Community Highlights: Meet Annie Ross of Stashworthy Fabric

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Ross.

Hi Annie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by telling us how you came to open your quilt shop.
I remember walking across campus at Southwest Missouri State University, frustrated that I had to go to a Meteorology class in the bitter cold when the thought crossed my mind that (despite being a theater performance major), “all I really want to do is play with fabric.” I just filed the thought away that maybe my grandma would be willing to teach me how to quilt over winter break. She was happy to do so and gave me a sewing kit for Christmas that year. I was immediately hooked and proceeded to make my first quilt (entirely by hand) with grandma guiding me throughout the process. My enthusiasm for quilting even motivated her to finish a crazy quilt she’d started when my mom was in high school and she gave it to me when I graduated from college. Today, that quilt is one of my most prized possessions.

I’ve been quilting for over 20 years now. When I met my husband, we loved going on road trips and a necessary part of any road trip in my mind is checking out quilt shops along the way. Upon returning to the car loaded down with fun purchases once, Brian commented that in all his years of dating, never did he imagine that he should look for the woman of his dreams in the nearest quilt shop. Now we’re married and when Covid hit, it was a time to consider what we’re doing with our lives and we realized that we need to be more deliberate about how we spend our time.

When I’d thought in the past about “if I had a quilt shop, I’d carry this” and so on, it was just a dream, but I started thinking about specifics – I wanted to carry things that stores around here didn’t have because while you can order almost anything online, there’s a definite benefit for quilters and sewists to see things in person. My initial thought process in stocking my shop was, “what am I most excited to come across when I’m in a quilt shop?” Many of today’s popular fabric designers are very modern, but having grown up surrounded by antiques and working in my mom’s Weston, MO antique shop for years, vintage styles and reproduction prints are my favorite. I feel like it’s getting harder to find the prints I love working with and I knew I couldn’t be the only one missing them. And I worked from that thinking.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening a brick and mortar shop during a pandemic isn’t something I’d ever recommend, but when we found a space that seemed just right for Stashworthy Fabric, we had to go for it. Due to the pandemic, there were snags with getting my orders when I expected them. Numerous wholesalers told me the fabric line I’d ordered was sitting in a shipping container off the coast, and no promises could be made as to when I’d actually receive my order. So it was frustrating to open with less merchandise than I”d expected to have, but overall – I think marketing has been the trickiest part for us. There’s no single way to reach every person who needs fabric in the Kansas City area, so we just keep trying new things to get the word out. There’s been a definite increase in shop visits since vaccinations became more available, but at least once a day, someone walks in the door and asks, “How long have you been here? I had no idea you existed!”

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Stashworthy Fabric?
I focus on carrying things unique to this area. I love introducing customers to designers they’re unfamiliar with, or getting them to try new things and think outside of the box. Many customers feel like they can only work within a particular line of fabric for a project and that just isn’t so! Add in some homespun fabrics to add depth or mix in some Liberty fabric to make something extra special. Liberty Fabrics are one of my favorite offerings, but I also carry some Australian designers that are hard to find. I just love reproduction prints and vintage styles, so the majority of the fabric in my shop falls into those categories. I’m known for having the best selection of floral prints and one customer told me she thinks of me as having “all the pretty fabric” – and I love for my shop to be thought of this way. By the end of November, I’ll also have every KONA color available – this is a huge benefit to quilters when they need just the right color – and it’s just fun to have the whole, beautiful KONA rainbow in the shop!

Any big plans?
I’m still working on building inventory and truly filling up my space. We just had our first trunk show selling vintage fabric and that was a hit, so more trunk shows are definitely in the works! I am also planning to offer guest lectures from some fabulous quilters I’ve had to pleasure of meeting! Sooner than that, though, I’ll be hosting Open Sew evenings in the shop, so that folks can come in, work on hand sewing projects and bond with others who are interested in doing the same.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.stashworthyfabric.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stashworthyfabric/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stashworthyfabric