
Business Intel: Quilting store offers supplies, services, education | Business Local
Fork Mtn Quilting carries high-quality fabrics and all the other tools quilters need. The retail space also includes a classroom, where programs will be offered for all experience levels.
Fork Mtn Quilting, which opened this month in Rocky Mount, offers quilting supplies, services and classes.
After Melissa Cassell purchased a longarm quilting machine last year and began finishing customers’ completed quilt tops, she and husband Todd Cassell decided to open a retail store as well.
A new business specializing in all things quilting opened this month in Rocky Mount.
Fork Mtn Quilting offers high-quality fabrics and tools for quilting and sewing projects, and the space also has a classroom that will host programs for all experience levels, from beginner to advanced, said Todd Cassell, who launched the business with his wife, Melissa.
Fork Mtn Quilting also has a longarm quilting machine that can be used to finish customers’ completed quilt tops. Todd Cassell said their longarm machine is computerized, meaning many different, intricate patterns can be used to finish quilts.
Quilting has been a hobby of Melissa Cassell’s for much of her life, and she had many quilt tops she’d been unable to find the time to complete, Todd Cassell said. Last year she approached her husband about buying a longarm machine so she could do so. Because it’s a significant investment, he countered that she should look into offering the service to others out of their Franklin County home.
They purchased the longarm machine and Melissa Cassell’s business quickly took off, with customers sending her quilt tops from as far away as Oregon and Arizona, Todd Cassell said. Plus, she was able to finish her own quilting projects.
The next step was opening the retail store.