Okay, I'll just start out by saying Fabritopia is not going anywhere. I'm starting to make some changes because my goal is to be able to hand this store to my children in a few years but given the current recession we're going to need to seriously tighten our belts if we are going to ride this out. I know the news often says we are coming out of it but to be honest I think they are full of crap. Our friends are getting laid off right and left and many of them are not finding new jobs. My heart hurts for them because we've been there more than once and know how stressful the uncertainty is. 3 of our good friends moved with their families from their homes into apartments or rentals just in the past week.
We had a record drop in sales last month which leads me to believe it's not just people I know locally who are going through painful financial times. The fabric industry is known for being "recession proof" because folks tend to do more things at home in tight times like sewing and repairing their own clothes and growing gardens. But, honestly, we've never seen a recession like this and I believe people are having to cut back on a lot more than they've ever had to before, including their fabric purchases (which some might consider a luxury purchase, but we know better).
(the pictures are to keep from having a picture-less post, because that drives me nuts.)
We've decided to cut our prices back to what they were when we started Fabritopia just over 2 years ago. This is not a sale, it is a price cut intended to stay low until we start moving out of this recession and folks start getting back on their feet. Fabric will now be 8.20 a yard unless I get some close outs at a great deal. If that happens I will pass the deal onto you, my wonderful customers. In the next few weeks I will be paring things down in order to clean out the stragglers (the last few prints from collections that are mostly gone). I will also mark down the slow movers just to punish them for sitting on the shelves so long. This will be great for shoppers and will help us clean up our space and our books.
We are not doing a major down-sizing because we're not a huge store so I think we're in a good position to just sit back and consider our options. I have 5-6 great collections coming in the next month (Lizzy House, Bari J Ackerman, Jennifer Paganelli, and more!) so I want to have things ready to start fresh for the next rush. We are increasing our basics like dots and solids because they're such great staples and people love them.
I've put two polls in the side bar (with more to come if I think of any good questions) and I would appreciate it if you'd share your opinion with me so we can make decisions that people like. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any other advice, help, or constructive criticism you have. I really want to make well thought out decisions so everything helps.
Many people have asked if we intend to open a brick and mortar store and yes, that's on our long term list of goals. We love our local community and really want to be around folks and have classes and stuff and set up a business that our family can share in as our children grow. But the webite is staying here because we love our online community too.
I want to express my appreciation to everyone who reads my blog and leaves such kind comments and all of you who have shopped at Fabritopia. I really feel like so many of you have become my friends and I love hearing about your new babies, the things you are making for your grandkids, and your latest sewing victories (like invisible zippers!). I also want to thank you for trusting me with your hardships since it's not uncommon for me to get notes from folks who are dealing with difficulties with jobs, families, etc. When I get those notes I pray for you. I've been blessed with enough disappointments (yes, blessed) to know that things always work out. They really do. Maybe not in the way we would work them out if we had control (usually better actually), but they do work out.
Feel free to chat at me and keep on sewing! Thank you!
