The 100 Mile Quilts for Survivors Program is relocating from Dancing Quilts to Creative Magic Art and Hobby.
This move comes after Faith Andre, a longtime supporter of the program and the owner of Dancing Quilts, decided to close her business for good by the end of March. This means that Lisa De Paoli, the Cariboo coordinator for Quilts for Survivors, had to find a new space to store the supplies and quilts of the program.
"Unfortunately Dancing Quilts in 100 Mile House is closing on March 26 so we'll no longer be able to operate Quilt for Survivors out of the quilting shop," De Paoli said. "We needed to find a space and Creative Magic has come forward to host us starting in the beginning of April. We will be meeting there on the last Wednesday of every month from 10.m. to 3 p.m. We will continue the Quilts for Survivors Program which I really think is an invaluable program."
Creative Magic Art and Hobby is a craft supplies and hobby store located in Uptown Plaza off Horse Lake Road. The business was founded in May of last year by husband and wife team Josh Davis and Tai-Lynn St. Pierre.
St. Pierre said that when De Paoli approached her and Davis they were happy to provide a home for the program. As a stained glass artist herself, she noted the primary goal of the store is to provide artists with a way to access their supplies locally and create a community where they can practice their art.
"We offered them a space for them to store their supplies and a space for them to do their Quilting for Survivors program," St. Pierre said. "The whole thing we have here is we really focus on the community aspect of everything we do. We are really big on giving people a space to actually do their art because a lot of people don't have the ability to do it at home for whatever reason.
"(Quilts for Survivors) are a group that have a really cool craft and they needed a space to do it and we have a space, so it just made sense."
De Paoli said when St. Pierre and Davis agreed to host them it was a huge relief to know the program wouldn't be homeless. When the news Dancing Quilts was closing was made public she noted she received several calls from community members asking where Quilts for Survivors was going to go.
"We greatly appreciate them allowing us to use the space and also providing us some storage space as well," De Paoli said. "Down the road, we hope to be able to offer some (quilt making) classes there as well."
St. Pierre said she'd welcome any kind of quilting workshop, noting she and Davis have allowed other artist groups to come in to use their space in the past. She firmly believes that, in addition to being a business, her store should do its best to give back to the community in any way it can.
When asked why Dancing Quilts is closing, De Paoli said it's due to several factors. Andre has told her that it is a mixture of the current economic environment, the fact the building the store is housed in is up for sale, competition with online shopping and that she gets most of her quilting supplies from the United States. The current trade war and tariffs being threatened by Washington and the economic uncertainty made Andre decide it was her time.
"Faith has owned and operated the store for nine years which is quite amazing for a speciality shop in a small town. COVID happened, forest fires happened and there is a lot of online purchasing of supplies. It's really challenging to be able to make ends meet," De Paoli said. "I want to say a heartfelt thank you to Faith Andre who has hosted us once a month and provided us excellent storage space for the last three years."
Since Quilts for Survivors started up three years ago in 100 Mile House, De Paoli said her group has made over 330 different quilts which have gone to survivors of Residential Schools across Canada. The program on a national level has produced 7,000 quilts and De Paoli hopes to add a few more South Cariboo quilts to that tally.
The last Quilts for Survivors meeting at Dancing Quilts will be on Wednesday, March 26 as the store closes its doors. Following that De Paoli said she would move the quilts and the quilting supplies to Creative Magic with their first meeting at the new location scheduled for Wednesday, April 30. Creative Magic is located at 530 Horse Lake Road Unit 5.
"We welcome everybody to come in and see us. We welcome donations of fabric, quilts, partially done quilts and cash," De Paoli remarked.
Anyone looking to find out more about Quilts for Survivors can contact De Paoli at 250-397-2978 or lisad8@telus.net.
