Small Business Spotlight: How Quilt Beginnings Creates Community

When Cathy Shoemaker left her job as a project manager, cashed in her 401(k), and opened a quilt shop in 1998, her friends thought she was crazy. But 24 years later, Quilt Beginnings is still going strong in Dublin, Ohio, selling fabric, sewing machines, Quilt Beginnings supplies and accessories and teaching a vibrant and growing community how to sew, quilt and embroider. Recently, Quilt Beginnings was among the winners of The Synchrony Pillars Project Grant, which recognizes small business owners and healthcare providers who are pillars in their communities and who have gone above expectations, even in times of change.

Community-centered crafting

“The store is hopefully very inspiring," said Caity Coffin, Shoemaker's daughter, who's also a full-time employee of the store. “Because we offer classes, machines and all of the tools, we really build that community from the first time people walk in."

Quilt Beginnings regularly hosts in-person classes taught by nationally known teachers and invites charitable organizations to use the dedicated education space for their own events.

“We kept our classrooms buzzing with activity on a daily basis," Shoemaker said. “My business philosophy has always been to court our customers with fun events, reward programs, exclusive clubs, inspiring displays and friendly and caring staff. We want to be known as the product experts at a fun place to visit."

Prior to the pandemic, Shoemaker was hesitant about offering virtual classes or selling online because she worried it would dilute the brand and require the shop to compete solely on price. Of course, when the pandemic limited in-person retail shopping and classes, they decided to explore new ways to engage with their community.

Shoemaker and her team started doing live videos on Facebook. The virtual events proved that their customers were excited to engage with the brand from the safety of their homes and were eager to purchase featured products and supplies.

'High touch supported by high tech'

“We realized we needed a much more robust web presence to continue giving our customers the shopping and educational experience they've come to rely on," Shoemaker said. So they began the process of redesigning their website, expanding their social media advertising and improving their video capabilities.That effort involved converting part of their educational space into a studio and purchasing better production equipment to improve video quality and provide customers with a better virtual learning experience.

With the $10,000 grant award from the Synchrony Pillars Project Grant, Quilt Beginnings was able to build out that studio and set up a tech department with two full-time service technicians to keep the store and customers' machines running properly.

“Our objective is to give our customers a seamless experience, whether they're interacting with us in the shop or online. Our new approach is 'High touch supported by high tech!'"

Turning dreams into reality

The name Quilt Beginnings stems from the company's mission of helping new quilters get going in the sewing world. Today, they help advance that mission to a wide set of customers by offering financing options through Synchrony in order to expand access. Customers get help purchasing the tools and supplies they need with financing, including sewing machines. “It's really exciting for our customers when they discover that we have financing available that enables them to get the machine of their dreams that they thought was out of reach," Coffin said.

Today, around half of their sales of sewing machines are financed. With financing options and a growing library of training videos and virtual events, Quilt Beginnings continues to build the quilting community in Dublin and across the country.

“I love having our store be a destination spot," Coffin says. “We make these lifelong connections with our customers, and they know each other. To be a home base for that community, see those connections develop, and keep this brick-and-mortar store open and full of energy, that's really my passion and my goal."

Synchrony is a leader in launching new capabilities and solutions for businesses to help drive sales, loyalty and reach new customers with more financing options. Contact us to find out how we can do more for your business.