We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Fabric and making. These have been my loves for as long as I can remember. Before I was able to sew, I would cut fabric and tape or glue together to make Barbie clothes and then when I was old enough to learn to machine sew, my world exploded! Bucket hats, frogs filled with beans, spaghetti strap tops with accent trim, bags and purses, more doll clothes and then eventually a QUILT. Then life went into super adulting mode and my hobbies took a pretty long sabbatical until I attended my first quilt show in 2016. My jaw dropped at the talent and creativity of local quiltmakers and I immediately had to drink whatever they were drinking! I joined our local quilt guild (Golden Triangle Quilt Guild based in Beaumont, Texas) and began my quilting life in earnest with workshops, lectures and lots of shared tips and tricks from seasoned quilters in my area. The thought of owning my own business had always been a dream of mine and now, with this newfangled love of fiber, a quilt shop of my own was the ultimate dream. And I was okay with it being just that. A dream.

Fast forward to December 2019 and the purchase of my longarm quilting machine and the start of my home-based business. I was in heaven! A business right in my own backyard where I could design and create and stitch at any hour dressed any way I was comfortable. Then March of 2020 and a world-wide pandemic had me rethinking my decisions. But with lockdown also came lots of unfinished quilt tops getting completed and porch drop off and pick up for my quilting business soon had me doing 40+ client quilts in 2020, Then 52 in 2021 and 65 in 2022! I was elated at the growth rate and my happiness and confidence grew as well.

Then in the fall of 2022 I was approached about sharing a storefront with a friend, and even though that venture and building didn’t pan out, it set me down the path of “what ifs”. What if I tried it? What if I failed? What if I waited and really planned for it as a long-range goal? What if I never got another opportunity? What if I was already too old? What if the economy totally collapses? But what if I take the leap and it all works out? What if this dream can actually be a reality?

With an incredible amount of support (both emotionally and financially) from my husband, I dove in. Like the deep end, y’all. I found a great location and the cutest building, signed the lease and in TWO WEEKS and ONE DAY I opened the door on Black Friday and had the time of my life! Somehow the production and shipping powers that be smiled on me and I had inventory galore for the amazing amount of people who came and shopped with me that first weekend. I was blown away.

After being in business just a little over a month, it still doesn’t seem real. I walk up to the door each day waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me from this fabulous dream. The girl who always loved fabric. The young lady who made that first quilt. The level-headed woman who finished her Finance degree only to go back and earn a teaching certification. The tired woman who needed out of the public school system. The 60 year old female who took the risk late in life to follow her dream and have something totally her own. They are all me and they all had their appropriate season. I’m savoring the current season and have never been more comfortable with me or my craft. Are you thinking about a leap into making your dream a reality? If so, I hope you can jump high and land in the happiest place you’ve ever been.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I dabble in a bit of everything. Maybe it’s that I’m still pretty new to the craft or maybe it’s my distractive nature, but I have yet to find that ONE thing and stick with it. I love traditional quilt fabric and patterns just as much as I love modern. I can be just as happy doing improvisational cutting and piecing as I can meticulously and methodically following a pattern. Art quilts, collage quilts, bright quilts, monochromatic quilts, tiny, huge…I love them all! And when asked, “Do you prefer piecing tops or quilting quilts?” my answer is yep, yes, oh absolutely! If ever there has been a time I wished for 8 arms or a couple of clones of me, it is NOW.

I guess the thing I’m most proud of is that in the beginning, I was self-taught. Of course, I taught myself some bad habits that I soon learned I needed to break, but all in all, it got me started on the quilting path. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before I was able to gain some real education and I’m even more thankful that I have a continuous support system through our guild. I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where I feel I know it all or have no desire to learn something more. There’s such a huge quilting world out there and all of it is beautifully alluring to me.

My shop certainly portrays my vast array of interests and what appeals to me. You’ll see a mix of modern and traditional, machine piecing and hand piecing, machine embroidery and hand embroidery, etc. Both my beginning budget and beginning space are small so I have decided to carry fabrics that will complement prints that a customer may be looking to match to. I have mainly backgrounds, blenders and fabrics that will work well for bindings and backings. These decisions have been well-received thus far and I have my sweet customers to thank for that.

My bread and butter (and deep love) is still doing longarm quilting work for my clients so I get up early and get some longarm work done before heading to the shop at noon to spend the rest of my work day with my customers (and a variety of projects.) I’m currently working on scheduling classes and even a Block of the Month since a big part of my heart is still a teacher after all.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I feel that my reputation was formed well before I even knew I’d need to consider a “target market” since I’m in a small town with a tight-knit community of quilters. My passion for quilting and my compassion for people preceded my business and is truly the foundation of my mission statement. People have come to know my work through creating with me and having me quilt for them and they’ve come to know me as a person as well. One of the main reasons for venturing into a brick and mortar business was my love for being with people as we make. I’ll always enjoy my quiet quilting time at home but there’s nothing like collaborating and fellowshipping with friends as we make beautiful things together. My shop has already become the local “playhouse” where we share our “toys” and stories and enjoy the great company of friends.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients is definitely word of mouth. Friends telling friends about my new business, sharing posts on social media and little “field trips” to my shop with small groups from the guild has been instrumental in the success I’ve had this first month in business.

Contact Info:

• Website: thecottagequilting.com
• Instagram: the_cottage_quiltingembroidery
• Facebook: The Cottage Quilting + Embroidery