Quilt shop stitches together customers across the state, country
A random request from her mom in 2024 drew Stephanie Carlson to the quilting industry; two years later she went all in, purchasing Nuts and Bolts Fabric in Edgemont.
“My mom came to me and asked if I could print Bible verse on a couple fabric quilt square and I said, ‘Sure, I can do that,’” Stephanie says. “I realized you don’t see many good Bible verses on quilt squares, so I threw together 20 different designs and put them on Etsy to see what would happen.”
The quilt squares sold immediately, so Stephanie created more designs, and Carlson Homestead Quilting took off. Before long, her Bible verse quilt squares were picked up by a major distributor serving independent quilt stores around the county.
Running two quilting businesses
Stephanie moved to South Dakota not long after she started her online quilt square business two years ago. Around that time, she first walked into Nuts and Bolts Fabric and quickly became part of the quilting community. When owner Earlene Kellogg retired, Stephanie stepped in to keep the community staple going.
Nuts and Bolts Fabric is a full-service quilt shop that sells fabric and patterns and offers sewing machine repair and longarm quilting services. The store has one of the largest selections of blender fabrics used to bring quilt patterns together in the Black Hills.
“I’ve got wholesale and I’ve got retail,” Stephanie says. “The demand has consistently far outpaced our ability to produce. But that’s a really exciting problem to have.”
Back to the country
Stephanie grew up on a rural farm in California. In 2015, she and her husband, Andy, moved to Colorado to live next door to her parents but wanted to get back to the quiet country life. After nearly a decade of searching for the right property, they found what they were looking for just outside Pringle. Stephanie says it’s the first place she truly feels at home.
“There are so many people who appreciate this store as a community-focused gathering place. Yes, I run a business, but ultimately, I’m here for the people,” Stephanie says. “I absolutely love the community here, and getting to hear people chatter and laugh while I work is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.”
Infinite opportunities online
Although Nuts and Bolts Fabric is in Edgemont, Stephanie’s Golden West internet connection helps people from across the region and beyond discover her business. Through social media and her website, she welcomes visitors who stop by the store after discovering her online.
“I don’t know if I could survive without the internet. It offers endless opportunities, especially in a rural community like Edgemont,” Stephanie says. “When you have access to the internet, there are unlimited possibilities if you know how to leverage them.”
Nuts and Bolts Fabric continues to host open sew nights where people can gather and work on projects. While Stephanie juggles the responsibilities of running two businesses, she looks forward to growing the store and keeping it a welcome place for everyone.
“I’m so in awe that I actually run a quilt store because that’s not anything that I ever saw myself doing in a million years. But I absolutely love it,” Stephanie says.
