09/16/2026
I want to talk honestly for a second…
Running a small retail business is really, really hard.
I love my shop. I love teaching, helping someone choose fabric for their first quilt, seeing what people create, and watching friendships form in our classroom.
But love doesn’t pay the rent.
There are days when what comes through the register doesn’t even cover the employees working that day. And that’s before rent, utilities, insurance, inventory, credit-card fees, software, taxes and everything else that comes with keeping a brick-and-mortar store open.
On exceptionally slow days, I sometimes tell my staff to go home a little early. Not because we don’t care. Not because we’re lazy. And definitely not because your business isn’t important to us.
Sometimes I have to make decisions that are simply about keeping the business alive.
I know that can mean someone occasionally arrives expecting us to be open and finds we’ve closed a little early. I understand why that’s frustrating. But I also wish more people understood the other side of “support small business.”
Small businesses are expected to provide exceptional service, stay late, special order things, answer questions, help with projects, donate to community events, keep lots of inventory, have enough staff and keep prices competitive.
We WANT to do those things.
But somewhere in that equation, the business actually has to make enough money to pay its employees and its bills.
I’m not looking for sympathy or trying to guilt anyone into buying things they don’t need or want.
I’m sharing this because I think we should be able to talk honestly about what shopping small means.
Your purchase matters. Taking a class matters. Bringing a friend matters. Sharing a post matters. Choosing us instead of clicking a button online matters. And sometimes, a little grace matters too.
There are easier ways to make a living than owning a quilt shop. I keep doing this because I believe having a place in our community to learn, create and find your people is worth it.
I just have to make sure we can afford to keep having it. ❤️
—Trish
