Sweet Home Quilt Co., a quilt shop in Olde Town Conyers, has been chosen as one of the 10 featured shops across the U.S. and Canada for the Fall 2012 issue of Quilt Sampler magazine, published by Better Homes and Gardens.
"This is a major milestone for Sweet Home Quilt Co.," said president and CEO Melisa Morrison. "[Sweet Home Quilt Co.] has been open seven years in Olde Town Conyers."
Quilt Sampler magazine of Better Homes and Gardens is published twice a year and has been profiling North America's top quilt shops for the past 15 years. Sweet Home Quilt Co. was chosen along with nine other shops out of nearly 3,000 quilt shops for a multi-page profile in the Fall 2012 issue.
Employees of each quilt shop also designed an original quilt for the magazine, and the full-sized pattern "Eye Candy" design submitted from Sweet Home Quilt Co. is also featured in the issue available now.
"One of the requirements for shops featured in Quilt Sampler is to design an original quilt project, which is then included as part of the shop's feature article in the magazine," Morrison said. "I designed our ‘Eye Candy' project to reflect the traditional nature of Sweet Home Quilt Co., using a traditional block pattern and a Civil War reproduction fabric print.
"Sweet Home Quilt Co. is well known for our stock of traditional fabrics, including a wide selection of Civil War and 1930s reproduction fabrics so the quilt fits our traditional mold."
Sweet Home Quilt Co., located at 1004 Green Street in Olde Town Conyers, was actually the product of a chance encounter and the economic downturn as Morrison was one of the many employees let go at her corporate job.
"I have been quilting more than 25 years and ended a 20-year career in human resources due to a corporate downsizing in 2005," Morrison said. "A chance encounter with a fabric representative planted the idea of opening a quilt shop in my mind, and after researching the idea, I decided that there was a need in the area for a full-service quilt shop and the time was right for me to make a career change.
"I opened Sweet Home Quilt Co. in 2005 in our current location, and we added online shopping in 2009."
Morrison runs Sweet Home Quilt Co. with her husband and CFO Mike, along with three other employees on staff.
"Mike is my husband and business partner and is also a frequent fixture in the shop greeting and helping customers," Morrison said. "Sweet Home Quilt Co. has three employees along with a group of class instructors and sample makers which changes depending on the needs of the business."
Sweet Home Quilt Co. also offers a wide range of classes and kits are the shop's best selling item. In addition, Sweet Home Quilt Co. hosts a four-day retreat twice a year at Charlie Elliot Conference Center in Mansfield.
For more information, visit sweethomequiltco.com or contact Melisa Morrison at mmorrison@sweethomequiltco.com or (678) 413-1611.
