Spectacular Support!

One thing I love about doing custom work for people is it is always different and interesting.  I am continually learning in order to create each new heirloom that comes my way.  My goal is to exceed client's expectations and to treat their project as I would for someone I love. Luckily I have good support system to help educate me about aspects of the project with which I am unfamiliar.  Below are companies that have been good resources and teachers including 2 at the end that free up my time and have stellar customer service.

@Dharma Trading Company

  Dharma Trading company specializes in dying and removing dye from textiles. Their products and customer support are outstanding.

My sister's t-shirt quilt to celebrate 40 years of coaching

•  I made a quilt to celebrate her 40 years of coaching.  The front was her t-shirts from batik fabric the back was white patches on which I embroidered the names of all the women she coached.  Despite prewashing the fabric,  the color still ran  on the completed quilt.  Aghhhh!  I called Dharma Trading Company, where a real person answered the phone and quickly got me to  an expert who has a solution, two in fact!

 ​​​​​​​​​​Dharma Professional Textile Detergent a pre & post wash, which saved the quilt. Whoohoo!
Reyane - a color fixative for commercially dyed cotton fabric.  I now use this to prewash any batik I use. 

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undyed polyester

dyed polyester

I turned to them again when I was charged with dying polyester fabric.  I was only familiar with Ritz dye and my experience told me that it could not achieve a bold color on synthetic fibers. My new friend, Pat, at Dharma told me iDye Poly could!  Better yet, it comes in a water soluble packet so there is no mess! ​

@Quilter's Dream

Samples I received

Warm and Natural has always been my batting of choice but when I had a customer who wanted polyester batting I had to find another source.  When I called Quilter's Dream, a woman answer the phone who was very knowledgeable about their products and clearly wanted to help me.  This lovely lady sent  8.5" X 11" samples of all their batting which will allow me to send samples to many of my customers.  Fantastic!

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@Joann Fabrics

Joann's is a national chain for fabric and craft supplies.  It is not only a good source of supplies but the people who work and shop there tend to be knowledgeable about sewing and most like to engage in conversation about projects on which we are engaged.  This can lead to new ideas and knowledge and connections in the maker community.

Hometown Hardware Stores
@B&G Lumber Company ~@ JB Hostetter and Sons

I live near Harrisburg and Lancaster in Elizabethtown.  The nearest Joann's fabrics is 1/2 hour away. The local hardware stores are a great resource for webbing, velcro, D rings, plaster of Paris etc. but more importantly, they are great colaborators.  The men and women there can think out of the box with problem solving projects, like creating a work station that will fold away but be stable enough for my sewing machine.  I can always count on my buddies there to work with me to find a solution to most any problem.  They are a fabulous resource.

Friends and Family

I am so appreciative of all the help I receive from my friends and family.

Murry and Lenny after a gig

• Proof Reading, Website and Social Media Support - Mom, Sue and Amy 
• Business/Moral Support - Amy Holland Pottery
• Company Branding - Lee , Amy Holland & Taylor Muir 
• Head Cheerleaders - Mom,  Lee and Diane 
• Tech Team -  John Jr. and John III
• Quality Control - Lenny and Murry.

Murry, Lenny and I love Chewy, an online company for pet's needs.  They ship for free and carry my "boys" prescription food at price less than I can get locally.  When I ordered the wrong food, they replaced it and told me donate the food to a local shelter.  When I ordered the wrong food again, they did the same and gave me discount because of all the trouble I was having as well as placing the order for me.  Purrrfect!

Grove Collective sells environmentally friendly cleaning supplies through the mail.  I got my start through an introductory offer in which I received 6 products free when I spent $20 and signed up for their customer program.  Once I ordered, I canceled the program.  One product had  broken during shipping and they replaced the entire order!  A few weeks later another order arrived and when I called about it they said that although I canceled the program I had not canceled the auto ship so they told me to give it to a friend or donate.  I appreciate a company that saves me time, sells good products and has such great customer service.