About the Company

The past

Sandra Kidwell opened the business in November 1998 as a retail outlet selling dress making materials and craft fabrics. The company name was inspired by the fact that most of the fabrics originated in the USA, where they used, and still use, imperial measurements (inches), for sale in the UK which was gradually converting to metric measurements (metres) - hence "Inches to Metres". As the shop was then located in Inch's Yard this also had some influence on the decision.

Although she had no previous experience of retailing, Sandra had made clothes for herself and her four children for many years and felt there was a need for a needlework and fabric shop to service the people of Newbury in particular and West Berkshire in general.

Soon after opening, Sandra quickly discovered few of her new customers were actually dressmakers - most were quilters. Her skills as a dressmaker were suddenly less important than before, but her skills as a quilter were almost non-existent! She knew her customers would expect advice on all aspects of quilting so she spent much of her spare time gaining quilting knowledge and practice.

As it turned out, the transition from dress-making to quilting was not quite as daunting as she originally envisaged. Sandra gradually changed the 50/50 mix of dress and craft fabrics to almost 100% craft fabrics and she soon built up a loyal and supportive customer base.

The present

The shop in Inch's Yard closed for business at the end of December 2003.

Sandra now sells quilting materials and supplies through the web-site and at quilting days and trade shows across Southern England.

Sandra is always willing to exhibit at trade events and will be pleased to discuss any proposals. Please contact her by telephone on (01635) 35047 or by email.

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