Brass Octopus opens in Roscoe for the fiber and textile maker community
The 5,000 square foot store near Schnucks sells bright, modern fabrics by the inch.
Brass Octopus, which opened in Roscoe on July 1, serves the fiber and textile "maker community" - anyone from crafters, bag makers, quilters, chair recoverers, garment makers, to cosplay costume makers. The Roscoe location at 4912 Hononegah Road in Hilander Village has more than 1,500 bolts of cloth which sell by the inch or the yard - because a customer making a fusible appliqué might only need an inch of a particular fabric. Another popular length is the "fat quarter" - 18" x 21".
This is actually the second Brass Octopus location. Owner Theresa Harris opened a shop in Rockton on February and closed it six weeks later because of COVID. "That's when we put all our inventory online, and that's when we exploded," says Harris, who began making videos and gained 4,000 Facebook followers within a year. Fortunately, they had the tech skills to make it work. Her husband and co-founder/co-owner Chuck Harris is an art director and videographer. The new store includes a studio space for making videos, with space for a live audience. "I didn't want an online shop, quite frankly," says Harris. "I wanted to build a maker community, to bring all the makers in this area together. That was our intention but we had to pivot and make it work."
The new 5,000 square foot location is also an event space, with a full calendar of classes and shared activities. At some events, such as Friday Fun Nights, makers can reserve a place to work on projects together - and dinner can be included. At Sunday Fun Days, crafters can dig into the Shop Scrap Bin while working on their fusible appliqué projects. But the meeting space is available for any group, even if they aren't crafters, such as baby showers and birthday parties. Businesses can hold meetings with web cams, tables, and screens - a great place to spark creativity or to do a team-building activity.
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Before opening the shop, Harris had worked in education for 20 years. She lives in Roscoe, four minutes from the shop, and says, "We've been embraced by the community here."
Unlike a more traditional quilt shop, Harris says, "We're more brights, a lot of young designers... What we're really known for is blenders. We have over 12 different blender lines. You might pick out a print that you love and then you need things to match with it." So blenders are helpful for traditional fabric artists too. Tools include a full line of non-skid Creative Grid rulers, which include QR codes linked to instructional videos.
The Rockton shop at 112 W Main Street, open Thursday through Saturday, will be focused on quality yarn, sashiko, embroidery, cross stitch and other hand stitched kits and items. Really, says Harris, the two shops are on the same street - just three stop lights away from each other!
Their website says, "Like the arms of the octopus, we are joined yet work independently on creative pursuits. We seek all who wish to express themselves through art and craft whether a beginner or an expert. Diversity, equity, inclusion and respect are tenants of our lives and of our shop. All are welcome - every race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and ability. Our shop operates with respect for all who enter and we embrace all of our unique attributes through creativity and fun!"
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