FAIRMONT — Fabric and Foam Sales Inc. is celebrating 40 years of “good, personalized service.”
Andy Poling is the owner of Fabric and Foam Sales, a business that his parents — Sarah and Andy — opened in White Hall in June of 1969. They established the shop in a building that formerly served as a drive-in restaurant and was also an International Harvester store at one time.
The younger Andy Poling was a band teacher in Michigan when the business was started. He returned to the area in 1970 to attend graduate school at West Virginia University.
Poling said he began working at the store in 1972 when his father was unable to work due to illness. His dad died two years later.
Poling initially planned to stay for about a year to help his mother, but he never left. Sarah turned the business over to her son and continued to work there until 1988. She passed away in 2000.
The mom-and-pop operation happened to open a year before the Middletown Mall was built, and the arrival of the mall helped Fabric and Foam Sales generate more business, Poling said.
“We built a very faithful clientele, and a lot of our business comes from surrounding communities,” he said. “We’re actually one of the few independent fabric shops in West Virginia.”
Customers can find Fabric and Foam Sales at 2937 White Hall Blvd., about a fourth of a mile past Wal-Mart. The shop, which has always been at that location, has been expanded four times over the years, Poling said.
Not only has the business tripled in size, but it’s also grown in general revenues and in the number of workers, he said. The business has seven employees, and most have worked there for many years.
Manager Barbara Scritchfield has been with Fabric and Foam for 22 years. The team also includes Kim Porter, Joan Koffman, Pat Mason, Hope Liggett, Diana Hendershot and Tom Donell.
Scritchfield said the store started out basically selling fabric and later expanded into upholstery. Today, it carries “everything for the quilters and crafters.”
The business includes an upholstery shop and sells upholstery fabrics. It also carries foam rubber for mattresses or other projects, quilting materials, lace, trims, vinyls and much more, she said.
“Actually, we have just a little bit of everything,” Scritchfield said. “Anyone who’s wanting to do a sewing project, they can pretty much find what they need here.”
Fabric and Foam Sales tries to always stay aware of what’s new in the market and shops for some of its supplies in North Carolina, Ohio and other places, she said.
“Trends change a little bit, so we try to go with the trends,” Scritchfield said. “We always have something different.”
She said customer service has played a big part in the business’ success and longevity.
“You still get your small-town customer service,” Scritchfield said. “It’s not like going into a chain store. You do have employees here that do know the basics on quilting and upholstery.”
“None of this success would have been possible without wonderful employees,” Poling said.
He said he hopes to see the business stay around for another 40 years.
“We’re thankful to have lasted this long,” Poling said.
Fabric and Foam Sales Inc. is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 366-4049.
E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.
Business
Fabric and Foam Sales marks 40 years of service
- Business
-
-
Online convenience
This tax season, the West Virginia State Tax Department is helping people understand the benefits of filing online and making them aware of the tax credits available.
“There’s a really good chance that people can save money ... and a bonus is you’ll get your refund a lot quicker,” Danny Forinash, public information officer for the State Tax Department, said of e-filing. -
J’s Supper Club: Fine dining, beautiful place
J’s Supper Club offers fine dining in an intimate atmosphere.
Business partners Janet Thompson and Janie Kerrigan opened the establishment in Fairmont at 1523 Mary Lou Retton Drive, across from the Armory, at the beginning of November. -
‘Almost like Cinderella’
When Morgantown business owner Diane Lewis was given the chance to attend the State of the Union address, “it was almost like Cinderella and being invited to the ball,” she said.
-
Dan Cava’s Used Cars opens in White Hall
Dan Cava’s Used Cars invites everyone to stop by and see its selection of quality, pre-owned vehicles.
This used car lot opened for business about a week ago in White Hall along U.S. 250, by the Go Mart gas station just down the road from Dan Cava’s Toyota World. Middletown Tractor was previously located at this site. -
Finalists work toward next round of business competition
The 10 teams remaining in the 2011-12 West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition are gaining “phenomenal experience.”
Those finalists were announced in December following round two of the competition, which was held Nov. 15 at the University of Charleston. -
Auto parts focus of Shaffer’s Recycling Center
John Shaffer, of the new Shaffer’s Recycling Center, loves his work and is following in his dad’s footsteps.
In November, he and his wife Kim officially started the business at 300 Jefferson St. in Fairview. After coming into town, people can find the facility by turning right past First Exchange Bank and traveling about a quarter of a mile. Residents may remember the building as the former home of Fairview Bit. -
Rider Pharmacy marking 45th anniversary
Rider Pharmacy has worked hard over the past 45 years to establish superior customer service and products.
The late Alice Bennett established Bennett’s Pharmacy in 1939 at 310 Merchant St. in Fairmont, across the street from where Rider Pharmacy is located today. -
Unemployment rate falling in most state counties
Most counties in the state have improved their unemployment rates, and this trend is expected to continue gradually in the near future.
WorkForce West Virginia recently released Labor Market Information by West Virginia County for November 2011. The report provides a county emphasis map, which is a ranking of the counties. -
Whitney Helms relocates to Les Cheveux
“Boring” isn’t a word Whitney Helms associates with her job.
Helms, who recently relocated to Les Cheveux in Fairmont, gets to do a variety of beauty-related tasks in her profession, which keeps her on her toes and makes her work interesting. -
INNOVA investing in new ethane ‘cracker’ technology
INNOVA Commercialization Group of Fairmont is helping Aither Chemicals of South Charleston keep West Virginia resources in the state.
INNOVA, an initiative of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation, recently invested $200,000 in Aither Chemicals, which is developing a new ethane “cracker” technology. - More Business Headlines
-
Online convenience
