So I emailed Tracey and Natalie, the lovely sisters behind Pin It & Stitch, and told them what I needed. Without looking at their new and well laid out website once myself. They emailed me back what they thought best suited my needs. I said yes please.
They know what I like and understood what I needed this time round, and got the fabric pull perfect. And I have totally fallen in love with the navy one, with the rocket ships and solar system drawings on it. It is such an awesome shade of navy, just right. And anyone looking at making a boy quilt like I am then take a look at the prints in Rocket Age by Riley Blake.
And a boy quilt is what I am planning - minus the hot pink feathers, which may have snuck into the order just because I love them.
The point of this post is we are all busy people. The value of a fabric shop that provides good online service should never be underestimated. We all know some. We also know the shops that fail to see the immense need of a good website. (Does everyone else just refuse to buy from places that have crap websites that are impossible to negotiate your way around?) And the shops that take their time sending out orders, pack them haphazardly and - one of my huge pet hates - rip instead of cut your fabric order. I know, I know, ripping is traditional but you should have seen my face a couple of years ago when I received a whole FQ bundle where every piece had been ripped. I was so not impressed.
I buy 95% of my fabric from about a half dozen shops. I do so because of the selection and prices, but most of all I do it because of the service. So thank you, Tracey and Natalie, for saving me time that I couldn't spare and for getting it so right. Oh, and thanks for making me want to order the rest of your yardage of that navy solar print.
Susan
I refuse to buy online from places that don't send orders quickly ( and there are a few repeat and consistent offenders out there ) I don't see why I should wait a week for them to pack my order and send it out. It takes long enough to get here because I live on the other side of the world from where Im usually buying.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree that I'll go back to any online store that has great service and an easy to use website. Glad you got what you needed - Tracey and Natalie sound like they know exactly what customers want and need.
Gorgeous! I need that fabric and now I need to have a look at that shop too! In RL I most shops rip but to be honest, they do not sell FQ and I like it more than a wonky cut with the sissors. At leat the fabrics I got were all straight ripped and nicely folded.
ReplyDeleteI love Rocket Age! Haven't found a use for my limited stash yet, but I love it lol
ReplyDeleteYes, customer service is definitely king - I think you need to send this to Amazon...
These are lovely! Jxo
ReplyDeleteBut, in my defence, and probably other small quilt shops, I spend ALL of my time giving GREAT customer service and classes for all abilities, every day, from my bricks and mortar shop. I do not have the time to run a fantastic website as well. Long live the Quilt Shops! Use them, or lose them.
ReplyDeletewe only have 2 bricks and mortar quilt shops left within a 30 mile radius, and one general big fabric store. The big fabric store is family run and great, though not a huge choice of quilting. The two proper quilt shops are both terrible, nice staff just terrible fabrics
ReplyDeleteThat navy print is one of my favourites! I must get more before it disappears!
ReplyDeleteAmen about on line shopping. There are so many people who don't have access to brick and morter stores.....and so mane brick and morter stores that should step up their game.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you are making.
lovely choices : -) I totally agree - customer service and fabric being well cut and wrapped is what makes me go back to online fabric shops.
ReplyDeleteGreat fabrics - and the navy print is so fun for a boy! I think that great service will make or break any business - be it an online shop or a brick and mortar store. And I agree with Angie...if we don't support our local brick and mortar stores, they will disappear.
ReplyDeleteWonderful fabrics, I love the space fabric! With the closest proper quilt shop (with the best selection I have ever seen) more than 50 miles away, I often have to rely on the websites, but I will only use the well organised ones. An other "local" (almost 1 hour away) fabric shop must have staff that cut and staff that rip; when I bought several 0.25m pieces, some were down to 0.15m at one end, of course I only found out when I came home. Since then, if I have an urgent need for fabric (as you do...) I am watching them like a hawk when they are "cutting" my pieces!
ReplyDeleteThere is a very large online store that I would never use again after terrible service, I found them to be slow and rude when dealing with a problem. We do have a small shop not too far away and the staff are lovely but the fabric choice is terrible, they are both near to retirement age and the fabric is often dark, or large florals. Good service and easy to use websites make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteI have a bit of that navy print and yes I agree how important good service is and that we let people know when we have had it - so much more likely they will repeat it!
ReplyDeleteAmazing service and gorgeous fabric!
ReplyDeleteTotally with you on the stupid websites issue. So frustrating to navigate through I don't want to spend my money there.
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