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Jennifer Davis, left, and Susan Drown, owners of Fabrics on Mill Street.
For sisters Susan Drown and Jennifer Davis, sewing has never been a dying art, oppressive “women's work” or tedium.
For them, sewing gives freedom to make an outfit in whatever size or color they'd like. It's power to design drapes and custom decor.
And for the past four years, it's been an exciting and rewarding business opportunity in the form of their downtown Grass Valley store, Fabrics on Mill Street.
The sisters grew up sewing when they lived in Hermosa Beach, in Southern California, and continued the hobby when the family moved to Grass Valley in 1977 and both married.
“We always talked about how when the kids got older, we should have a fabric store,” Drown said.
Customers at Fabrics on Mill Street are greeted with Drown and Davis' cheery faces and two tidy floors of patterns and fabrics.
Silk, satin and seersucker come in a rainbow of colors. Wool for suits, denim for jeans, cotton prints for quilters and fuzzy flannels line the walls. Imported fabrics include Balinese and aboriginal prints.
The sisters also carry accessories for clothes and craft projects, down to the last zipper and bra strap.
The possibilities are enough to make a seamstress' head spin.
While mandatory home economics courses have gone the way of bell bottoms and eight-track players, the sisters say more and more young people — both men and women — are picking up sewing.
“There's a resurgence of being a homemaker, of doing things by hand,” Davis said. Home and garden shows have popularized such crafts, with young moms designing children's clothes and grandmothers making blankets for their grandbabies.
While homemade clothes in the 1970s might have been considered a faux pas, they're a fashion statement in this day and age.
“It's not like what Mom made,” Davis said. “Sometimes, the funkier, the better.”
The store caters to sewers who create “wearable art,” with hand-painted fabrics and intricate needlework.
They also train beginners with a slate of classes taught in the sewing lab upstairs, and host sewing contests on a monthly basis.
With so much on their plates — err, sewing tables — Drown and Davis don't have much time for projects beyond sewing samples for the store mannequins.
But they've found a way to make their love for fabrics profitable.
“Any business can prosper if people like what they're doing,” Drown said. “We have fun. It's a lot of work, but it's very satisfying to see something you've created enjoyed by other people.”
To contact Staff Writer Michelle Rindels, e-mail mrindels@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4247.
For them, sewing gives freedom to make an outfit in whatever size or color they'd like. It's power to design drapes and custom decor.
And for the past four years, it's been an exciting and rewarding business opportunity in the form of their downtown Grass Valley store, Fabrics on Mill Street.
The sisters grew up sewing when they lived in Hermosa Beach, in Southern California, and continued the hobby when the family moved to Grass Valley in 1977 and both married.
“We always talked about how when the kids got older, we should have a fabric store,” Drown said.
Customers at Fabrics on Mill Street are greeted with Drown and Davis' cheery faces and two tidy floors of patterns and fabrics.
Silk, satin and seersucker come in a rainbow of colors. Wool for suits, denim for jeans, cotton prints for quilters and fuzzy flannels line the walls. Imported fabrics include Balinese and aboriginal prints.
The sisters also carry accessories for clothes and craft projects, down to the last zipper and bra strap.
The possibilities are enough to make a seamstress' head spin.
While mandatory home economics courses have gone the way of bell bottoms and eight-track players, the sisters say more and more young people — both men and women — are picking up sewing.
“There's a resurgence of being a homemaker, of doing things by hand,” Davis said. Home and garden shows have popularized such crafts, with young moms designing children's clothes and grandmothers making blankets for their grandbabies.
While homemade clothes in the 1970s might have been considered a faux pas, they're a fashion statement in this day and age.
“It's not like what Mom made,” Davis said. “Sometimes, the funkier, the better.”
The store caters to sewers who create “wearable art,” with hand-painted fabrics and intricate needlework.
They also train beginners with a slate of classes taught in the sewing lab upstairs, and host sewing contests on a monthly basis.
With so much on their plates — err, sewing tables — Drown and Davis don't have much time for projects beyond sewing samples for the store mannequins.
But they've found a way to make their love for fabrics profitable.
“Any business can prosper if people like what they're doing,” Drown said. “We have fun. It's a lot of work, but it's very satisfying to see something you've created enjoyed by other people.”
To contact Staff Writer Michelle Rindels, e-mail mrindels@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4247.
Fabrics on Mill Street
Owners: Susan Drown and Jennifer Davis, sisters and owners
Location: 115 Mill St., Grass Valley, CA 95945 Phone: (530) 273-9386; On the Web: www.FabricsOnMillSt.com |
