Wow. I've been hunting on the internet for some fabric to recover an antique loveseat I picked up…read morecheap on Craig's List. I've found pretty much nothing, and find it really difficult to search sometimes, because I have literally no anchor for the design. We currently rent, plan on buying in the next few years, and even if I were planning on matching the current neutral-toned living room, the loveseat's the first piece to be done, so it's totally wide open. I was thinking of a burgundy color, and was thinking of ultrasuede because it's supposed to be very easy to care for. But I basically have a blank slate, which as Amanda at George's says is "both a blessing and a curse".
We went in on a Saturday at a little before noon. I went with my mother and my incredibly well-behaved baby, who was quite happy to play peek a boo with a scrap of cloth Amanda cut for us as something to walk around and use to match fabrics.
I went because in annoyance with online fabric warehouses I did a search for warehouses in MA, and found a list somewhere of ALL the non-chain fabric stores in MA. I noticed George's was in Lowell and figured a 10 min drive was worth it. Their website advertised 30% off all remnants, so I went hoping to score the 9-10 yards I need for the loveseat, or at least get some ideas.
There was another adult daughter-mother team in there and Amanda was working alone. She handed me a couple of books of microsuede so I could look through them. We then went wandering around looking at the rest of the fabric, which is laid out in coordinating rows.
The selection of in-stock stuff is small, but there is a HUGE variety of fabric that can be ordered.
The remnants were wild in their variety. We ended up with several small scraps that were only $1/each (plus 30% off, so $0.70/ea) to make some soft stacking blocks for my baby and her little cousins. We also ended up with a few remnants to do a small chair in the baby's room and a duvet cover for her bed.
I found a remnant of a GORGEOUS print. I wouldn't do a piece of furniture in it because it's too light, and therefore terrible for kids and pets, but it makes great accent pillows, or I'd put it as wall paper on a single wall or something. It was inspiring. Amanda found some beautiful fabric they had in stock that matched and of course the suede books yielded several possibilities for coordinating pieces.
I will end up spending more at George's than I would have if I'd been able to find something online, but honestly, given the amount of time I've spent on various websites staring at hundreds of fabrics, wondering whether or not "good for upholstery" actually meant what it says (it doesn't), wondering if my screen resolution was accurate in its color displays (it's not), and given that the prices at George's are not the highest I've been quoted from other fabric sources and upholsterers I've talked to.
I also have to say that Amanda was SUPER helpful, knowledgeable and extremely nice. I've read a lot of reviews of other fabric stores and upholsterers and read about how unfriendly and unhelpful people are in them. If I didn't have an upholsterer already I'd absolutely be bringing my stuff to George's, but I'll be buying fabric from them for sure, and I would recommend them, and specifically Amanda, to anybody.