Wal-Mart Out, Local Business In: 'Mrs. S' Opens Fabric Shop in Sylva
A series of fortunate events has a brought a retail fabric store to downtown Sylva.
Jerry Szlizewski is now the proud owner of Mrs. S Fabrics, located between Main Street Apartments and Vance Hardware on Main Street in Sylva. But she said she couldn't have guessed she'd be sitting behind the counter of her own fabric store even as few as six months ago.
Szlizewski, who came to Jackson County several years ago from Indiana, took an entrepreneurship class at Mountain BizWorks in Sylva, for which she was required to create a hypothetical business. She decided hers would be a fabric store because she has a lifelong love of needlework and hand-stitching. The class required her to draft a mock business plan and then perform research to see what it would take to put the plan into action, so she talked with several people about fabrics. Many said they were very disappointed that Wal-Mart recently stopped selling fabric, meaning they now must drive 10 to 40 miles from home to buy needed fabric.
Not long thereafter, two things happened: Szilzewski passed a "For Rent" sign on a door on Sylva's Main Street, and while doing research for her class she came across a fabric store going out of business looking to cut loose its inventory. When those factors came together, Szlizewski said, it was an easy decision for her to open her store about a month ago.
Mrs. S Fabrics includes dozens of quilt patterns, fabrics, pre-cut bundles of coordinating colors, threads, manuals, books and notions. Beautiful quilts hang on the walls of the clean, cozy shop.
Szlizewski renovated an outdoor patio next to the shop, painting and decorated it with new furniture and a sign that declares it to be a "Sit-N-Stitch" area. She hopes to use the patio for social events, classes and regular quilters' meetings.
The shop sports an attractive awning on the front, partially funded by a "façade grant" from the Downtown Sylva Association.
Regular shop hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. A class on appliqué technique will be held on Nov. 10 and 17 from 10 a.m. to noon.
For more information, call "Mrs. S" herself at 828-273-0344 or e-mail her at mrssfabrics@yahoo.com.
Jerry Szlizewski is now the proud owner of Mrs. S Fabrics, located between Main Street Apartments and Vance Hardware on Main Street in Sylva. But she said she couldn't have guessed she'd be sitting behind the counter of her own fabric store even as few as six months ago.Szlizewski, who came to Jackson County several years ago from Indiana, took an entrepreneurship class at Mountain BizWorks in Sylva, for which she was required to create a hypothetical business. She decided hers would be a fabric store because she has a lifelong love of needlework and hand-stitching. The class required her to draft a mock business plan and then perform research to see what it would take to put the plan into action, so she talked with several people about fabrics. Many said they were very disappointed that Wal-Mart recently stopped selling fabric, meaning they now must drive 10 to 40 miles from home to buy needed fabric.
Not long thereafter, two things happened: Szilzewski passed a "For Rent" sign on a door on Sylva's Main Street, and while doing research for her class she came across a fabric store going out of business looking to cut loose its inventory. When those factors came together, Szlizewski said, it was an easy decision for her to open her store about a month ago.
Mrs. S Fabrics includes dozens of quilt patterns, fabrics, pre-cut bundles of coordinating colors, threads, manuals, books and notions. Beautiful quilts hang on the walls of the clean, cozy shop.
Szlizewski renovated an outdoor patio next to the shop, painting and decorated it with new furniture and a sign that declares it to be a "Sit-N-Stitch" area. She hopes to use the patio for social events, classes and regular quilters' meetings.The shop sports an attractive awning on the front, partially funded by a "façade grant" from the Downtown Sylva Association.
Regular shop hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. A class on appliqué technique will be held on Nov. 10 and 17 from 10 a.m. to noon.
For more information, call "Mrs. S" herself at 828-273-0344 or e-mail her at mrssfabrics@yahoo.com.
Leave a comment