Burlington Fabric Business Thrives During Pandemic

Burlington, MA — Gorgeous Fabrics, the personalized, online fabric shop owned and operated solely by Ann Steeves is nearing its 14th year in business. And despite the general economic climate that the pandemic has incited, the company is remaining strong.

For Steeves, sewing started as nothing more than a hobby. Before Gorgeous Fabrics opened its virtual doors, Steeves worked in high-tech, an environment that, in the early 2000s, she was ready to leave behind.

“I just said, ‘well, let’s see what happens if I try putting a bolt of fabric up for sale,’” Steeves said, “it sold out within 8 hours, and so a business began.”

Weathering a minor setback several years ago, Steeves temporarily shut down the business, which she restarted three years ago.

Following this restart, Gorgeous Fabrics grew at a relatively fast clip, growing by about 25% in 2019 and an additional 70% in 2020, despite the year’s uncertainty.

In 2008, when Gorgeous Fabrics was just a year old, Steeves’ business grew “about a hundred percent” as economically tense environments generally seem to give birth to a general desire to make things by hand — whether the goal was to save money, earn money, or simply occupy suddenly free time, people gravitated toward Gorgeous Fabrics. And 2020 has proven the continuation of that trend.

“I do very well in tough economic times, and the pandemic here has borne that out again.”

When the pandemic first struck and the demand for masks first began to rise, Steeves leveraged that demand and worked to sell good fabrics for mask-making.

“Back in March when things started to shut down, the first thing I thought when I saw people saying ‘we need to make masks,’ is ‘I’m going to bill some of my fabrics as really good for masks,’” Steeves said. “The kinds of fabrics I sell are garment fabrics, and people were looking for cottons to make masks. That brought in a whole lot of new customers to me who have stuck with me since.”

By creating fabric bundles, sales and discounts, Steeves was able to draw in a wider customer base. And though the propensity of customers seeking to enter the realm of mask-making has leveled out since the summer, more people than ever are now aware of Gorgeous Fabrics.

“Instead of cottons for making masks, they’ll buy denim to make themselves a jean jacket,” Steeves said. “One of the things that’s always been big with Gorgeous Fabrics is the personal touch — it is really just me. Without tooting my own horn, I really can honestly say I’m an expert at sewing, and I know how to sew just about anything. People know that they can ask me a question and I’ll give them an answer that’s pretty spot-on in most cases.”

The pandemic, for many businesses, inspired a need to create an active and strong online presence. But for Steeves, little to no adaptation was necessary. Gorgeous Fabrics has always been an online marketplace, making the transition to business during the Pandemic seamless.

“I have always been online,” Steeves said. “In pre-pandemic times, I would occasionally hold open houses where people could come and buy. And occasionally I would do in-person, by appointment only shopping. I never wanted to be a brick and mortar retail store.”

When the Pandemic struck, Steeves “didn’t have to adapt” to an online format — she was already on it.

Despite being located in the Boston area, Steeves’ online presence grants her access to communities and customers across the country, a poignant level of sales flexibility.

“Within the United States, I get a tremendous number of customers from Chicago, which has a vibrant sewing community,” Steeves said. “Denver is another big one, San Francisco, North Carolina — there are pockets throughout the country.”

Despite being able to adapt Gorgeous Fabrics to the present business environment, Steeves weathered a slight dip in sales toward the beginning of the pandemic, not due to customers buying less fabric, but due to a supply chain that had been damaged by the pandemic.

“There was a slight dip that didn’t have to do with customers pulling back so much as my supply chain shriveled up,” Steeves said. “I buy from designers and companies that are called Jobbers — when the Pandemic hit and everything shut down, people weren’t able to get to work, they weren’t able to buy stuff.”

By June, Steeves’ suppliers, operating under the designation of “essential business” were able to get back to work.

“I went down and loaded up my SUV to the brim with fabrics and started putting them up,” Steeves said. “And business took off.”

Despite the dips in the supply chain, Gorgeous Fabrics is facing down the remainder of the pandemic with strength and hope.

“I’ve been able to keep on going,” Steeves said. “It’s been an interesting year but it’s actually been kind of fun.”

And though Gorgeous Fabrics is thriving, small businesses across the country are struggling, something that Steeves cannot ignore.

“We’re all trying to keep our heads above water,” Steeves said. “The businesses that are still out there desperately need patronage. We’re not Amazon, we don’t have billions behind us, so go support your small businesses.”