Out of curiousity

[vinyl-raven.livejournal.com]

I've had always wanted a fabric store in davis. I want to know that if there was one, but failed? or that there is plans for one *crosses fingers*? or if there is even the slightest interest of having one in the square...

Comments

[georgy.livejournal.com]

You can reach one via the 87 or 88 buses - http://www.sewfisticated.com/

[ifotismeni]

oh CRAP. there goes all my money @_@

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

And in the other direction there's Fabric Place off of Mass Ave in Arlington (77 will get you there).

[dancingdeer.livejournal.com]

Fabric Corner. http://www.fabriccornerinc.com/index.html
(I just got home a few minutes ago with some gorgeous batiks from there for a project I need to get working on soon.)

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I tend to get Fabric (noun) store names confused.

[sasha-bee.livejournal.com]

i don't know what you're looking for exactly but there's the Cambridge Quilt Shop, on the 78 route as well.

Sorry bout the confusion

[vinyl-raven.livejournal.com]

Mostly I was thinking about opening up a fabric shop in the square, so I just wanted to know if there was an interest, or even if someone else was going to open one.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[ifotismeni]

i don't think there is one -- but if there ever is while i'm living here, i will be persistently broke from buying bolts and bolts of lovely fabrics XD

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[mizufae.livejournal.com]

i would LOVE one, especially if it had notions and knowledgeable people working there. i have always wanted to make my own clothes and use textiles in my art but i've never managed to quite get to that point.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[petula73.livejournal.com]

The rent is so outrageous, I don't forsee you being able to make a living selling fabric.

Sad fact of living around here I guess.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I'd actually explore being a self-contained vendor inside the sewing-machine shop. If you rented a small space nearby for storage/shipping/office management, but displayed your wares in conjunction with the sewing-machine folks, you'd probably build synergy.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine there's enough room in the sewing-machine shop. They already have a small notions display and I've seen some bolts of fabric (generally "seasonal") there, but the machines take up most of the space already.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Agreed, but I don't think they're maximizing the floorspace right now.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[mizufae.livejournal.com]

it doesnt have to even be directly inside the square. crafters function very much by word of mouth. it could be between porter and davis, or out by teale... what happened to the space sparks crafts was in?

i would love to be able to buy sewing stuff in a place that had a little soul, that didnt just throw bolts of fabric at you with no help and had a really interesting selection of things you couldn't necessarily get elsewhere.
it's worth a try, if you have the ability to invest in it! don't let the man grind you down! *hopehopehope*

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[ifotismeni]

*hopes with you* i end up defaulting to places like joanne's way out in burlington or tyngsboro, but i don't particularly like them as their fabrics seem to be more oriented towards making prom dresses or house curtains. finding interesting textiles is ridiculously hard -- the internet has helped but you really need to be able to feel and look at the fabric in person. if someone started up a fabric place in the area they would certainly have my business -- if they had a well-designed and publicized internet store, they might even be able to be lucrative. who knows?

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[librarybrandy.livejournal.com]

If you're already traveling to Burlington, have you gone to the Fabric Place (http://www.fabricplace.com/storefront/default.aspx) there? I haven't been in that one yet, but I've been to their branches in Warwick (RI) and Framingham, and the Framingham store is just the holy grail of fabric stores. (Also, it's about a block from the Framingham rail station.)

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[ifotismeni]

do you know where it is? i'm not seeing the burlington address on their website: http://www.fabricplace.com/storefront/t-StoreLocations.aspx

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[librarybrandy.livejournal.com]

I thought it was Burlington, but it turns out it's Woburn, in the Woburn Mall. Their directions are from Rt 128, but I think you can take exit ... 36? from 93 also. It's on my way to work and it takes about 15-20 minutes from Teele, if that helps.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[publius513.livejournal.com]

I've been to the Woburn Fabric Place, and although it's not the same as the Framingham one (I couldn't believe that place the first time I set foot there. "The Holy Grail of fabric stores" is a pretty accurate assessment. A person could easily get lost in that place for a week), it is absolutely worth the trip up. I always go there before I go to Joanne's

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

You should totally do it. Tons of people around here sew -- I know I'd sew more often if there were a fabric store in Davis. And our community theatre needs fabris for almost every show. I say go for it!

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[ms-info.livejournal.com]

i have a huge bag of fabric i have been wanting to donate to TAF. let me know when and where and i will bring it!

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thank you! If you wanted to get rid of it fast, you could drop it off tonight, tomorrow night, or Sunday at 3:00, or Thurs, Fri, or Sat evenings of next weekend. If you e-mail me your name, I can give you my comp so you could see the show for free!

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[ms-info.livejournal.com]

i'll try to bring it by tomorrow. things are hectic this week. & break a leg!

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[ms-info.livejournal.com]

ack. i completely flaked on saturday. i will endeavour to put it all in the car and bring it direct after class on Thursday night. peeps still be there around 10 pm?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I don't think there ever was one, for values of "ever" that approach "since 1985 or so."

The Yarn Shop/Yarn Barn

[gildersleeve.livejournal.com]

For history's sake: There was a little shop called The Yarn Shop (and I think for a while called the Yarn Barn) that was in the Somerville Theatre building until about 1988 or so. It was pretty small and was immediately to the left of the theater entrance, where their expanded lobby is now. A photo of it after it closed can be found here: http://www.feitheatres.com/somerville/theatre/photos.php?22

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

The sewing notions & vacuum cleaner store on Day Street does sell a little bit of fabric - but not so you'd notice. When I need fabric in Davis I usually just hit Goodwill and cut something up.

[ifotismeni]

that's actually not a bad idea, especially for a scrap quilt. i might start doing that now :)

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

If you can't find what you want there, the buck-a-pound or whatever it is under the Garment District is a nice backup.

Sew-Lo

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

There's also Sew-Lo, which is probably the closest (in Cambridge on Cambridge Street between the Galleria and Inman Square):

473 Cambridge St Cambridge, MA 02141 (617) 661-8361.

You can get there on the 69 bus IIRC, and they have interesting stuff.

[vinyl-raven.livejournal.com]

Thanks every one, I think I'm going to look into this idea of mine.

[ifotismeni]

do keep us updated! i'm really curious how this will turn out.

[magpie-leah.livejournal.com]

A fabric shop would be awesome IMO! :)

There are vacant spaces in the bldg where Magpie used to be and where Kickass Cupcakes is now going. But that's a tough block to run a business on location-wise. (And I do have to say that I've heard some people have had pretty big problems with that landlord.)

Another idea... Spark is not in Davis anymore; they are in Porter now but maybe you could talk to them about setting up a little fabric area in their store. I have no idea of this would be of interest to them though. Or maybe they'd hire you to be their fabric maven and sell it themselves.

[lac.livejournal.com]

I can tell you that I, and my best friend, would definitely visit a fabric store if one was open in the square.

Re: Sorry bout the confusion

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I'd love a fabric store in the square, if there were reasonably good quilting fabric to be had there.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Fabric PLace in Framingham/Woburn was always THE best place for fabric, but I haven't unfortunately been there in years. I actually thought the Woburn store had closed a couple of years ago. But I would definitely recommend SewLow (Cambridge St)and SewFisticated (Twin City).
If you did it right, you might be able to make a go of a small fabric store in Davis Square. Perhaps if you combined it with a small yarn selection (there's a huge interest in knitting right now), and materials for things such as embroidery and kneedlepoint. I often go to SewFisticated just for essentials like thread or needles which are needed for quick repairs, not necessarily 'sewing', or ribbons. Check out their selection, it might give you ideas.
The idea about Sparkcraft is also worth looking at. They do offer some sewing classes, and they sometimes hire people who want to teach classes.....what a great way to direct people to a brand new fabric store in Davis Square!

[frickster.livejournal.com]

I would LOVE to have a fabric store in the square. I feel that (even though it wasn't a fabric store) we're missing craft supplies now that Spark has moved...

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I don't sew. But my wife does so I've seen the inside of a few fabric stores. To me, most seem like a good way to kill a weekend, picking over horribly out-of-date prints. And they're always enormous and to my untrained eye seem to sell pretty cheap fabric. I've been to one shop that was totally different, and could be a great model for a Davis shop. The knitting store, Purl, in Soho, has a sister store next door that sells really sweet fabric. The store is about the size of the inside of your refrigerator, but it still took my wife an hour to pick out two fabrics because just about every one in the store was awesome. Plus, Ira Glass, her favorite celebrity ever, was shopping there at the same time so she was distracted like crazy. I think the website is down, but they run a blog: http://www.purlbee.com/ The store is probably 200 square feet and had three employees on the floor. The customers were all outwardly giddy, like kids at Christmas. If you could replicate that, Davis rents wouldn't be an issue at all. And my wife would beat a path to your door.

I think you should do it!

[winterhill.livejournal.com]

I visited SewFisticated recently and while they have some lovely fabrics, they suffer from the same plight as Joanne's and Michael's, where the staff doesn't really care. To make it into a business that actually will make you some money, I'd go in with some knitters and crafters and have fun events and classes and such.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

That's a great suggestion about offering classes and other events. My friends and I used to have a 'sewing circle' - yes, I guess we were 20-something geeks! Anyway, we met at one house each week and it was a time you set aside to sew. It also meant you had others there for questions or advice. A specified time for sewing, knitting, embroidery circles would be great!