Greetings and welcome to our store!

Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Patrick and Dawn Farrier - husband and wife as well as sole proprietors of The Creation Station Fabric and Quilt Shop.

Dawn began this venture in the fall of 1999. Patrick's "real job" then had relocated us from our lives in Orange County to our present area, the Santa Ynez Valley. Although beautiful and scenic it was a far cry from Dawn's city upbringing and "Leave-it-to-Beaver" family.

Patrick loved his new job and its challenges but Dawn was lonely and sought human contact and friendship -- beyond the two of us! She found it with a local group of quilters.

At that time Dawn was not a quilter herself but she was and is an avid and experienced seamstress. There was nothing she wouldn't tackle or build. With our move came our first house and Dawn dug in with many power tools - remodeling by tearing out walls, rebuilding closets, painting and finishing furniture. Her thought when she met her new quilting friends was, "Quilting can't be that hard. It's like building a cabinet with fabric instead of wood!"

Before long she was off and running …or should I say, sewing?

She missed her previous home, her mom and dad and the ease of shopping several fabric stores within a short distance from our apartment. While stitching and brainstorming with her few new friends they planted the seed that started this whole mess. …uh…I mean, creatively successful business!

Dawn had contacts in the fabric world from her previous business "The Creation Station - Creative Balloon Clothing and Accessories."

The brainstorm session with her friends yielded a plan to buy end-of-season and discontinued, first-quality fabric and sell it to local sewers and quilters. Since Dawn didn't have a store and because her real motive was to meet new people, she planned on selling the fabric from our home. She imagined something like a plastic-ware party but in this case the product would be fabric.

There wouldn't be enough room to cut the fabric in our home while people waited so she opted to cut the fabric prior to her sale day. She had learned that quilters were used to buying fat-quarters but with her sewing background she never had much use for fat-quarters so she decided she would cut the fabric into two sizes - ½ yard and 1 yard cuts. She thought sewers might tag along with their quilting friends if the sizes were larger.

Since she was only focusing on end-of-season and discontinued fabric, she was able to offer the fabric at $4 per yard then (Don't get too excited - that is NOT the price now). She planned it all to happen from 9 - 9 on the first Wednesday of the month. She neatly sorted all of the fabric by color and arranged in clean plastic tubs in our front living room.

Dawn's motivation wasn't money (despite Patrick's protests); it was to provide the prospect of meeting new people and making new friends. She was sure her plan would be a hit!

It was exactly as she expected. Her "Fabric Open House" quickly became a monthly event. Ladies (and some gentlemen) would mark their calendars, bring cookies, sit, and chat and pick out some fabric for their stash. Each month Dawn would "dog ear" the money she earned to put toward home improvement projects. These included a new kitchen sink, new carpet and a love seat.

The ladies enjoyed being able to see exactly what their "contribution" was used toward and sometimes they came back just to see the progress that occurred from month to month!

Dawn was thrilled with her success and I was happy she was making new friends and proud of her accomplishment. She was no longer "alone" and the friendships made then have enhanced both of our lives.

The word of her monthly event spread quickly and apparently, very far! Each month carloads of quilters would drive to Buellton. The occupants were usually waiting on our porch for our door to open at 9. The original "sales floor" proved much too small and eventually included the kitchen, dining area, hallway as well as the living room.

Individual quilters delivered the news of her "Fabric Open House" to their guilds. The guilds began to invite Dawn to vend at their upcoming quilt shows and Dawn's dad, Richard, (He prefers it if you just call him "Dad."), was quick to offer his help as a "roadie."

With the increased traffic at the house and the increased volume of shows, it was clear that the original fabric inspired social venture was now a "real business" in itself. It was then that Dawn began chanting her mantra of, "If I build it, they will come!" A mantra Patrick was reluctant to chant along with her despite his love for the movie she borrowed it from - "Field of Dreams."

It would be good to point out that Dawn is fearless when it comes to dreaming up ideas and believing in them. She doesn't think she is fearless but it's an admirable quality.

She was persistent and her own little army-of-one. It wasn't an army Patrick wanted to join - at first. After all, he had a full time job; he didn't want to run a business in his "spare" time.

In the summer of 2001 a nearby retail space was available and the rent was right. We knew Dawn had enough business to cover the monthly lease so it was a matter of making it really happen. She persisted with her plan and eventually wore Patrick down. She signed a lease for a space directly across the highway from our housing tract.

Dawn was beaming with pride and we began the work of turning the empty suite into the shop of her dreams. This was in late July 2001 and all seemed to be falling into place - almost. Four days after Dawn signed her lease and 4 weeks before we would open our shop, Patrick was released from the medical management job that brought them to Santa Barbara County in the first place.

Patrick wasn't too panicked and assumed that his 12+ years of experience and contacts would serve him well and that he would find some form of gainful employment through another company or perhaps as a consultant. Dawn was completely unfazed at his unfortunate news. She put a paint brush in his hand and said, "Here. I think the shop bathroom should be sky-blue."

Patrick spent each morning reading job notices in local newspapers and on internet sites, submitting resumes and making phone calls to previous co-workers, hoping that someone would need his skills and hire him at a wage comparable to what he previously earned. The job market was lean during that time and prospects thinned after the terrorist attacks in September.

Dawn moved forward though and opened the shop on August 31, planning the grand opening over Labor Day weekend. Previous customers came to shop as well as new folks. Those that came within the first two weeks were the last to benefit from our $4/yard price. There were other costs besides rent and we needed to make up for the income that I wasn't receiving. So, in October 2005 we had to raise our fabric price to $5 per yard. Nearly five years later we still maintain the same price - our attempt to continue to pass along a good value to our customers.

Patrick still wasn't convinced that they could stay afloat through the store alone so he continued to look for work in medical management. It was six months after his lay-off that he began working for a small pharmaceutical firm in Carpinteria, CA. He was excited about the work challenge and the opportunity to invest his talent and money in a young company. So while Dawn worked at the store, he went off to work each day in Carpinteria - 56 miles away.

Our first shop location was 1000 square feet (8 times the size of our living room) and was quickly proving to be too small. Every day brought new and repeat customers. Dawn was worried that her location wasn't large enough to support what she envisioned for the business. She wanted The Creation Station to grow and for our customers to feel comfortable while they shopped -- she needed more room.

Coincidence brought an opportunity that she couldn't pass up in the form of another vacant suite. It wasn't in the same building but it was in the same complex and would offer more retail space and easier parking.

Patrick tried to protest, suggesting she work within the space she had but he soon admitted that there was logic in what she wanted to attempt. The Creation Station originally didn't carry patterns, notions, gifts or books. Only fabric. There wasn't room. Attempting classes was a nightmare. It was just too crowded. A larger space would allow more items, provide storage room and enough space to even have a classroom.

Patrick was feeling confident in his new job and thought things were going well. So with big plans Dawn signed a long-term lease for a new store location that would offer her more than twice the size of the house. She planned to move in during February.

Patrick was still going off to work each day, convinced he was sitting pretty. He was sitting on something but it wasn't pretty. At the end of his 60-day probation period he was handed a surprise in the form of a final paycheck. No explanation was offered and with the amount of time and effort he was pouring into the start-up company, he took the departure very personally.

He phoned Dawn and choked out the words to tell her of the latest news. She was sympathetic but quickly responded by telling him that he "better hurry home so you can help me cut fabric to get ready for the Glendale Quilt Show!"

While he had been away, her little venture had fleshed itself out into a full-time business that demanded more help -- trained and skilled help. Over the next few days, while helping her cut fabric a crossroads was reached - She needed full-time help and he needed full-time work. He agreed that he would no longer look for work in healthcare. His entry into the world of fabric and quilting was official and just beginning!

We're happy to say that we continue to work together. We think we're a more cohesive team than we were when we began. We like to say that Dawn is the brain and Patrick is the brawn but the truth is nearly opposite. Dawn is the power-tool-wielding dreamer that got us here and Patrick passes on his knowledge of retail, management and finance and customer service whenever he can.

The initial friendships that Dawn made years ago when she began selling fabric, sitting on the loveseat in our living room, remain true today. Many of those first friends have their own key to the shop in case they need an "emergency" spool of thread at 2 am to finish their quilt top. We won't mention their names here but they know who they are. We couldn't be who or where we are without them. Their assistance was and is indispensable.

We also wouldn't be where we are as a business nor as people without you, our customers. Your support, both financial and emotional, has allowed us to create this unique shopping adventure and we're grateful that you want to be a part of the "it" that is "us."

We hope to never let you down and that you'll stay along for the journey.

Best Stitches,

Patrick and Dawn Farrier

The Creation Station Fabric and Quilt Shop