Skip to main content

At Fabric Mart: A Brief History


This is a SPECIAL post, written by Robert Richin, 
the owner of Fabric Mart!

The store front from when our current location in Sinking Spring, PA was just opened and the store front today.

It is so easy to shop on the Fabric Mart website-- a few clicks of the mouse and in a few days a box of beautiful fabrics arrive at your door. But how did this business start?


Fabric Mart was started in July 1977 by Robert Richin. Robert learned about fabrics from his father, Sidney Richin, who was a women's clothing manufacturer and retailer. Robert would scour the factory floors of top designers to find the fabrics he needed to fill his stores. 

Robert's first store was a 2000 square-foot building, located in Manheim, Pennsylvania. The fabrics came in on rolls and were folded into remnants. Theses fabrics were displayed on tables and hung on hangers. After 10 years of opening his first store, he opened seven more stores located in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The stores featured fabrics from leading designers and manufacturers such as Jonathan Logan, Butte Knit, Leslie Fay, John Meyer, Jones New York, plus many more. 

During the 1990's, he started a swatch club where customers received monthly swatch mailings containing about 30-40 different fabrics.
Inside the store while it was being remodeled to be filled with the latest fashion fabrics.
The store is still filled with great finds! A good value for a good price! 

About 12 years ago, they decided to start a website, FABRICMARTFABRICS.COM. Instead of sending out a general mailing of swatches, the website gave customers the ability to display 1000's of items and present them to a larger customer base. 

What is FABRICMARTFABRICS.COM all about?
1) It's about providing customers with a large selection of quality fabrics at incredible prices.
2) It's about having a website that adds new fabrics everyday.
3) It's about having Super Sales, Clearance Sales and $1.00 Blowouts!
4) It's about having an exciting and fun website.
5) It's about having a site that customers want to check out every day.
6) It's about picking the best fabrics from dozens of sources and bringing them to you, the customer.
7) It's about having the best pictures online.
8) It's about having the best people cutting and packing the orders.
9) It's about shipping the orders within 24 hours.
10) It's about having the best customer service.
11) It's about having employees that care and enjoy what they are doing.
12) IT'S ABOUT EXCEEDING THE CUSTOMER'S EXPECTATIONS!

The cutting counter and store being prepared.
Today we have a computer inside of the store for customers to use to shop our online store, in store.
This makes it easy for customers to look up fabric prices, content, uses, and feel the material while browsing the fabric from the website so they can purchase it right at our location when they visit us.  
Want to know more? Just ask and we will answer!
Email us at fabricmartblog [at!] gmail.com with your questions.
We will compile your questions into one blog post,
so don't forget to keep checking back as you wait to view our tips and tutorials!

Comments

  1. Do you still sale Jonathan Logan butte knit fabric? If so what colors and how would I go about purchasing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry, they are no longer in business and unfortunately I don't know exactly what the fabric was like to give you a substitution.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: A Mother’s Day Gift - Making my Daughter’s Prom Dress

Happy Friday All! As a mother and sewist, I am always planning months in advance for any special occasion dress. Due to the pandemic, my daughter missed all the activities at the end of her elementary journey and I was truly heart broken. She did not have any promotional ceremony, field trips or activities for the last few months of elementary school. I made a vow to myself that in Middle School, no matter what life throws us, I would make the perfect Junior Prom dinner dance dress even if she had to twirl in it at home. When I came across this beautiful blue lycra sequins fabric, I was thrilled. My daughter Arielle and I spoke a few months ago about the perfect Grade 8 Junior Prom dinner dance dress. She found an inspirational photo on Pinterest back in December which was a one shoulder maxi dress that sparkles and she was excited about me making her special dress. At the time she wasn’t quite sure of the shade of blue she wanted but after our trip to Jamaica during Spring break, she

Made By A Fabricista: Rayon Challis Separates for Me!

This month I decided to take a minute to sew something for myself! Knowing that I was about to move house (I'm excited to be getting a nice big sewing room!), I opted to use some tried-and-true patterns that I knew would be quick and easy to sew: Jalie Michelle and Jalie Geneviève . I've really loved seeing garments made in crinkle challis lately, so I selected a solid mustard yellow crinkle challis with a plan for either pants or a skirt ( Geneviève is a skirt, but there's also a culotte option available for it), and two sateen challis prints for a top (Michelle can be made either as a top or a dress). I considered making a reversible top with both fabric prints, but upon playing with them in real life, opted for two separate tops with a facing. Given that challis tends to be a bit shifty, it's best to starch it before you begin cutting out your project. It's also best to cut it out on a large surface with a rotary cutter so the fabric doesn't get distorted.

Made by a Fabricista: YouTube Edition | Marty - Let's Make a Spring Dress

Light Cornflower Blue/Fern Green/Imperial Red/Multi 100% Rayon Floral Print Challis 54W I don't have much to say about my project this time. Other than I can't be happier with how it turned out. I think it'll make a cute romantic dress for summer but also blend into the high-fantasy wardrobe that I want to create. It'll be fun to play with and explore. Hopefully, next time my life will be a little more put together and I'll be a little less stressed. But for now, I hope you all enjoy this project as much as I do. With all the chaos included. MARTY   |  @scrappypatterns Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly! You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category,  CHALLIS .