winning gold...

this is no april fool's joke. it just so happened that an advertising salesman walked in just as sari and sarah were about to draw the winners. he asked what they were drawing for and i replied...


"gold." how else would one describe the opportunity to tour moda fabrics? here's hoping your box is holding the winning ticket...drum roll please...

and the winners are...

Roxana Moore

Ronda Searl

Marlene Gambatese

Beryl Younkin

Stephanie Greene

Please come into the shop to claim your box of candy bars, moda style. winners will select their own box from our stock of five boxes on a first arrive, first select, basis. JEllen's house of fabric assumes no responsibility for the contents of each box or for any part of your trip should you be the winner of the grand prize.

in the news...

it is such a great feeling to be able to share my love of fabric, while at the same time furthering our mission and letting others know how important it is to think outside the box when it comes to hiring.

the sun newspaper ran a story today telling of a job fair i participated in. sitting next to me is audrey, a great customer and friend who has also worked tirelessly throughout her career to support the efforts of hiring young adults with developmental disabilities. we are interviewing brittany, a young woman who i have had the pleasure of knowing almost as long as i have known sarah, as their birthdays are just nine days apart. we interviewed several students that day and would have hired nearly all of them, especially the young man who asked us what the benefit would be to working in our store. audrey quickly replied, "you get to play with this wonderful fabric all day" to which he enthusiastically replied, "awesome!!!" and that's exactly how we feel every day. click here to read the entire article.

boxes, boxes, boxes...

it is super helpful when boxes arrive on the day sari and sarah are working.

sari gets busy unpacking...

while sarah does the shelving. any idea what they are unloading? a charm pack of the newest collection is waiting for the first person to guess correctly.

four is better than two...

i had an idea today. so i asked sari if she would like to help me with a sewing project. she agreed.

and we learned together that four hands...

...can make many halloween treat bags!!! next task...stuffing the treat bags with goodies:)

bad sun

the longer we're in business, the more often i'm asked questions about what i have our workers do. more specifically, our employees with autism and down syndrome. i'm not sure if it is simple curiosity or if they are questioning if they really can do the work. i hope one day every customer has the chance to personally observe how hard they work.

i assure you i have plenty to keep them busy. one of the most often heard comments when a new costumer walks into our store is this, "ohhhh...it is so bright in here. i love the windows and the great lighting."

yes the windows are wonderful. yet the western facing windows allow the hot afternoon sun to touch our fabric. and that is not so good. so once a week we rotate stock. that is one of sari's tasks. she pulls off the top shelf fabric and replaces it with the fabric previously on the bottom shelf.

this past week we have been very blessed with beautiful sunshine. as our cleveland followers know, that is not something we take for granted. as sari was diligently working on her task, i overheard her look out the window and say, "bad sun. bad sun to our fabric." and that my friends, made my day.

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p.s. the fabric...kate spain's...12 days of christmas...we've already sold out of two bolts, so hurry in to get the best selection

developing friendships...

one of the best experiences of our first few weeks is watching friendships blossom. we are meeting such wonderful people. we are watching women who have not seen each other for some time meet again. we are observing quilters sharing stories with each other. we are introducing folks who do not know each other yet share a common bond.

and we have an awesome friendship developing amongst our workers. today both sarah and sari were able to work together in the store.

they both started on the floor...literally.

sari was busy unloading many boxes of new fabric...

while sarah was creating a display of charm packs. they were working hard. and then they got to talking...

...about a new show on the disney channel. they both love...i mean LOVE...the disney channel. camp rock and the jonas brothers. it doesn't get any better for them. their kind of friday night. they just kept talking about it. adding commentary here and there. these two gals had me in stitches...not the sewing kind...the i can't stop laughing you girls are so funny, kind.

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truthfully, neither one has the best communication skills. the down syndrome and the autism are likely to blame. yet they so understand each other. neither really cares that most twenty something girls are no longer interested in the disney channel or camp rock or the jonas brothers. yet somehow that innocence is what made the afternoon all the more enjoyable. watching the two. listening to their conversation. observing a developing friendship that is so right for them. i especially love it is happening amongst the fabric on a rainy friday afternoon.