So – you can’t find commercial real estate to fit your store, but zoning says a house is acceptable. Meet Connie Shaw, and her shop, Connie’s Collectibles & Quilt Shop. Started nine and a half years ago as half collectibles and half quilt shop, the quilting now takes all but one room. Does that sound familiar to anyone? The shop is about seven miles from Route 22 in central Pennsylvania, and about 15 miles east of Interstate 99.
If you consider it logically, a ranch home makes a wonderful shop space. Need a classroom? That would be the garage, with some walls and ceilings added. Check out the nice big tables and the samples on the walls. I had to think a bit before I realized it was originally the garage, and the space can be easily closed off so classes are not interrupted. There is Open Sew time on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – please call the shop for times. Bring your machine and your current project.
Of course, you need a cutting table. Why not the kitchen counter? Nice lighting above, big open space, and a very comfortable work height – perfect! There is also fabric stored in here, and samples for inspiration. With over 3,000 bolts on hand, every room has something to tempt you.
Bolts of fabric stored in the dining room and bedrooms – note the China Closet full of remnants, and the patterns hung along side of the fabrics. There is also a rack of patterns. There are some wonderful prints here, as well as blenders and batiks.
The bathroom houses all of the panels, cleverly stored on shelves that cover the bathtub. Moving into the family room, we find the batiks – and a HandiQuilter Long Arm system. You can rent time on this system, or buy one of your own here. Connie’s Collectibles is a HandiQuilter Dealer, so check out the machines while you are in the shop.
There is one bedroom dedicated to collectibles, like these antique cameras and cases. If you are a collector of antiques, plan to spend some time in this room. The fabric is taking over, but this room is fighting back! I spent 20 minutes just looking through things in here, and I’m not an antique collector, nor do I know much about them, but some of the items were really fascinating! I haven’t had a Brownie Starflash Camera since I was about seven years old – and we will not discuss how long ago that was…
Look up in the family room, and you will find these two old gals that have been retired, but I suspect they could be ready to sew very quickly. Some of these older machines are real workhorses, with metal gears instead of plastic, so they just keep on running.
There are kits and Mystery Bags available, too. I picked up a grab bag for a very reasonable prince and ended up with a yard of fabric that is a great blender. Charm packs and jelly rolls are here as well. The shop hosts bus trips to shows in Lancaster and Hershey. Please call if you are interested in participating i these events.
Plan to be here for 30 to 45 minutes, longer if you are want to look though the antique room.
| Connie’s Collectibles & Quilt Shop | Hours: Wed- Sat 10-5 Sun 12-5 Closed Mon-Tue |
| 469 Foot of Ten Road | Phone: 814-695-2786 |
| Duncanville, PA 16635 | Email: Connies.Collectibles @ymall.com |
| conniescollectiblesandquilting.weebly.com | Mail Order – Call FabricOnline: No |
Stop back on Friday to see where the North American Shop Hop is visiting next!