Sunday Stash #294 – Berry Quilt & Co.

A few weeks ago I found out that a semi-local quilt shop to me, Berry Quilt & Co. was migrating to an online only business model. This is a trend that’s been happening amongst many quilting shops, and I can appreciate the reasons. The high cost of real estate and labour, combined with the retail competition from other established big box online retailers showcase a fairly obvious case for making the switch. And these are just the immediate reasons I can see from an inexperienced customer perspective! The retail landscape is challenging, and I applaud all of those killing it, or who have been killed by it!

Since I’d never been to Berry Quilt & Co., I knew I had to get there before the physical doors shut for good. A couple of years ago I had won a sizeable gift certificate from them for my award-winning Rainbow Mountains quilt as part of the Sydney Quilt Show put on by QuiltNSW. As I’d yet to use it, this seemed like a perfect time for a road trip! So off we went, Mr. Sparkles chauffeuring me around (as he always does, bless) and me commandeering the musical stylings.

Unfortunately, the owner, Sharon wasn’t in-store the day we arrived, but I had a hoot with the other ladies in the shop. They even put on Kylie Minogue’s latest album, Tension, while I shopped. Now if that’s not customer service, I don’t know what is! I felt like Pretty Woman on Rodeo Drive! (Not her first outing with those be-yotches who were mean to her, but the second time when Mary Pat, Mary Kate, Mary Francis, and Tovah, let her see it! IYKYK!) Also, they had the all important, partner chair! Mr. Sparkles chilled in the back in appropriate seating while I shopped stress-free, so this was an immediately winning experience for us both. Note to others: Mr. Sparkles will judge a shop harshly without a partner chair!

After I did a few initial laps of the store to case the joint, I went about pulling bolts, bits and bobs that were speaking to me. I always do a first round pull of lots of things, and then slowly edit down to the essentials for the day. This is much like how I approach pulling fabric for a new quilt! There were some things I knew I needed to get like the Bohn self-threading needles and Moda black fabric. Then there were some things that I knew I could use immediately such as those black and white prints for my next Lava Lamp quilt. Oh, and I needed to cater to my latest love affair with Mettler silk-finish cotton thread! It’s been sliding through my Juki lately without a hiccup and I’m enamoured!

I always embrace buying remnants, end of bolts, or last season fabrics because, well, I feel bad for them. This day was no different. I know, it’s silly, but I get all emotional just seeing them sit there unloved. It’s my version of adopting a pound puppy! Plus, I can’t go past a Jennifer Sampou metallic print, especially one in yellow. Looking back now, I should have picked up more than my standard half-metre cut. And pink and ochre? The real question is pink and why not!?

Okay, so this addition was completely random! A Daylight Wafer 2 Lightbox. I’ve seen these floating around the blogosphere for a few years, and I’ve always been mildly intrigued. Ultimately, I need more fabric like a hole in the head, and I had this big gift certificate in my pocket, so I thought what the hell! (It didn’t hurt that it was also on sale!) So now I’ve got a light box, and no idea what to do with it. Tell me, dear Glitterati, what are you using your light boxes for? Mama needs to know. Maybe it will shine the light down an entirely different creative rabbit hole.

While Berry Quilt & Co. maybe be closing their physical doors, they are very much still in business. As they transition to an online-only presence, please don’t forget about them. If their online customer service experience is anything like what we witnessed in-store, it will sure to be a sparkling hit! Padam-Padam, indeed.