Not at all! I still find it quick and easy to use, especially for a small cut here and there. However, if I’ve got a lot of cutting to do, I know which blade I’m going to reach for first. (I don’t want to wear out my arm so much that I can’t use it to lift that martini!) So if you have any sort of arm or hand problems, I’m giving the ErgoCutter a full recommendation!

Martelli’s also sent me home with a few other goodies to try out. I’m definitely not a fussy cutting expert, but with their template system, I kind of want to be! Their templates (and rulers) come in nearly every shape and size, and they all have this magic, no-slip stuff on one side. I’ve talked about no-slip rulers before (Sunday Stash #168), but the Martelli version: Louisa-May-Alcott, it’s not going anywhere! I’ve been trying to give it the slip but it won’t budge! The picture above shows how their fussy cutting templates work, and I’m now rummaging through my entire stash looking for things to cut out.

Seriously, this is probably my favourite thing though. A circular rotating cutting mat. I picked up a square one way back when for Sunday Stash #113 and while the concept is great, it doesn’t really rotate that well. Plus, because it is square, it’s always kind of awkwardly shaped while rotating. Enter stage left the Martelli RoundAbout Cutting Mat. Seems so obvious, right? The rotating all happens on stainless steel ball bearings so it glides around better than a Lazy Susan! Oh, and just when you thought the show was over, its top comes off (queue the strip show music!) and there’s an ironing pad underneath. Holla! The top layer with the ruler lines has that same no-slip backing as the rulers, so you can rest assured it won’t go anywhere while sitting on the ironing pad. Plus, when you’re done sewing, you just bring this to the dinner table and give it a whirl!

So basically, Martelli’s has some really quirky items that, for me at least, have been proving pretty useful. Do I need 1,001 gadgets in my life, probably not, but it is still fun to play with them all! (And actually, yes, yes, I do.) Now, I’m pretty sure it goes without saying, but while this was all swagged, you know you’re only getting the truth tea around here. I’m definitely going to stop back in to Martelli’s next time I’m in town, but until then, I’ve got to go cut some more holes in all my fabric!

[inlinkz_linkup id=711078 mode=1]