The
Fabric Gallery in
Williamston, MI, is a unique kind of store. So unique, says owner Mesee Wilson, that there are less than 100 shops of its kind in the entire country.
Wilson owns the elite, niche business that focuses on selling imported and domestic silk, wool, and cotton fabrics, trims and thousands of buttons. She's been attracting clients from all over the world for years; recent shipments included destinations such as Canada, Ireland and even New Zealand.
And the Fabric Gallery is taking advantage of the globally connected, Web-based world to coordinate with other related businesses, boost sales and build on specialized markets.
Wilson came to the Lansing area 35 years ago, after meeting her husband in college at
Oregon State University. A hydrologist by trade, he found work with the
State of Michigan and the two relocated to Williamston. Wilson opened the Fabric Gallery in 1982.
“I had trouble finding interesting, quality fabrics, so I decided to open my own store,” says Wilson.
Now, after 26 years, the store is an elite business in a niche market, “Because we have such specialty goods, and there aren’t many stores that carry these types of things anymore, people come from 100, 150 miles.”
Adapting to a Global MarketAs with any business in Michigan, Mesee has had to actively seek out creative ways to find new niches and adapt to the challenging aspects of a global economy.
An obvious change is doing a lot more phone consultation and shipping, instead of working with all her customers face-to-face. There’s also a higher focus on the hand-made, high-quality nature of the products and services Wilson offers.
Regardless of whether they are wearing or selling their creations, “most products that customers make are more high-end,” says Mesee. “And the only way to make money making clothes now is to make really high end stuff. Quality goods speak for themselves.”
Mesee is also a founding member of
Fashion Fabric Merchandising Association (FFMA), a group of 28 fabric business owners that work collaboratively. While the association advertises together and maintains a website the real benefit is the the network, a hallmark of the globalized “flat” world of business today.
Started when a fabric vendor brought the original eight members together for lunch at a trade show about a decade ago, the association works to keep the group small and nurture additional buying power with the vendors, often working together to help each other out with small-sized orders.
They also trade tips on products, share advertising strategies and experiences, and help ensure that clients are aware of each others’ businesses by recommending one another’s stores when their hometown clients travel out of town.
Networked groups such as the FFMA work to secure the future of the sewing industry, stimulating greater interest and revitalizing the once ubiquitous art.
The Fabric Gallery has also found success in the niche market of ecclesiastical fabrics—styles of cloth made especially for church use, like Christian-themed trim and adornments.
Apparently these fabrics and trims are harder to find than you might think. After turning away one too many customers seeking ecclesiastical products, Wilson embarked on a five-year search before finding a set of European suppliers that could fill the need.
“There are people all over the world who want (these materials),” she says. “But it is a small number of people compared to those who want to make a dress.”
In the process, she formed a specialized niche for herself, and adapted her online business model to fit the unique opportunity. Ecclesiastical materials are the only products she sells directly on the Web site, which has helped expand her mail order audience and keep in touch with her international audience.
“The people that come in are what really make it fascinating,” she says. “Customers meet and network in the store. And people bring stuff back in to show us what they’ve made. They want to share [and] show the quality.”
A Quiet RevolutionThe home sewing industry has experienced something of a renaissance in recent years, but Wilson bemoans the fact that sewing has become something of a specialized skill.
“It’s not being taught in the public schools anymore, and there are not enough mothers and grandmothers sharing the skill with the children,” she says.
Despite this, a quiet revolution of sorts is taking place in the home sewing industry. New products and equipment like computerized sewing machines, sergers and rotary cutters allow home sewers to perform procedures that used to be available only in an industrial setting.
Walking through Wilson's store can be a bit overwhelming to the novice, as you are surrounded by hundreds of bolts of cloth spanning the spectrum of the rainbow and displaying a near endless variety of texture and design. New customers often scan the store with deer-in-the-headlights stares as they try to figure out where to begin.
Luckily for them, they couldn’t ask for better help than Mesee and her employees.
“Every time the door opens up,” says Wilson. “There’s another person with a new problem that needs a solution.”
The company attracts a very diverse client base. Physicians, stay-at-home moms, young professionals and retirees all stop by her shop. Most clients are well-educated and active in their community, which is demonstrated by the wide variety of activities for which some of them are building costumes. Wilson has worked with people involved in horse shows, ice skating, gymnastics, dance and theater.
New fabrics are also helping to re-popularize home sewing. Among the many bolts of silk, wool and cotton fabrics, the Fabric Gallery also has newer fabrics made from renewable sources such as bamboo and seaweed.
The Internet and changing television trends have also given the industry a boost. TV shows such as
Project Runway have expanded the public’s consciousness of home sewing, breaking down stereotypes about sewing.
“I do like the retail part of it; trying to see if you can figure out what the public is interested in, and to get the right product to try to keep the business as viable as possible,” says Wilson.
“It’s a game,” she says. “Can you make money with it and still solve all these people’s wants and desires with the product they want? And I find that a lot of fun.”
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Jeff Shoup is a guy who really knows how to sew on a button.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Miles of fabrics, dozens of threads, zippers and accessories in Mesee Wilson's Fabric Gallery
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie