Who She Is - {the person behind the fabric stack}

Hi!  My name is Mary.  I'm married to Lee J.--the J stands for Jameson.  He's the best.  We married each other in May of 2008.  We got a dog named Truck in May of 2010 and had a baby boy in January of 2012.  We love it.

I've been sewing since I was in middle school.  I learned on my moms old metal Singer.  They don't make em like the used to!!!  It was a great machine to learn on because it could stand up to the abuse of my learning to sew.

In December of 2007 I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and in January of 2008 started working at a craft store.  Within a week of working there I was promoted to assistant manager (ok, technically I was the MTL--merchandising team leader, but I was second in command just weeks after graduating college!)  While I can't say working in retail was the most exciting thing I've ever done, I LOVED being surrounded by new ideas and creative people--and the discount didn't hurt either!  I bought my  own Singer after working there a few months.  This is when I learned that Singer's aren't made like they use to be.  My machine did basic work, but could not hold up to my abuse.  I'm not a perfectionist at all when it comes to sewing rules!

Less than a year into our marriage, my husband was laid off from his job and I was in between jobs.  In my panic of having zero income for our family, I decided to finally venture out and open an Etsy shop to sell some creations.  On January 27, 2009 I opened my shop which was called "maryberriesart."  I didn't like the name after awhile so I opened a new shop, which was originally called "thebirdsoftheair."  Soon after that, Etsy changed their rules and allowed shop owners to change their shop names.  By that point, I had a little more focus about where I wanted my business to go, which is when I renamed my shop to "thefabricstack" and I renamed my previous shop to "thepaperstack."  My main shop (as you might be able to guess) is the fabric stack and I keep the paper stack open for a rainy day when I want to get out my rubber stamps, glue, and findings to make fun paper goodies.

I was incredibly blessed to inherit my husband's grandmother's sewing machine after her passing in March of 2008.  I now use her Husqvarna Viking to do my sewing.  (If you know much about sewing machines, you may need to get a tissue and wipe your drool now!  Haha)

This past Christmas my mother-in-law, who is an avid quilter (and graciously does embroidery for me), gave me a Singer serger.  I am not great on it yet, but am taking small steps to become more proficient.  The washable fabric nursing pads I make in my Etsy shop are made on the serger!

Hopefully you've learned a little more about my fabric background.  I'd love to talk with you more sometime soon!