Today we’d like to introduce you to Sadie Neuman.
Hi Sadie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Danielle Cyvas, Owner:
Warm N Cozy Quilting started as another chapter in my life was closing. I had recently left my job managing 3 area retail stores for a national chain and took the summer to finish up my degree and spend some time with my kids. As summer was nearing it’s end, a hot day and a broken air-conditioner meant I couldn’t sew with my usual group at church. My disappointment at missing this quilting time, plus the support of my husband Jason, was the catalyst to getting serious about opening a quilt shop.
My mom, Debbie, had been sewing and quilting for decades at this point. Her sewing and quilting expertise and my retail knowlege made us the perfect pair to open Warm N Cozy Quilting in September of 2015. What began as a tiny shop and a dream has blossomed into a full-service quilt shop offering Janome and HandiQuilter machine sales and support, longarm quilting for hire, classes, fabrics, notions, and so much more! Since we opened our doors, we’ve been able to bring on several more members of our family, and a few we’ve adopted along the way. My husband Jason is now our full-time machine technician, and all of my kids have worked for Warm N Cozy Quilting at some point. My goal is to make Warm N Cozy Quilting a welcome place for anyone, and to make an education center for quilters in the area.
Sadie Neuman, Owner:
Warm N Cozy Quilting came in to my life, professionally, in 2016. My involvement began as a side project to help the business with social media and marketing one day a week. When I first started, I had hardly sewn anything! Eventually, I decided to make a quilt for my mother-in-law for Christmas. As soon as I made my first quilt, I knew I was hooked. I have always enjoyed working with design and color. My degrees are in Digital Media and New Media Production, so while I am newer to sewing, I honed my skills in other fields.
Slowly, I was able to leave my job in the healthcare field and began working full-time for Warm N Cozy Quilting in 2020. Since that time, my role at Warm N Cozy Quilting has definitely broadened and grown. As of this past summer, I have taken over ownership of Debbie’s portion of the business. I am incredibly lucky to have Danielle as my sister and business partner. We have met some incredible members of the vibrant quilting and sewing community in the St. Louis Metro area.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Danielle:
Owning and running a small business can be a challenge, especially in the beginning. Also, when your family all works for you, it can be a challenge to keep the doors open when there is an important family event. My kids have grown up alongside Warm N Cozy Quilting. We were fortunate to have lots of support, including the SBA, to help us get through the beginning when every dollar you make is going right back in the business to keep it growing.
Sadie:
The Covid years were hard on everyone, but at that time we knew we were going to have to pivot to be able to serve the community in a new way. We began hosting live videos online. At first, we were just wanting to check in on our people. The community that shops with us, they are making quilts for all the most important moments in life. Along the way, we get to know about their kids, their grandkids, their celebrations, and their sorrows in their lives. At a time when we were all physically distant, we were missing that community and connection.
Soon after, everyone was dusting off and digging out their sewing machines and looking for fabric to make masks when commercially made products were limited. We utilized live videos to reach people when in-person shopping was not-available or was limited. That pivot helped us keep our doors open, and we were able to continue to invest and expand our shop during that time. These online live videos have connected us with quilters from all over the country, as well was our friends right here in St. Louis. We continue to go live twice a week to share tips and discuss topics in the industry.
We’ve been impressed with Warm N Cozy Quilting, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Warm N Cozy Quilting is a full-service quilt shop. We sell and service HandiQuilter longarm sewing machines, Janome domestic sewing machines, sergers, and embroidery machines. We sell the latest fabrics and notions to help your making process smooth. We also carry specialty steam ironing systems from Larastar.
In addition to being a retail space, we also finish quilts with machine quilting services. We have several longarm machines, which are on huge frames that make it easy to finish quilts of any size. We also rent time on our machines! If you don’t have room for a 12-foot frame in your house, you can take a class with us to certify you to use our machines here.
Lastly, we offer lots of different classes, from beginning to advanced! Danielle is a Certified Stripology Instructor. That means she has trained with the maker of this specialty ruler that makes cutting fabrics both fast and accurate. Check out our class list for anything from small projects you can complete in a day, to several months long sew-alongs for those more complex projects.
Good customer service is so important to us. We know that without support, we couldn’t do what we love every day. We want everyone who interacts with Warm N Cozy Quilting to feel how important they are to us. We often hear that people in the quilting or sewing community have come up against someone at some point who has been less than kind, or undervalued their work. We are of the ethos that everyone is welcome in this space, and there are a hundred ways to end up at the same point. There is no one right way, and the beauty of making is that you can decide to make it your own! We want to foster that journey of learning, challening yourself, trying new things, and building that confidence. No quilt police here! We love to see your makes and cheer you on!
What was your favorite childhood memory?
We both have so many memories of mom and Grandma Great sewing and quilting when we were younger. Most of our clothes when we were kids were sewn by mom and we always had quilts on our beds. It’s the perfect thing to reach for on chilly movie nights, sick days home from school, picnics in the park, or blanket forts in the living room. Quilts have a way of worming themselves in to every memory. We still have a quilt made by Grandma Great that hangs at the shop. She finished it in 1930, making it almost 100 years old!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.warmncozyquilting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warmncozyquilting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warmncozyquilting/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WarmNCozyQuilting
