Material Girls Quilt Boutique is celebrating 20 years of business, having started with a small shop in the Town of La Plata just as it was rebuilding after the 2002 La Plata tornado. Owners Amy Henley and her mother, Robin Henley, have moved and expanded the business twice since its beginning, and the store continues to grow with a resurgence of interest in sewing partially fueled by a DIY movement and online platforms like Etsy, YouTube, and Pinterest. As the only quilt shop in Charles County, they serve customers locally and even worldwide.
A Hobby Becomes a Business
When Amy was in 8th grade, their family moved to La Plata where she also completed high school. After graduating from college, she worked in the restaurant industry in Baltimore but was looking for a hobby to fill her free time. She and her mom, Robin, took a cake decorating class, and while there, saw a sign for a sewing class. They learned they had to take a rotary cutter class first, so they signed up for it. (A rotary cutter is a cutting tool for fabric, with a sharp blade wheel that resembles a pizza cutter and is used instead of scissors.)
“I had no idea what a rotary cutter was,” said Amy, “but we learned how to use one and then took the quilting class. I really just wanted to learn how to sew clothes, and I told the ladies when I first started, I did not want to cut fabric up into tiny squares and sew it back together again.” However, they eventually talked her into the idea of making quilts, and she said, “So, open mouth, insert foot, now I make a living cutting fabric into tiny little squares and teach other people how to do it.”
She and her mom decided to open their own store after finding there weren’t any quilting shops in the area. This was just one year after the 2002 tornado that wiped out the La Plata downtown, so there weren’t many commercial building options. There was one small shop that specialized in hand embroidery, and the owner’s husband was being relocated, so Amy and Robin took over her lease. Amy remembers, “I gave my two weeks’ notice at my job and just kind of jumped in and did it.”
They had about 1500 square feet and wanted to see what would work. One year later, they outgrew that space and moved into their current location on Crain Highway. 10 years after that, they added more space, and 10 years after that they added even more space. They’re at about 8,000 square feet now, with plenty of space for fabric, notions, patterns, kits, and nearly everything a sewer might need, as well as space for in-person classes.
An Evolving Sewing Industry
In 20 years, the sewing industry has seen a lot of changes. Quilting has specifically evolved with the use of technology. “We have fabric now that is digitally printed versus screen printed,” said Amy, “We have a lot larger range of colors of fabric and detail. When I first started, rotary cutters were brand new. We now have machines that cut electronically for you. And, the patterns are a lot less traditional. We still have the traditional, but we have a modern take on traditional.”
She added, “Quilting has definitely shifted modern, which is nice. Everything is coming back. Cross stitch and hand embroidery are coming back. It’s amazing how things roll and we’ll see things turn around. Just like in fashion, it all comes back again.”
Expansion Online
In 2020, the COVID pandemic forced the shop to go online. “We didn’t have an online store at the time,” said Amy. “I just hadn’t had a chance to do it and was putting it off. COVID forced me to do it.” It was a chaotic time for the store, with only the two owners there in person. A lot of people wanted fabric for mask making, and machines came out of closets that hadn’t been sewn on for years. “We taught a lot of new people how to sew, and I learned a lot of things really quick,” said Amy. Since they didn’t have an online store, they worked with photographs. “We photographed every shelf, and they went up on the website. We also created a text line where everybody sent their orders by text.” When they were allowed to open, they booked appointments with only so many people at a time.
During COVID, all their sewing classes shifted to virtual, and Amy learned how to do a lot of things with a video camera. She now has a recording studio that they built this year where she films and records classes. They now have a mix of in-person and virtual classes for beginners to advanced sewers. View their classes calendar.
A growing online store, a BERNINA (a leading sewing and embroidery machine manufacturer) dealership, a YouTube channel, numerous weekly groups, and virtual and in-person clubs, all ensure there is truly something for everyone.
Giving Back to the Community
For 20 years, Material Girls has served their customers and community, offering a friendly environment to learn and expand their knowledge in a hobby that has gained popularity in recent years. They serve as a collection site for Project Linus, and they collect pillowcases and donate fabric for Ryan’s Case for Smiles, a national organization that gives pillowcases to children in the hospital.
“Hopefully we’re here another 20 or 30 years,” said Amy. “Sewing is a great skill to have and a lot of fun. We have a great community, and I really think a lot of our customers count on this community for friendship and active minds.” Learn more about Material Girls at https://www.materialgirlsquilt.com.
