How it all began…
Once upon a time Nana and her oldest daughter, Rebecca, had a dream of having their own quilt shop. They thought it was just a dream, until one day, when they began to see that it was possible. This is where it gets humorous, emotional, and stressful!!
First, we packed up the boys and took off on a search for the perfect location. We ruled out some funky options with: cubbyholes for naughty children, scary basements, bad smells, stained carpet, and unfinished rooms. We settled on an unfinished storefront with no address that we found on Craigslist. It turned out to be the perfect location in Old Colorado City with new finishes, good smells, and nice plumbing!
Oh the financial headaches… our banker was wonderful, but turned us down. He referred us to a non-profit for a small business loan. After much studying, anxiety, and writing, the paperwork got turned in. Then the waiting began… all the important papers got lost in the Denver mail system for 9 days. Then the waiting began again… We were vacationing in the place where dreams come true, when suddenly Nana’s phone rang! The loan was going through! YAY!
I thought the ordering would be the fun part, and it was, BUT I forgot about the cost part, the paperwork part, and the waiting part. We got help from son-in-law Mike hooking up computer systems, and the website. Rebecca takes care of the bookkeeping and bills. The list of things for Nana to do keeps getting longer.
All along the way, my emotions have ridden a roller coaster of highs and lows. I received so much love and support from family and friends. At times I doubted my abilities, but found reserves I didn’t know I had. I learned so much…the things I couldn’t do, I delegated. I seem to have a lot of talents in my family pool! My devoted husband, Papa, built beautiful displays for all the fabric, patterns and books. My precious grandsons love to put stickers on product, so expect some to be on crooked. The proof of all the work will be in the reaction of my visitors.
I can’t wait to see you all!
Meanwhile…
Nikki and her mother had a similar dream. They come from a long line of loving quilters.
When Nikki was in Home Ec in High School she caught the quilting bug and ran with it. Nikki’s mom had learned to hand quilt as a teenager and had the desire to do it but never knew about all the wonderful new methods. Nikki taught them to herself and then taught them to her mom. They dreamed of a quilt shop some day too, but started out with a long-arm quilting business.
Nikki, of course, thought her dream would take a few more years to come to fruition and busied herself with adopting 3 little tykes to add to the 2 children she already had. She was busy with homeschool co-op, her quilting business, being an officer in her local quilt guild, being an Army wife, and enjoying her children. Then Nana made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, and after a lot more legal stuff and paperwork they made a merger.
Now Nana and Nikki are partners, and a new chapter has begun…
We’d love to meet you and get to talk about your future projects!