Photo by Jim Muchlinski Heather Rourke and Michelle Sulphur work inside the Graceful Marilyn Quilt Shop.
MARSHALL — Heather Rokeh and Michelle Salfer learned what it's like to be considered the best in their business.
The company's Graceful Marilyn Quilt Shoppe in Marshall won a regional award in a global contest sponsored by online quilting supply company byAnnie.com. This region includes all of Minnesota.
Rokeh and Salfer decided to enter the contest to raise their store's profile and potentially win special sales opportunities.
“Since our company sells byAnnie products, we thought the contest would be a good opportunity.” Locke said. “It made sense to throw the hat into the pool.”
A total of 76 quilt shops in Minnesota participated in the contest. There were a total of 821 participants from across the United States.
Graceful Marilyn won the regional award with 136 votes from customers. 2nd place received 89 votes. Every customer who voted had to write a comment about why they decided to vote for their quilt shop.
“Our customers won it for us.” Locke said. “The best part about winning was reading the comments. It was fun to see how much they liked us.”
Graceful Marilyn was founded in 2021 when Fabrics Plus owners Tracy Veglahn and Cami Rosenboom decided to retire. After careful consideration, Roque and Sulphur decided they could step in to fill the void.
“At first I thought I could get the fabric cheaply.” Locke said. “The more I looked at it, the more I thought maybe we could have our own store.”
Sulphur said becoming a store owner was a big step that brought him great satisfaction. It was more of a vision than a clear goal.
“It was always a joke between us.” Sulphur said. “We shopped at Fabrics Plus. We told ourselves that when they retired, we could open a store. When the opportunity arose, we took it seriously. Ta.”
She said a quilt shop's success in business depends largely on its ability to build friendships with its customers, finding the products they need and building those friendships.
“It takes a lot of effort.” Sulphur said. “Service is really the most important part of it. We have a friendly atmosphere. We always try to be happy. We laugh a lot.”
Graceful Marilyn has grown nationally. Some customers purchase products online from as far away as Alaska. Most of his customers are from his five-state area: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Roque said quilters and sewing enthusiasts will make a special effort to shop at places that offer great selection and service. When they travel, they often take time to visit quilt shops.
“People want to see what's out there.” she said. “Quilt shops have an opportunity to find a niche market with many customers.”
Looking to the next five to 10 years, they plan to remain in Marshall and hope to continue the growth trend of the business.
“We are still young as a business.” Sulphur said. “Over the past three years, we have gained valuable knowledge. We want to continue to grow.”
