Sit & Sew Radio

Welcome to Episode 42 of Sit & Sew Radio, a Quilt Addicts Anonymous podcast. This week we are taking a look at the closing of Free Spirit. On Monday the quilt industry was rocked by news that North American Crafts has decided to close its Lifestyle Fabrics business, which includes fabrics produced by Free Spirit and Westminister Fabrics/Fibers. The news was made public when the Craft Industry Alliance shared a copy of the email sent to fabric designers informing them of the imminent closure. The reasoning given was that, “Despite our best efforts, we have continued to struggle with an inherent weakness in the business model and have not be able to demonstrate a profit.” There was no warning that this was coming. Designers were actively working on new collections and promoting ones to be released in June and later after the company will cease its operations. My fabric rep was hundreds of miles from home, meeting with shops and taking orders. The Free Spirit Marketing team sent an email to shop owners promo