Online shopping is ready

Thanks for all the suggestions and requests for online shopping.  All put to good use on our new e-commerce site.  Of course this will be a work in progress, so keep checking back and please keep making requests for what you want to buy online, in case you can't come to our "live" store.

NEW THIS WEEK

...and here's a classic...a small version of a tartan to get you started on Fall sewing:

This one is a lightweight wool woven with just a touch of lycra for great comfort and fit!

The Parisian fashion week showed us classic tartans made up in the iconic Parisian jacket we all know and love.  You can make it subtle or bold!

September is National Sewing Month...happy sewing!

Most helpful comments on upcoming new e-commerce site

Thanks for all the knowledgeable comments from those of you who keep up with us and/or are looking for us to expand our online presence.  Since I was living "abroad" in Blacksburg for a few months and then spent the summer setting up our warehouse, moving our household, and a few other long-postponed projects, my goal was to start working on the new site by Sept. 1.  I'm a little ahead of schedule (but probably should not say that out loud).  For the past few months I've only had time to take things away from the existing site, no time to add anything!

A few of you took the time to let us know the ways in which you enjoy buying things online.  We appreciate it and I'm going to integrate as many useful features into the new site as possible.  I don't see many limitations with the new host.

SEARCH.
Yes, we will definitely have a search feature. I'm more of a "browser" myself, when it comes to clothing and textiles, but I appreciate the Amazon-like experience of being able to find specific things easily.

MORE FABRICS.
Yes.  We will be adding woolens first (because it's the season), but please feel free to request other things.  The squeaky wheel definitely gets attention.

MORE BUTTONS.
This will be my pet project.  More on that later.

SMALLER PICTURES ON THE PARENT PAGES.
Check.  I get it.  That gives a better overview.

FEWER CATEGORIES.
Well, there's no getting around it.  I'll do my best, but there are a lot of things waiting to "nest" under every category.  When you consider the search feature, it should be easier to find what you want.

SAMPLES.
I've got "clearance" to sample many fabrics, but not all!  I think samples are important for offsite color matching, but for many other attributes of fabric like drape, weight, texture, and overall appreciation, it's probably smarter to go with the minimum yardage.  We're lowering the minimum purchase to 1/8 yard on most but not all things.  Of course some things like panels cannot be sampled.

We will have a limited number of samples, when available, at a modest cost.

COMMENTS/ISSUES ABOUT ONLINE SHOPPING IN GENERAL WHICH DESERVE TO BE ADDRESSED.

Shipping charges.  UPS has become just too expensive and the USPS is very reliable (with insurance) so we are making our default shipper the good ole USPS.  With their recent (like yesterday) changes to their priority mail service, insurance is included up to $50.00 value.  That means our shipping charges are going to be very modest (we are aiming for a default rate of $5.88), which makes all of us happy!  Another feature that I feel is very important is that the shipping charge shows as soon as you enter your zip code in the shopping cart--no signing in or any other silliness before you can see the shipping charge. (Free shipping on purchases $100 and up too!)

Partial orders.  Did you know that it is our policy not to ship partial orders?  Sometimes your project depends on the very thing the supplier is out of....and it is very annoying to get everything but (that happens to us too)...we are going to continue our policy of checking with our customer first if we are out of anything, before releasing the order.  This comes from a sewing person's point of view (mine).

Crooked cuts/short yardage.  If you've ever shopped with us "live" or online, you know that's never been an issue here.  We cut straight or tear, and on some fabrics pull a thread. Will continue this practice.

OTHER NEWS.
You may have heard that Google Checkout/Wallet is no longer going to be available to merchants who sell "real stuff" (only downloads and such).  This is one of the main reasons we are updating our e-commerce...we have to re-enter everything into a different database anyway, so it's one of those blessings in disguise.  You can still place orders on anything that remains on our existing site until November.

Finally, you might be interested in Amtrak's current southbound "Cardinal" schedule, which is timed right on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays to bring shoppers to Culpeper at noontime for an afternoon of shopping, dining, and maybe a glass of wine...departing at about 4:00 pm...and this makes me smile...we're having an "End of Summer Choo-Choo" promotion....all aboard!

Train-ing through the countryside to Culpeper!

Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at about noon, Amtrak's southbound "Cardinal" train pulls in to the Culpeper Depot, just in time for shopping and lunch!

Some of our customers are enjoying the train ride in order to spend the afternoon in one of American's "Top Ten Small Towns."  Davis Street, where our shop is located, is home to a number of upscale eateries and unique shops.

Come up Davis Street from the Depot about two blocks and we'll be on your left right before Main Street.
Enjoy your shopping and then head out to take in some of Culpeper's other pleasures before you catch your return train at about 4:00 pm.

Do you crave high tea?  Try Miss Minerva's!  Or a full lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, with locally sourced ingredients prepared by renowned chef Peter Stogbuchner, at the Hazel River Inn restaurant.  There are plenty of choices, from the local diner on the corner to an innovative coffee shop, wine shops, bakery, and cheese shop.  You won't leave Culpeper hungry!

If you're a chocoholic as well as a fabricholic, you'll go mad for the Frenchman's Corner, which carries Neuhaus chocolates as well as a variety of other treats of the season.

If you've never been to Culpeper, here's an extra enticement:  Now through September 6th, we have an "End of Summer Choo-Choo" promotion!  Click here for more info, and we'll see you soon!

A chat window for our page!

Try Relay: the free SMS and picture text app for iPhone.

This week, I'm trying out a chat window for our page (it's "live" above if I am signed in...simply sign in with a "guest" name of your choice.)

Fall is coming and I know a lot of us are getting ready for Fall sewing...I know the cover of InStyle magazine made me a little giddy because I had just prepped something from my own fabric stash for just such a jacket....if you are "missing" something to get your sewing season rolling, chat with us!

I know I need hair canvas, and buttons....why is it I never have interfacing, when I work in a fabric store??

Lots of new blazer buttons on the website, time to concentrate on FABRICS

Do you Pinterest?

A young cousin of mine clued me in to it some time ago when she was making quite a living at cake baking.  Boy, she should really do that for a profession, that is, after she gets her new life as a mama under control!

With everything I took on for this past year or so, I forgot about Pinterest, abandoned blogging, barely managed to update our website.  But, life is getting under control at last.  I re-discovered Pinterest, so I'll be updating as inspiration hits.  Today I was looking at an almost-current issue of InStyle magazine (I have a whole year's worth of them as well as most of a year's worth of the New Yorker to catch up on.).  InStyle does do a "Color Crash Course" in some issues, and July's color was coral.  I went looking for it online, but I can't find it (try to find it if you can, it made me happy).

What I DID find is a chic picture of a black and white leopard print blouse worn with white skirt in the streets of Paris (I am not big on red carpet photos, and that's the predominant mode of presenting fashion now it seems).  Here's our Pinterest page:

http://pinterest.com/exqfabricsinc/boards/

Meanwhile, the website is receiving inventory updates, especially buttons, because buttons are the most-requested.  Customers can now order securely using Google, PayPal, or credit cards (no PayPal account is required, payment can be processed as a "guest" through their process).  Here's just a peek:

Blazer buttons are very popular!

http://www.exqfabrics.com/BUTTONS.html

Second most requested:  Silk prints.  I have to get busy on them.  Really.  Fall is coming.

An interesting mix of customers today!  As always, great people-watching!

Fabric raid!

One thing I love to do, but rarely ever had time to do until this point, is to go through the storage rooms, re-organize them, and, sometimes, raid them!  After my long semester in Blacksburg, last week was a good start to summer.  I got a good start on organizing, did a a lot of weeding, and today I treated myself to a raid session at the store.  I got out a couple of dozen  mostly summery silk prints, with short yardage left.  These silks are priced at $29.98 to $39.00 per yard, and include designer prints, charmeuse prints, some georgette prints, ethnic and batik type prints, and now they are listed here at only $9.50 a yard!

$9.50/yd SILK RAID specials!

Here's one--it's a coral and pink floral pure silk print with a very subtle shantung texture.  

Our web site is secure for e-commerce (see the green padlock symbol in your browser's address bar along with the "https://" prefix...this is your assurance of secure payment encryption).  You  may also phone in your order or email us your order (for your protection please don't send your credit card info through email, however--we'll call you for that after we have a total).

Finally, enjoy browsing!  We're happy to take requests, because our customer requests serve more than one purpose--first of all it makes them happy sewers--but in addition it helps us decide what to put online in order to expand our e-commerce offerings.

So, go ahead, egg me on to do more raids!

Hints for our website

You might have noticed that if you have saved links to our website, they will still work, even though our website is being updated.  You will still be able to order by Google Checkout until the page is updated, at which point if the merchandise is still available online, you will be able to order either by Google Checkout or Paypal.  If you "lose" a link, or if you find a broken link on our new pages, please let us know!  Our email is admin@exqfabrics.com.

We've carefully crafted our shipping rates to be as advantageous to our customers as possible.  The minimum purchase on our website is $6.00.  Your shopping cart will read "error" until the total reaches $6.00, at which point shipping will be added (after you enter your zip code).  If you notice that the shipping charge seems excessive (compared to other online shopping you have done), please let us know.  We can easily adjust any anomalies.  But first, add in the special promo code SHIP15 to receive 15% off the shipping charge. For your protection all orders are sent insured.  We use USPS to the 50 US states.  Orders from abroad may be handled on an individual basis.

To browse items you might not expect to see on our site, use the sitemap.

And, don't forget to let us know what you want to order from us!

So far we have received the most requests for buttons, summer fabrics, and laces.

DON'T FORGET THE SHIPPING PROMO CODE:  SHIP15

LET'S GO SHOPPING!