Shop Small

This weekend we're celebrating Shop Small Saturday. All weekend - Friday through Sunday.

Yes, we have lots of special prices & sale tables, but it's much more than that.

Your dollars spent locally support individual business owners who pay salaries to employees who also spend in your community. 

A smaller percentage of sales profits stay in your community if you shop at larger corporate retailers.

Yes, our family sometimes shops at large chains, too. 

But we try to shop local first - compare & then make a choice. Many times the shorter lines & customer service far off set any other differences.

 

 

Thank you for choosing the Mermaid. 

We appreciate each of you who chooses to shop with us. 

Drop in this weekend & say hello.

We're open 10-6 Friday & Saturday, 1-5 on Sunday. Have some cookies, relax & enjoy.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hope you can spend your day doing what matters to you.

Hoffman of California

So we had the opportunity to visit Hoffman of California's headquarters last week. 

That was quite an experience!

Hoffman has been making gorgeous batiks & tropical prints, as well as cotton prints for quilting & clothing for 88 years.

You can read about the company's history here:

http://www.hoffmanfabrics.com/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=68

The warehouse has a gazillion surfboards hanging up high on every wall,

because the Hoffman family is filled with surfing legends. You can read about their 

surfing legacies here:

http://www.surfingwalkoffame.com/culture/Hoffman.html

http://www.surfersjournal.com/journal_entry/phillip-flippy-hoffman-1930-2010

We saw pallets stacked high with beautiful bolts ready to ship, & rolls ready to be wrapped on bolts.

 

 

 I loved watching these guys turn the rolls of luscious fabric into bolts ready for our shop!

These ladies were busily cutting & stapling the samples together.

They have a cutter just like (sort of) like our paper cutter at school to cut & pink the pieces before attaching them to a cardboard header.

The offices are even decorated with quilts & surfboards.

What a beautiful office to work in!

Each year, Hoffman creates a specific fabric line for their Hoffman Challenge, celebrating its 25th Anniversary. The Challenge started with 94 enthusiastic quilters, and now the number of entries has grown to more than 700.

Categories include pieced, appliqué and mixed technique, clothing (wearable art), accessories, 

and dolls - something for everyone! 

The top entries are grouped into traveling collections and visit quilt and fiber shows, seminars, quilt shops and quilt- and doll-makers guilds nationwide and in Canada.

Read more about the Challenge rules here:

http://www.hoffmanchallenge.com/

And of course, you can order your Challenge fabric, Anisa, from Calico Mermaid!

http://calicomermaid.enstore.com/browse/challenge,hoffman/1?menu=challenge,hoffman

Thank you, Hoffman Family, for your hospitality & so many years of beautiful fabric!

It's November!!!

Oh my goodness!

How did this happen? It's already November & I have absolutely NO shopping done!

This has to be a first for me. 

I really must get serious & start planning!

These are are a few of our gifty ideas - what projects do you have in the works for Christmas?