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Liberty has been producing fabrics and textiles since the 1800s. They are best known for their floral prints, but also have masterful, gorgeous novelty and geometric prints in their catalog. Their classic prints never go out of style and their new prints are always fashion-forward and interesting. Of their various basecloths, Liberty’s Tana Lawn is the most popular and widely available. Lawn is a lightweight, semi-sheer, plain weave fabric, and Liberty’s version strikes a wonderful balance of drape and body that makes it versatile enough for a wide range of projects. It makes sublime clothing, and I’ve heard it works well for quilts too.
Want to know more? FuzzyLizzie Vintage has a nice history of Liberty fabrics here. I know no bigger proponent of Liberty prints than Erin of A Dress A Day (her Liberty posts are kept here). If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have known about the book Liberty & Co. in the Fifties and Sixties: A Taste for Design
. Design*Sponge recently covered the history of Liberty of London here.
And now, the sources:
United Kingdom
Buying Liberty Tana Lawn directly from the Liberty of London website is about $30 US/meter at the current exchange rate, but standard delivery cost for overseas delivery is £25 (about $38 US). Standard UK delivery is £5.95. If the international delivery charge is prohibitive, and you don’t have a British friend to buy the fabrics to ship to you (hopefully at a lower rate!), try getting some sewing friends to go in on a larger order and split the shipping costs. If you go this route in the near future, you can pick up some of the gorgeous, limited edition V&A + Liberty quilting cottons.
Shaukat, established 1976, is “the largest stockist of Liberty cotton fabrics in London.” They offer several kinds of Liberty fabrics at a pretty steep discount — most of the Tana Lawn is £11/meter (just under $17) and they have online ordering with affordable international shipping rates too. Here’s your chance to try some Liberty silk and wool for around the same cost of Tana Lawn elsewhere. If you’re lucky enough to visit in person, their address is 170-172 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 0BA.
Kat’s Fabrics on eBay carries hundreds of Liberty Tana Lawn, poplin, and twill prints by the meter, as well as shorter cuts. Kat also has William Morris and Sanderson upholstery fabrics.
Alice Caroline Supply is an Etsy shop based in Cheltenham — no yardage here, only fat quarters and smaller cuts.
TillyCharles on Etsy has a small range of prints available for $26-29/meter.
Fabrics Galore reader Nathalie tells us that this Battersea/Clapham shop (52 Lavender Hill, SW11) stocks a small range of Liberty Tana Lawn, silk, Kingly corduroy, and others at very good prices (£12/m for the Tana Lawn, £18/m for the silks).
United States & Canada
Hyggeligt is a Danish word referring to a sense of feeling welcomed, loved, and content with friends, family and your own world. This shop focuses on Liberty of London fabrics (Tana Lawn $29.96 Canadian online) in addition to Westminster and FreeSpirit designers. The brick & mortar shop’s address is 4-515 Richmond Street, London Ontario – in the lane; phone # 519-679-4907.
Purl Soho has dozens of prints, including many lovely novelty prints (some from the Liberty Art Collection), $38/yard.
International Fabrics also carries dozens of prints (mostly the smaller-scale calico-like florals, and many of the classics) for $32/yard.
B&J Fabrics wins with their current stock of 246 Liberty Tana Lawn prints, priced at $36.95/yard. In addition to the Tana Lawn they also carry Liberty corduroy and jersey knits (both $42.95/yard).
Waechter’s Fine Fabrics aka Waechter’s Silk Shop of Asheville, North Carolina has a little over 40 Liberty Tana Lawn prints available through their website.
The Top Drawer is an Etsy shop specializing in Liberty. Currently there are 26 prints offered as yardage ($35-40/yard) and you can buy smaller cuts, too. Their blog offers a regular dose of Liberty love.
Glorious Color has the full collection of Kaffe Fassett-colored Liberty of London archival prints (the Liberty Art Collection), manufactured by Westminster. They are printed on a premium quality quilting cotton. The first collection out now is all paisley, and the next yet-to-be-announced collection is coming soon.
Haberman Fabrics, a brick & mortar located in a suburb north of Detroit, Michigan, is a great all-around source for apparel fabrics. They carry Tana Lawn in their physical store and online for around $39.98/yard.
Fancy Tiger in Denver (umm, classes with Brini Maxwell? Whaaaat?!?) is expecting a Liberty shipment soon.
Brooklyn General reportedly carries Liberty Tana Lawn in-store, but unfortunately I don’t see any on their website. 128 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11231.
When you’re in San Francisco, look for Liberty Tana Lawn at Britex and Satin Moon. Hop over the bay to Piedmont Fabric in Oakland for even more.
In Portland, stop by Bolt Fabric Boutique for all your Liberty Tana Lawn needs. You were going to go there anyway, right?
Australia & New Zealand
Amitie Textiles (281 Centre Road, Bentleigh, Victoria, 3204) has a good selection of well selected Liberty Tana Lawn prints at $48 AU per meter. You can order online, over the phone, or by mail, international delivery available.
Calico & Ivy has a full stock of classic and new Liberty prints. They also offer mixed packs. $56 AUD/meter. International delivery available.
Christabels is a brick & mortar shop in New Zealand specializing in Liberty fabrics. They have an extensive range of Liberty Tana Lawn and a small range of Liberty Kingly Cord, Liberty Twill and Liberty Varuna Wool, and also sell sewn items. Their Tana Lawn ranges from 50-58 New Zealand dollars. Phone and mail order only but I’m not sure if they accept overseas orders.
Tessuti carries Liberty Tana Lawn in-store and online (about a dozen prints are available through their online shop) — $44.92 AUD/meter; reasonable international shipping rates.
Patchwork on Central Park (East Malvern, Victoria) has quite a few of the Tana Lawn prints, including the new season. They are $55 AU/meter and international shipping is available.
Continental Europe
La Plus Belle Collection de Tissus Liberty is the blog of Stragier Couture in Belgium, the biggest importer of Liberty in Europe. It looks like they have every Liberty fabric currently in print (!), and all the different fabric types (!!), and they do offer international shipping to the U.S. and beyond that starts at just over $15. I’ve copied their price list below — see here for ordering info (in French). Oui, je veux acheter!
Tana Lawn: 19,90 €-28 €/m ($27-37 US)
Coated Tana Lawn: 34,90 €/m
City Poplin: 28 €
Twill: 37,80 €/m
Classic Jubilee: 29 €/m
Varuna Wool: 58 €/m
Crepe de Chine: 48-58 €/m
Crepe Georgette: 48 €/m
Silk Mousseline: 58 €/m
Silk Satin: 48-58 €/m
Tana Jersey 38 €/m
Carnaby Jersey: 38€/m
King Corduroy: 38,00 €/m
La Farandole des tissus (France) has several new season Liberty Tana Lawn prints, sold as fat quarters (5,45 € T.T.C. ) and by the meter. They also have lots of contemporary designer quilting cottons from the U.S.
Tissus en Liberté (France) offers a wide selection of Tana Lawn for 23€/meter, as well as Liberty Varuna Wool and a small collection of American and Japanese fabrics too.
Asia
Lilymeru Apparently Liberty produces prints especially for the Japanese market! The Etsy shop Lilymeru has a range of Liberty Tana Lawn including classic prints and prints that combine Liberty and Hello Kitty (!). The Hello Kitty prints are $39/yard and the classics are $35/yard + $6 shipping. Thanks to Jen Duncan for the info.
Apparently the mother lode of Japan-only Liberty can be found in this shop in the famous Nippori Textile Town in Tokyo. (They have two other locations as well.) Erin of A Dress A Day visited and posted the shop’s business card and map in case you are lucky enough to visit. Some of her readers provide a translation in the comments.
Reader Suchita reports that Singapore’s Chinatown (near the People’s Park Complex) has a cluster of fabric shops offering Liberty of London, the biggest being Nicole Xavier.
…
Do you know of another source that I’m missing? Please let me know in the comments and I’ll be sure to add it.
{ all fabrics shown are from Liberty’s new season of Tana Lawn prints }
04/12/2010 |
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1 Comment
Nearly a year after bringing her fresh designs to Spring Quilt Market 2009 to find a home, new designer Jessica Levitt sits down to share with us the tale. After you are thoroughly impressed, please enter our giveaway for one of three fat quarter packs of Timber — details at the end of the post.
Hi, Jessica! Thanks so much for talking with us. We’re all very excited about the release of Timber, your first fabric collection for Windham.
Thank you, it’s wonderful to have the chance to talk to all your wonderful fabric-o-holic readers!
Let’s start by talking a bit about the behind-the-scenes process for getting a fabric design from idea to finished bolt. How did Timber come about? What was your inspiration for the line? How long did it take you to refine your ideas into something you could show prospective companies?
When I start a design project of any kind, I almost always start with a theme. I sort of hate to say that word because it evokes over-the-top kids’ birthdays (which I also love to do) and I try to go for a less literal theme-y look. I find that having a particular concept in mind limits me, but that limit also challenges me. In the case of Timber, it’s pretty obvious that the inspiration is trees. I really wanted to do something in nature, but I didn’t want to go too floral. started looking at trees everywhere and thinking about their leaves and roots etc. And my favorite aesthetic is a modern version of Art Nouveau or Arts and Crafts style, so I was sure to carry that through to each design.
I worked on the collection for quite a long time, probably about a year. I’m not really a natural illustrator or painter, so I don’t just sit down and paint a pretty picture. Instead I conceptulize it, then sketch, then scan into the computer, then spend forever tweaking the design and the colors. I wanted something that was more sophisticated than playful, so with each design I asked myself “would I want this as a pillow on my living room couch?”
And once I had the basic designs done, I had to draw on my knowledge of quilting fabrics and work on scale and value and all that. It was helpful that I’ve been sewing and quilting for so long, so I knew what I, as a consumer, would want from a collection.
You shopped your prototypes around at the Spring ’09 Quilt Market in Pittsburgh and had several bites by the end of the show. Can you tell us what the process is like finding a home for your designs?
First and foremost, it was nerve-wracking. You’re really putting yourself out there, and I don’t care how confident you are in your talent, that’s hard. Some of the developmental year was spent on the presentation I wanted to show manufacturers. I worked on beautiful printouts, and I also had the designs printed on fabric (using Spoonflower) to make samples. I made children’s clothing and even a whole quilt to show. I know that really helped manufacturers to see how it all worked together, and it was an added plus to them that I could sew.
I really didn’t know many people in the industry when I set off for Quilt Market the first time, but immediately I met tons of supportive folks, from shop owners to other designers (and of course you!) Despite having to peddle my wares everywhere I went, I had a blast. It was amazing to meet so many people that just “get” the whole crafting/sewing thing.
As you said, there were several companies interested in my designs, and in the end I got to choose who to work with. It was actually a tough decision because there were so many factors and really you just don’t know until you try it.
{ Timber on display at the Windham booth, Fall Quilt Market 2009 }
So what happens after you shake hands and sign on the dotted line? What happens to the designs that you created?
The next step is to review them with whatever company you’ve signed on with. It’s a joint process to figure out exactly what makes the best collection. A manufacturer obviously has a good idea of what sells and what you need to include in your collection, so you might have to adjust scale or colors or sometimes cut a whole pattern. It turned out that I had spent so much time editing myself, that the changes to Timber were pretty minor. I felt like Windham really respected my artistic vision and for the most part deferred to my judgement.
After the designs are finalized you send them off to have samples printed, called “strikeoffs.” Then you work on those to get the colors just right.
And now here it is: Timber! Can you tell us a bit about the colors you chose and the inspiration for each print?
Sure. The colorways just basically started with my favorite colors (or what I’m into at the moment anyway). I love blues and greens so those came first (The Breeze colorway). They worked with the natural look and I kept them pretty soft. Then brown is one of my favorite neutrals so I decided to go for an earthy palette with Clay. And finally I felt I really need something pink or purplish for all the little girls (or little girls at heart) out there, so I added the Berry colorway. Each group coordinates because some of the colors carry over, but you can create totally different looks depending on your taste.
Now for the patterns … I think it all started with Gingko. I’m just crazy about gingko leaves. Probably because they’re used in Arts and Crafts design quite a bit. I started looking at some actual leaves and then flattened and simplified them to make the pattern more graphic.
Next was Dogwood. I knew I wanted a large, but fairly simple floral, and for this one I actually found some Nouveau clip art to start with. I changed some elements and added some and played with colors. Once I had those two done, the feel of the collection was set and it became easier to do the rest.
I added Bamboo because I’m crazy for stripes. I think they’re so useful in quilts for things like borders and bindings and more, plus they are always good accents in any lifestyle project. A lot of the stripes I’ve been seeing are varied in widths and colors (which I love and use a ton) so I thought a gradated version where the stripes were all uniform in width would be a cool change.
And it turns out Willow is almost a stripe too, although much softer. For that print I actually traced a bunch of willow leaves, and took the best and scattered them along long, never-ending branches.
Pear is based on a fairly popular almost mushroom shaped Art Nouveau tree. I felt like repeating it in a very straight, simple way made it more graphic and “mod.” Of course I added the little “partridge” in the branches that gave it it’s name.
Maple acts as the solid of the group. I love those little seed pods. Remember sticking them on your nose or making helicopters out of them as a kid? So I thought they made the perfect little icon to show up in a very basic print.
And finally, we have Magnolia. This one wasn’t based on any real tree (I just chose Magnolia as the name because their leaf shape was the closest I could find). I wanted to used the type of rose shape that Charles Rennie Mackintosh made so popular, but in different way, so I turned it into a nest. I don’t think it’s readily apparent that it isn’t actually a floral, but it’s fun that when you look closer and see the birds in the background, you get it. This was the most hand-drawn of all the prints. I did a ton of sketches and scanned in the best. I don’t often feel that’s my strength, so it was a step outside my comfort zone and a lot of people tell me that’s their favorite, so I think it paid off.
Beautiful. And now for a little of your background: how long have you been into fabric design? What has your career path looked like so far? Has your prior work life in (engineering, right?) informed your current processes at all?
Yup, I have a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. But I’ve always been a sewist and crafter. And I loved the idea of something more creative as a career. I’ve tried a bunch of other avenues from event planning to interior design, but I’m pretty passionate about fabric, so being a designer was always a dream (or at least since Amy Butler entered the scene and showed us all how it’s done).
I only started to do actual design with this line, Timber. I doubted my ability since I’d never used Illustrator or done much design on the computer, but it did come naturally. My previous career definitely helped with the computer end of things. I feel like I learned pretty quickly (it doesn’t hurt that I have a Dad and a sister who do graphic design and I could ask them a ton of questions). Also, there’s a planner/project management element to engineering which I carry over to all my creative endeavors.
Anything I have forgotten to ask, or anything more you would like to share with us? (I have baby brain right now, so I am sure there is more I wanted to ask!!)
Hmmm … the only thing I can think of is: what’s next for me? I am working on a second collection, but I’m taking my time. I don’t want to disappoint my new-found fans! So you should definitely see some new designs by the end of the year. Otherwise I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy, including my two little ones at home. :)
Thank you so much, Jessica! Can’t wait to see what everyone makes with your creations. Way to go!
My pleasure! This was lots of fun.
……..
Giveaway Time! Just leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win a fat quarter pack in one of the three colorways. Comments will close and a winner will be drawn next Friday, April 9, 2010, around 3pm Central U.S. time.
Tags: 2010, art nouveau, fabric collections, jessica levitt, process, quilting cotton, surface pattern design, trees, windham
04/01/2010 |
Designer Interviews, Giveaways |
398 Comments
Jenny Bergman is a textile artist from Stockholm, Sweden. Her project By Chance is a series of bold geometric designs hand-printed on recycled linen with little love notes in the selvedges instead of the usual credits and registration marks. (Well, at least the ones in the languages I can read seem like love notes.) Check out her small but powerful online portfolio, which includes some very cool collaborations with artist Nacho Tatjer. I hope we get to see more (perhaps some textiles for sale?) in the future.
via Fibercopia.
Tags: hand screenprinting, jenny bergman, selvedges, sweden
02/10/2010 |
Designer and Store Spotlights |
5 Comments
All the designs so far have been bitmappy-looking faux cross stitch; this one, as well as some others I’ve come across, use cross-stitchy Xs as borders or accents. This Fans and Cross Stitch feedsack is another one from Antiquefabric.com. Notice how the offset repeat and orientation of the fans create a strong illusion of jagged vertical lines.
Tags: cross stitch, fans, feedsack, pixel, vintage
01/07/2010 |
The Daily Swatch |
No Comments
We covered the French pillow company Bonjour Mon Coussin many moons ago, and they’ve added tons of new designs since then. Here are some of the latest offerings — Paris maps, Coney Island photos, vintage type, and more. Hooray for digital printing! Look, they even have a color-your-own pillow.
Tags: bonjour mon coussin, digital textile printing, pillows, textiles
12/30/2009 |
Designer and Store Spotlights |
No Comments
Bend The Rules With Fabric: Fun Sewing Projects with Stencils, Stamps, Dye, Photo Transfers, Silk Screening, and More, by Amy Karol, Potter Craft, 2009.
Bend The Rules With Fabric is Amy Karol’s second book, the followup to the popular Bend The Rules Sewing and every bit as fun.
I assume you all know who Amy Karol is? She’s is the author of the popular Angry Chicken blog and well-known for her creative and irreverent take on home sewing. She pushes that creativity and irreverence a little further with this book; nine of the projects don’t even require sewing skills, just a sense of adventure.
More than just a book of projects and instructions, Amy explains each fabric-altering technique — painted, computer-assisted, dyed and mixed-media — and the pros and cons of each, and even recommends brands and substrates. She explains “Why This Method Will Make You Happy” and “Why This Method Will Make You Sad.” She lays out general instructions for different media and then step-by-step instructions for specific projects. For example, in the chapter called We Have The Technology, she covers:
- printing images onto fabric sheets
- creating your own fabric sheets
- applying iron-on transfers
- screen printing
And follows this with seven projects using these skills, techniques and materials.
Image from Bend The Rules With Fabric
As with Bend The Rules Sewing, this book strikes me as more diving board than road map; she explains how to do the basic techniques, shows you what you can do with them, then gives you a hug and exhorts you to go make something cool. If you wanted to make a project exactly like Amy’s, you could … but why not use her help to make something of your own?
My interpretation of the Drawing With Thread project
I used her tips in the Fiber on Fabric section called Drawing With Thread to make a felt cover for my moleskine notebook, cutting the felt to the dimensions recommended and sketching a little flower. I had neither a darning foot nor a free-motion sewing foot for my dinky machine (both recommended), so made do with a small embroidery hoop and no foot.
Image from Bend The Rules With Fabric
The result was tolerable, considering. I could have used the template in the back to make mine exactly like hers, and I appreciate having the exuberant originals to photocopy and trace. But her style is so unique it would feel more like copying than it might in other craft books.
Bend The Rules With Fabric is a book best suited for beginners to crafting with fabric and those looking to refine their technique. I’ve already experimented with fabric dyeing, potato printing, and computer transfer printing in the past; her tips help me realize what I’ve done wrong before, and point me toward materials that should give better results in the future.
If you enjoy a more unique and embellished look but need help getting started or deciding which technique is going to be right for you, then this book would be a good fit. And if you want support and cheerful encouragement in doing your own thing, well, then Amy Karol is the perfect teacher.
To see more interpretations on projects from the book, check out the Flickr group. For more Amy Karol, see her dot com, her blog (check out the video tutorials!) or her flickr stream.
Tags: amy karol, books, surface design
12/03/2009 |
Reviews |
7 Comments
At last year’s Fabric 2.0 party I met Jeremy, April, and Kristy from NYC shop The City Quilter. They must have said nice things about me because City Quilter owner Dale Riehl sought me out this year to meet me. I learned about their exclusive collection of New York-themed fabrics. Sewers and quilters have to visit the local fabric shops when they travel, so it makes perfect sense to have locally themed fabrics to offer as a souvenir, not to mention locals who want to sew a bit of home into their projects. All shops should be lucky enough to carry locally themed fabrics … but it takes a big city to support the minimums that mills require!
The subway fabric is my favorite — who doesn’t love maps? Dale explained that they had to creatively reinterpret the real map in order to put it into the allover repeat. So if you buy this fabric, don’t use it to get around. It actually required licensing and design approval from the Metro Transit Authority.
The 1930s postcards in the Olde New York print depict the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building, Flatiron Building, and many other landmarks, and come in three colorways.
The City Quilter also carries several other New-York-themed prints by Alexander Henry, Hoffman, and other manufacturers — and you don’t have to live in or visit New York to get them; they’re all available through their website or by phone order.
Tags: city quilter, fall quilt market 2009, new york city
10/29/2009 |
Fabrics 2009 |
4 Comments
Kiyohara is the Osaka-based manufacturer responsible for the brands Puti de Pome, Me-In Beby, Ecrulat, and others, and they also produce Sanrio character fabrics. Here are their new offerings. I’m also giving away a half-yard pack of the “My Favorite” collection … details at the bottom of the post!
Puti de Pome – note that the trucks and cars are border prints. Sweet dogs!
Puti de Pome – neighborhood. I’m a sucker for mappy prints.
Me-in Beby collection
Boku To Watashi display
I wanted to climb into these Boku To Watashi fabrics and live there. The pictures show the different top and bottom borders.
Another border print, from the Kiyohara Home Textile line.
Kiyohara Home Textile dot fabric and ribbon
A patchwork/cheater print
Simple, pretty diamonds on a linen/cotton blend
Even more photos from the Kiyohara & Co. booth on Flickr.
I brought home a half-yard bundle of a line called “My Favorite” for you! It’s 10 half-yard cuts of heavier-weight cotton that would make great baby or children’s clothes, quilts, or accessories. The hearts, strawberries, apples, and cherries look like they’re drawn with colored pencil or crayon.
I’m going to up the ante for this giveaway, if you don’t mind! To enter, link to True Up (your favorite post, perhaps?) on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, or just promise to tell someone who you think might enjoy daily fabric news and inspiration about us via the medium of your choice. This is the honor system here — just remember to come back and leave a comment to let me know you did it! This giveaway is open worldwide. A winner will be drawn next Wednesday, October 28, 2009, around 9am Central U.S. time. Thanks so much for playing!
10/21/2009 |
Fabrics 2009, Giveaways |
217 Comments
This is the first in a mini-series of posts about digital fabric printing that we’ll be posting over the remainder of this week. Check back tomorrow for a digital printing service roundup, and on Friday for a big list of ideas and inspiration.
Digital Textile Design
by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac
Lawrence King Publishing, London, U.K., 2009
Thanks to the emergence of digital textile printing (DTP), we’ve all been granted access to world that was previously accessible to a few. Some people have opened the door and peeked in, but are too scared to jump in and explore. Some have jumped in, but failed to negotiate the new language and technology, and have left disappointed. Some are fully in, but are sticking to old-world customs and not exploring what the new world has to offer.
The new book Digital Textile Design by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac is your road map — your Rick Steves, perhaps?! — to this world. For our timid first-timer, it offers basic tutorials for creating motifs, color palettes, and repeats in both Photoshop and Illustrator. Our disappointed experimenter might be encouraged to try again after reading about the more technical aspects of the process (like color management), which are presented in a manner accessible to the layperson. And our enthusastic adopter (along with everyone else) will be inspired by the multitude of images from fashion and interior designers who are fully embracing the endless color and scale possibilities that digital printing has to offer.
In fact, anyone interested in textiles, whether or not they plan on ever using DTP themselves, will find this book valuable. Most of the 23 tutorials (listed in detail after the jump) are applicable to pattern design in general, not matter your end use. Experienced textile designers may find the tutorials too basic, but there is still plenty to learn from the artist profiles and overview of the state of the art and technology of DTP. There is even a section about how artists and crafters are combining DTP with traditional surface design methods (handpainting, screenprinting, resist dyeing, burnout, flocking, embellishment) to bring hand-rendered touches to this mechanical process. The only thing I was hoping for that I didn’t find was specifics on how to ensure your fabrics turn out with the colors you’re expecting, but that makes sense since each printing service has different methods and requirements. (More on color management in tomorrow’s post.)
You can preview several sample pages on the Laurence King website, and even more on co-author Melanie Bowles’ site. While you’re there, check out her beautiful digital shibori work — she also recently launched a blog, Make It Digital.
Continue reading this post »
Tags: adobe, books, ceri isaac, digital textile printing, illustrator, laurence king, melanie bowles, photoshop, Reviews, surface pattern design, tutorials
08/05/2009 |
Reviews |
5 Comments
Project 95 is a worldwide network of independent quilt and fabric shops, e-tailers and design studios who have joined forces to promote shopping independents.” The number refers to the 95 percent of sewists who make most or all of their purchases at chain stores. And we all know these stores cannot even begin to approach independent shops in customer service, product knowledge, and quality. Your local fabric shops are embattled on many fronts and need our support.
Project 95 just launched the beta version of its humongous independent fabric shop database. Please help them make it better by testing it out and emailing your comments/additions to Sarah (contact info in the post).
Simply enter your zip code, how far you wish to travel, and up pops a Google map with every shop (including those online-only based in your area). You can zoom in for better view, and keep in mind you must click on the map pins to see the information. Don’t take it as gospel yet, since there may be several shops and designers listed that don’t have retail storefronts. But I found a couple shops in my area that I’d never heard of, so already it’s been of value.
…
Related: One of the comments echoed something I’ve been thinking about lately:
… To all fabric shop owners who might be reading — I am 100 times more likely to visit your store if you have a website that has at least your current contact information and looks like it has been updated recently. So many of them are outdated, incorrect, have newsletters from 2005, or don’t even exist so I have no idea what type of store you are or if you are even still in business. I Google everything first and I’m sure I’m not alone. I recommend you just get a BLOG, like from wordpress, typepad, blogger, etc and keep a monthly journal/newsletter of what’s going on in your shop along with your contact info. You can even register a domain name for $8 (godaddy.com) and forward it to your blog! I’m mostly looking to find out about classes/events and the type of fabric you carry. I know it’s not the first thing on everyone’s mind but there is a whole new generation of “Sewists” out there and we could be easily reached by something like this! I WANT to shop local, I hate the poor quality fabric and poor service at the big box stores, but I can only put so much effort into it. You must also do part of the work so that I can find you …
While I support anyone’s right to remain Luddites*, I do think it’s a BIG missed opportunity when craft/fabric stores do not take advantage of the web — blogs, social networking sites, email lists, anything to keep customers informed of new merchandise, sales, classes, and to get feedback on what buyers are looking for. If you’re web-savvy and your local fabric shop isn’t, it can’t hurt to offer your services, perhaps for a trade?
p.s. just learned that the term “Luddite” originally referred to weavers protesting the use of mechanical looms during the Industrial Revolution. How apropos!
Tags: independent fabric shops, online tools, project 95
07/15/2009 |
Scraps |
7 Comments
One year ago today, on Tax Day, I launched True Up. I can’t believe it’s been a year already and that I’ve managed to write posts nearly six days a week!
I’m not doing anything fancy to celebrate, no big giveaways or announcements (though there are plenty of those in store for the future). I spend lots of time fretting over unfinished (and unwritten!) to-do lists and thinking of all the things I could and should be doing with the blog and the business. But today, I just wanted to take time to think of where I started and how far I’ve come, to thank YOU for reading, and to thank all the past and current sponsors for their support. I’m so fortunate to have met all you, either online or in person. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, True Up would not be possible without your support and words of encouragement.
Me and My Boys.
I also want to express my eternal gratitude to my family. Maintaining the site takes up more time than I ever anticipated, and it has been a struggle to do it all at once. Thank you putting up with me and supporting me in the pursuit of my dreams.
Let’s take stock of this first year, shall we?
Fabric Study has been one of my favorite topics to write about. So far I’ve covered weaves and a few different fibers — linen, rayon, and barkcloth. A silk series is coming later this month, wool is down the road, and there’s still plenty to write about plain old cotton.
I’ve loved sharing tutorials and talking to artists about surface pattern design: this post on pattern directionality, written with the help of Michelle Engel Bencsko, is one of my favorites.
I’ve had the privilege to interview many inspiring, brilliant, and hardworking people: Anna Maria Horner, Lizzy House, Patricia Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics, textile design student Aurora Fox, Kimberly Niesz of Niesz Vintage Fabric, Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of FunQuilts, Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie. And then there’s my ongoing meet the sponsors series, providing fascinating (to me, anyway!) little “behind the bolts” peeks into the lives of fabric retailers. I’ve also loved taking a back seat for the day and letting authors on blog tours take over: Heather Ross, Betz White, and Maria Peagler have all been my esteemed guests. I’ve only scratched the surface of people I’d like to interview and host, so look forward to plenty more of that. Lastly but not leastly, I was honored to be interviewed by Sew, Mama, Sew!, and interview my own self via SMS’s stash interview meme.
Speaking of memes, for some reason my attempt at one (your favorite fabric ever) was kind of a dud. Too hard to pick a favorite? Not enough readers at that point? Who knows … (wait, I said I’m not beating myself up today!)
Some of my most successful posts, on the other hand, have been my own original tutorials: Three Signs of a Cluttered Stash and 10 Steps to a Decluttered Stash. And then one I merely reposted: How to Care for Vintage Fabric – 36 Tips by Nan Jaeger of Revival Fabrics. (See a pattern here? As Problogger says, use a number in your post title, watch the links roll in. Well, I hope there is good information to back it up, too!)
As weird and maybe trivial as it might seem, I do believe True Up has also become the source for breaking fabric industry news, gossip, and controversies. To wit: Amazon buys Fabric.com, Heather Ross to leave fabric design, Westminster to Adopt MAP Policy (which was quickly scrapped).
I’ve (gasp) left my computer screen and actually made some field trips: to the Fall Quilt Market 2008, where I met nearly everyone I could ever hope to meet, and got head-spinningly inspired. And though the main purpose of the week I spent in San Francisco was to go to my sister-in-law’s clifftop wedding, I also got to take a mini textile tour with the most wonderful Lisa Solomon.
And of course, there have been oodles of my “workhorse” posts: new fabric collection previews, Sale Alert Sundays, Show-Us-Your-Stashes (which has kind of gone by the wayside but is due for a triumphant return), indie designer spotlights, and Daily Swatches. It’s become my goal to be an exhaustive catalog/archive of all the great new and old fabrics that I love, and I hope that I’ve become your reference of choice to keep up with new releases, trends, and information.
Here is to another year, another 853 posts, another 3,456 comments, another 2,000 subscribers … and of course, to more fabric. Now, bring on the cupcakes!
Tags: meta
04/15/2009 |
True Up News |
48 Comments
Startex 1960 calendar tea towel, $10 from Rubylane seller Black Dog Kitchen. Googling “Startex” revealed that there is a town by that name in South Carolina, it’s a textile industry-heavy area. This page has a photo of “the remains of the Startex Mill” … don’t know if that is the origin of this towel though.
Tags: 1960s, calendar, startex, tea towel, vintage
01/29/2009 |
The Daily Swatch |
1 Comment
Late last year Westminster/Rowan/FreeSpirit announced they would be adopting a Minimum Advertised Pricing (MAP) policy. Read more about it, and commenters’ reactions, in this previous post. The policy would have required all shops as of Feb. 1, 2009 to advertise Westminster fabrics for no less than $9.50/yard, though retailers would still be free to sell the fabric at any price they wished, as well as advertise volume discounts.
Last week, Westminster notified customers that they would be suspending implementation of the policy pending further review. It looks like it might still happen in the future, but it’s off for now. The notification said that it would be impossible to enforce the policy in fairly and consistently.
On a related note … in the original post I wrote the following:
In the internet age, MAP policies effectively level the playing field between brick-and-mortar and online shops, the latter of which can afford a lower markup due to lower overhead costs. In the fabric world, there is also a third player — Etsy- and eBay-based shops, which have even lower overhead costs than stand-alone online shops and tend to offer the lowest prices on fabric.
My fabric-selling friends corrected me on this. It might be true some of the time, but it’s clear to me now that overhead is highly dependent on the scale and location of your shop, number of employees, as well as other factors. Ebay and Etsy fees can add up, often making it far cheaper to run a stand-alone shop. And an online-only shop still needs to pay rent to store inventory and do business — this could easily cost more than running a traditional brick-and-mortar store, depending on geography, scale, etc. My sincere apologies for the misinformation!
Tags: fabric business, freespirit, legal, minimum advertised price, westminster
01/23/2009 |
Fabric News |
5 Comments
