Joining forces with The Fabric Shop Network, Inc. in support of Project 95 benefits our entire industry. Our goal? We want 95% of fabric shoppers to choose independents when shopping for their quilt and fabric needs-both in store and online.

In Celebration of Independents

No, that’s not a typo. We’re not talking about Independence Day, we’re talking about
celebrating you, the independents—brick-and-mortar and Web-based businesses that are members of The Fabric Shop Network, Inc.

That’s what we’ve been doing since this organization was founded in 1997 —celebrating and supporting independent fabric businesses that offer consumers everything they need to encourage their passion for fabric, sewing, and quilting.

Now, more than ever, it’s important to tout the business and financial contributions you bring to your communities and to encourage fabric shoppers to support those efforts with purchases at independent stores and websites, worldwide.

To help you promote the quality products and services that you offer as an independent retailer, we’ve developed a special campaign. It’s one you can use at the grassroots level, to encourage fabric shoppers to look for and choose independent retailers as their exclusive source for fabric and related products, books, patterns, tools, and other resources.

Fabric Shoppers Unite

Fabric Shoppers Unite—Shop Independents is aimed at directing more consumers to your doorstep or Web portal. Money spent with independents in your locale and elsewhere helps ensure that the independent fabric-retailing community worldwide will thrive. In the members-only section on the FabShop website, you’ll find a PDF for a flyer you can use to encourage your customers to shop with independent retailers. We’re asking you to join forces with other members to educate your customers about the importance of shopping and spending with independent retailers in brick-and-mortar stores, as well with online independents. We’re encouraging the same spirit of colleague cooperation that many of you engage in when participating with other shops in local or statewide shop hops.

Participation is Easy

Simply download the flyer, print it, and use it as a “hand-to-hand” bag stuffer. Give it to all of your customers as they complete a purchase, with a brief explanation and a sincere "thank-you" for shopping and spending at your store. We’ve also created a link for this flyer that you can upload to your website so that interested Web consumers can learn more about the importance of independent retailers.

The Fabric Shop Network, Inc. has espoused a philosophy of independent quilt and fabric shops cooperating as “colleagues, not competitors” for the past 12 years. The current state of economic affairs worldwide makes it even more imperative to become more proactive in supporting each other’s efforts. This campaign is designed to encourage you and your independent colleagues to take action today.

Our Goal is Simple

We want you to succeed. We want to help you direct more traffic to your shops and websites and to those of your FabShop colleagues. Wouldn’t it be great if 95 percent of shoppers made their fabric and related merchandise purchases at independent retailers?

We were inspired to create this new campaign by the work of Cinda Baxter. Her current initiative, The 3/50 Project, encourages shoppers to spend $50 each month split among three independent brick-and-mortar retailers in their communities. You can read more about it at www.the350project.net.

Our hats are off to Baxter’s initiative to promote local spending to keep the dollars circulating in local economies.

Project 95: Fabric Shoppers Unite—Shop Independents is a similar initiative but more product-specific because ours is a niche market, requiring a broad range of products with very specific design and aesthetic qualities. Most independent shops must find their own niche within this niche, thereby limiting their merchandise selection.

That’s why joining forces to promote shopping independents makes sense. It encourages consumers to shop independent fabric retailers nationwide, whether at locally owned storefronts or with independent online retailers and design studios worldwide. Thus, it helps ensure that consumers in the most remote corner of any state or country will be able to find precisely what they want from an independent retailer when their own hometown resources do not meet their needs.

In short, joining forces makes it possible for us to satisfy all customers by raising consumer consciousness and encouraging purchasing from independents.

We Issue This Challenge: Embrace this new campaign to educate your customers about the importance and the rewards of shopping with your independent member colleagues. You will be stronger and more profitable as a result!

Dowload the Fabric Shoppers Unite flyer here.

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