Simply THE best quilt shop around!
I've been to The Bolt a few times and love it. It's my favorite LQS. The fabric selection is beautiful and the prices are really fair and reasonable. The owner greets me every time I walk in, and is super nice and knowledgeable.
My friends and I were also at the grand opening of this store and our experience was fantastic. The owner had planned for a big crowd so set up a second cutting table downstairs and brought in extra help. Her husband kept running bolts up and down the stairs for people. It was a really festive atmosphere. There were so many people there that the shopping center parking lot was full and people were waiting for spaces. There were really good gift with purchases. Even Denyse was happily cutting fabric at one point! I don't think anyone could have anticipated a grand opening like that. And I'm really happy for them.
There was a lady in the shop that day who kept pulling bolts off the shelves and hogging them. She refused to wait in line like the rest of us for her turn, she just kept demanding that she be taken care of right away, and was rude. She acted like she was the only customer. The owner did a great job of balancing this lady's demands with the rest of her customers. I think the 1-star review was written by her. It certainly wasn't the right day for that lady to do that kind of shopping, and I think most everybody else knew that.
It shows the reviewer's lack of knowledge that they didn't know the book Denyse S. was signing was her most recent one that tied into the fantastic exhibit The Bolt had. Who cares if it's a couple of years old? A classic is a classic. The 1-star reviewer also forgot to mention that The Bolt sells Denyse's fabric by the yard and in precuts so having one box of her fabrics for $200 was no big deal. Besides, it's actually a pretty smart business move because how many people can actually drop $200 just like that?
The reviewer also talks about "price-gouging" but she obviously doesn't know fabrics, and she wrote a lot of mis-information. The Bolt sells Kona and Denyse's solid fabrics for under $8 a yard. That's a great price for solids. All of their fabrics, like I said before, are beautiful, and really well-priced. People who like cotton and steel know that it comes from California so of course it's more money here because of shipping but I think the 13.49 fabric (if it's that price) the reviewer mentioned is either the metallic or the lawn specialty fabric and she should've said that. Shopping for fabric on the internet is hard and I think it's great that a shop like The Bolt is around for quilters like myself.
As for the raffle-I can't imagine where the reviewer got the idea that it was going to be held after the ribbon cutting ceremony because that was at lunchtime. The owner had collected, I think, around 20 raffle prizes from different companies and was going to pull the winning tickets after closing. This way, anyone who came to the store that day had a chance to win, and she's really fair about things like that.
Oh, and it's pretty well known that this shop doesn't have a public restroom. Don't really know why some think a quilt shop should have one, but this one doesn't because it's a small shop, and it's certainly not a big deal. But lol for the reviewer's imagination about the shouting match/rolling eyes over the restroom because that simply didn't happen.
I think it's awful that this 1-star reviewer walked out without paying for her fabrics after she wasted everyone's time. I don't understand why she'd flaunt something like that. She should be embarrassed. But I saw the owner handle the entire situation with patience and class.
And that's what The Bolt Quilt Shop is-a classy, friendly shop. Check it out. You'll be glad you did. read more