We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary & Jen Cannizzaro. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary & Jen below.

Mary & Jen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

We are a quilting studio selling fabric, offering classes, and making quilt commissions. Many of the commissions were based on using t-shirts as memory quilts for a graduating student or a loved one who had died. What we discovered was that the existing basic t-shirt consisted of decals simply sewn together like a checkerboard. Absolutely no thought to design and creativity. We set out to create something different and better. We were given the clothing of three small children in a family and decided, with permission of the mom, to mix it up and get life into t-shirt quilts. We collaborated, laying out the clothing, discussing the possibilities of design and fabric and executing. When we finished the first quilt, we knew we had a book. There is nothing similar in the market. We decided to self-publish and featured the book in our Etsy shop. Before long, C&T Publishing was in touch and with some modifications and additions our book, Beyond the Tee – Innovative T-Shirt Quilts was published. Our greatest compliment is when someone remarks about what a great quilt…and then realize it’s made with t-shirts! Idea to execution!

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.

We are a mother-daughter team. Mary (Mom) ran a successful Drapery Workroom for 30 years and enjoyed quilting as a hobby. She began working at a local quilt shop, quilting quilts for their customers on their Long Arm Quilting machine. Jen works as a Software Trainer and began quilting around 2000. She loves piecing but does not enjoy the quilting process on her small domestic machine. She found a local shop that rented time on their Long Arm and got hooked.

Long Arm Quilting may not be a term familiar to everyone. The machine (long arm) is mounted on a large frame (about 12’ wide) and the quilt back is ‘loaded’ on rollers. Batting is added, and the top of the quilt is placed on top of it to complete the ‘sandwich’. Long Arms can be computerized, allowing the quilter to select a design, or pattern. The computerized option requires to quilter to configure some basic information, such as the size of the quilt, the starting point, and so on. Once the basics are added to the program, the computer stitches out the pattern. Quilters also have the option of free motion quilting, which allows the quilter to move the machine and create their own freehand designs in the stitches.

In 2014 we decided to purchase our own Innova Long Arm machine. We rented a studio on the third floor in a hundred-year-old mill, The Wright Building in Rockland MA and set up our business to quilt for other quilters. The building rents spaces to artists of a variety of mediums and is rich with talent and creativity.

We have never looked back. We moved down to the first floor in 2023, much to the delight of our customers. We still offer quilting services, and our clients are now able to rent time on our long arm to quilt their own quilts. We teach a variety of classes in our space, with options for beginners through advanced quilters. We have a wet studio where we teach Shibori and Ice Dyeing techniques. We sell fabric from top fabric companies including Moda, Hoffman, and Andover. One of the unexpected surprises from publishing our book is the number of commissions we receive to make t-shirt/clothing quilts for customers.

When we moved to the first floor, Creative Concepts was created to encompass our quilting business, Cannizzaro Creations, Material 379, a vintage clothing and accessory shop, and Snowy Mountain Knitting, a full-service knitting boutique. We share a large space and welcome diverse shoppers and crafters. There is nothing more satisfying to us than hosting a quilting class, a knitting class and having customers shop for a little something in vintage, all at the same time.

We are most proud of the reputation that we have garnered over the years. Our customers trust us. We strive to meet our students where they are in their quilting journey to ensure their success.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

We attend the annual Houston Quilt Market and Festival each year to get inspiration, order new fabrics and accessories, and have fun meeting new vendors. The convention center, about 100,000 square feet, is transformed into a quilters dream. Hundreds of quilts on display and vendors too numerous to count for a week of immersion into what’s new and exciting.

When we were a new business, we thought we needed a token item with our information imprinted for customers to take away at an upcoming open house.

We spent the first day in Houston making our way through all the aisles to get information to source possible items to order. We took our tired feet and all the literature back to the hotel to sift through the possibilities. A daunting task that we relished. We considered emery boards, key holders, lanyards, pens, and many more that would be imprinted with our name, website, etc. As we considered the cost of each item, it occurred to us that any one of these items was going to cost of $1 per item.

The brilliant and punchy thought after many hours of consideration was to give each person $1 as they came in. We thought they would definitely remember us. In the morning, we decided on a plate of cookies and our outgoing personalities were our best bet.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

As a mother/daughter team, we have know each other quite a long time. Mary always had a sewing project underway and Jen was busy growing up. Around 2000, it was happenstance that Jen attended a week long retreat with Mary. The rest, as they say, is history. Jen’s first quilt, a self-portrait has become our logo.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CanQuilt.com
• Instagram: @cannizzarocreations
• Facebook: Cannizzaro Creations
• Youtube: Cannizzaro Creations

Image Credits
Mary Cannizzaro