Back Porch Fabrics
Store name: Back Porch Fabrics
Store owner: Gail Abeloe
Address and phone number: 157 Grand Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950; (831) 375-4453
Region of the country: California West Pacific
Years in business: 23
Website: http://www.backporchfabrics.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Back-Porch-Fabric
Back Porch Fabrics is located in an old warehouse which has been renovated and updated for retail use. The warm, pine flooring, rough textured walls and high ceilings with massive support beams 
provide a wonderful backdrop for the colorful fabrics and quilts that fill the store. It is a full-service quilt store located on the Monterey Peninsula of central California. The shop has been in Quilt Sampler, 2003 and an Encore Shop, 2011.
How has your store evolved since your first day?
We are celebrating 23 years in business. Lots of changes have occurred in the quilting industry over time, however, we are still playing with fabric and having lots of fun. We sell inspiration by the yard! Running a quilt shop is like having a party every day but you don’t know who will be coming in and what they will bring to show us.
What are the store successes you’re most proud of?
My favorite part of owing a quilt shop is the constant new ideas for what can be done with fabric. I enjoy attending Quilt Market twice a year. I’m always looking for creative ways to sew with fabric and I usually find lots of books and patterns at Quilt Market. We stock and sell over 400 book titles.
How have you created a quilting community through your store?
Since we are located on the Monterey Peninsula in California between Monterey and Pebble Beach/Carmel, we get lots of quilters from all over the world. Our local quilters are very loyal customers and put on a quilt show each year two blocks from our shop. I always do a special on-going demonstration at our shop for customers attending the quilt show.
The Empty Spools Seminars are held at Asilomar, one mile from our shop. We run a shuttle bus after classes to our shop. Each of the five sessions has over 150 happy quilters who spend the entire week with one teacher. I have learned a lot about choosing fabric to sell from the wonderful teachers and their students at Empty Spools. In 2014, I got to be Artist in Residence and spent the whole week creating a different quilt top each day from left-overs from different projects.
I have also attended Empty Spools many times. Last year I took Kathy Doughty’s 60-degree shape class exploring triangles, diamonds and hexagons.
How do you manage classes and teachers?
Twelve super employees work part-time at Back Porch Fabrics. Some of them also teach classes in addition to four local teachers. Our local quilt guild brings in national teachers.
Every month, Back Porch Fabric has a demo day. There is a Free quilt pattern and the demo shoes how to sew the pattern. There are two sessions and door prizes at both sessions, as well as show and tell. Customers just show up and enjoy the fun! When they attend four demos and bring back three projects made with Back Porch fabrics, they earn a gift certificate for a free class!
Download the Saturday Demo information HERE!
Can you explain what your Quilt Gallery is about?
Our classroom also serves as a Quilt Gallery. We always have a quilt show on display. We usually feature talented local artists, and occasionally feature quilters with a national reputation. The large walls and high ceilings in our gallery accommodate even the largest quilts. We do six shows a year. Usually the show is local quilters, but we have also had several shows of work by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran. Del Thomas (who owns many of Ruth B. McDowell’s quilts) will be showing quilts from her Contemporary Quilt Collection again this year. We just hung the quilt show. Our website hows current and future shows.
Thank you to our Open for Business sponsor
QT Fabrics for making this feature possible.
