This Larimer County small business success story captured by SBDC volunteers and fellow business owners Patricia Hall Murtha, writer and Coby Hughey, photographer.

Just over a year ago, Angela Gray’s delightful Old Town shop called "Mama Said Sew" didn’t exist except in her mind and in plans she diligently pursued. Angela’s early background in marketing, merchandising and buying for the retail book industry gave her a head start in many details of a successful retail operation. She also knew the Front Range marketplace and Old Town business neighborhood after being a resident here and then working on the staff at Clothes Pony & Dandelion Toys. “I love that store. I was so fortunate to work in such a wonderful place. I started to believe that I might be able to make my own ideas work.” Realizing that while her ideas might be good ones, Angela knew they did not a business make. A friend referred Angela to the SBDC for its wealth of resources for small businesses. She began taking a course and then a workshop, one after another. She sought out SBDC counselors and advisors who taught her even more and reviewed her efforts: a business plan, financial management and more. (Click on the picture to advance the story)

Now, as soon as you approach “Mama Said Sew”, it uniquely and visually says just what she hoped it might be. The OPEN sign is, of course, made from fabric and windows are filled with colorful, enticing sewn garments, pillows and projects. A comfy old chair waits next to shelves with books that beckon. The wide open help desk is just inside and everywhere there are fabrics…bolts and bolts of amazing fabrics. If you have never thought to work in fabric before, the idea will now embrace you. And, according to Angela, that’s just what happened when she approached the SBDC. She energetically glances around her store and says, “I simply wouldn’t be here without their entire network of resources". (Click on the picture to advance the story)

The nitty gritty of business start-up became manageable and less daunting for Angela as she sat through classes, did her homework and brought it back to mentors and counselors. “I slowly drew up the blueprints for my store.” Angela was able to navigate through the maze of licensing and number-crunching to carefully plan her business approach. All the while, Angela’s retail concept was melding with her personal history and love of fabrics. When it finally came time to choose a location for her business and to put it all together, she watched the downturn in the economy and knew it would affect her plan. But with the pieces in place she charged ahead and moved into an airy, bright space on Mountain Avenue. (Click on the picture to advance the story)

The name “Mama Said Sew” hints at a story…and there is a good one. The shop represents Angela’s legacy from her grandmother to mother and the home sewn garments she loved to wear as a child. “There’s something so comforting about handmade clothes.” She watched her mother sew, began to learn the stitches herself and found her way around a sewing machine. Now, as an adult with her own eye for color and design, Angela has gathered sources for extraordinary fabrics and brought them to the market. “Mama Said Sew” is not her grandmother’s fabric store. The fabrics are fresh and contemporary as are the patterns for cutting and samples for ideas. There are reminiscences all around…whimsical displays spill from old dressers and tabletops. An old barrel nearly bursts with bolts of fabric. Wooden bowls brim with buttons and trims. While the modern fabrics are stylized and very “today”, Angela also stocks vintage fabrics, western and whimsical choices, as well. (Click on the picture to advance the story)

It’s a tactile, colorful enterprise to work with fabrics. Angela not only knows how to put patterns together, but she knows how to teach. So the back of the shop is spread with cutting and sewing tables where Angela and her staff offer classes and help for all ages and abilities. Make a fashion-snazzy skirt class, a cycling cap, quilted lunch bag or take“Zippers 911!”. Angela’s website and “social media” are current, fun and informative with loads of pictures. One customer’s comment on the shop’s Facebook page says, “Teach them to sew…and you teach them to want to create.” So, while a, playful, creative soul is clearly at the helm here, Angela Gray, takes her passion seriously. She paid attention to a myriad of management details, so to welcome the course she has set and the growing number of customers, as well. “Mama Said Sew” is an inspiration where one might stitch a very cool project or perhaps piece together the true grit to start a new business the right way.  ###