A Family Affair

It's my sister's fault – and she's more than a little proud of herself! In 1995, after dropping out of my corporate career as a computer programmer turned quality systems manager, I discovered a totally new world. Jack and I moved out of the Twin Cities to a small country acreage in the middle of Minnesota, and I needed something to do with winter fast approaching. My elder sister, in all seriousness, said "Make a quilt – you know how to sew." Telling her I knew nothing about quilting, she simply answered "Take a class." I didn't know there was such a thing!

Well, that first class opened my eyes to a world I never new existed – the world of quilts, and quilters, and yards and yards of glorious color and fabric. On a visit to the same sister (it's still her fault, you know) several years later, I found a small book on her shelf titled Hand Dyed Fabric Made Easy. Well, that turned into a new obsession, and soon I had far too much fabric to use myself. So, I decided without much further thought that I should start a business and sell my treasures to other like-minded quilters. Surely, a hobby business should be just the ticket for someone who dropped out of the workforce to spend more time with the husband...

The Early Years

I chose the name Cedar Canyon Textiles in honor of a ranch owned by our friends in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It just seemed like a much better name that Miltona Dye Works. After all, I might not live in Miltona forever. I dyed fabric, got an incredible education in color and fabric, and started teaching a few years after I started quilting. Along the way, I started experimenting with surface design and finding various methods for creating my own designs on fabric. In 2000 or 2001, I found a reference to paintstiks in a book on surface design. I thought the paintstiks looked like great fun and poked around the internet until I found a source in the US. (We don't have too many options for finding art supplies in rural Minnesota, but the mailman and those brown trucks can deliver almost anything to our door!)

To make a long story short, I started using the paintstiks in my work, added the paintstiks to my class list, and found lots of quilters interested in learning more about them. So, I thought to myself, "I'll write a book!" Ah, yes. Writing a book. Now that's an adventure.

The Turning Point

Before I started working on the book in earnest, I went to visit Jack Richeson and Company to make sure that their wonderful paintstiks would be readily available to my readers. After all, why would someone buy a book if they couldn't get the paint? The Richesons were not quite sure how this was going to work in the fabric world, and probably had their doubts about what in the world quilters were going to do with their paints, but they supported the idea and Cedar Canyon Textiles became an official distributor for the paintstik products at the end of 2004. I wasn't sure just where I was going to put all of the paint, but one of my shop-owner friends just smiled and said "You'll figure it out!"

It took almost 9 months of hard work, but the book was ready in May of 2005. Once a good set of instructions was available, the market for paint expanded dramatically, and I feel like we have been playing catch-up ever since. If you had told me five years ago that paintstiks would take over my life, I may have asked you what planet you woke up on that morning! As it became clear that the paint was going to dominate our business, I made the decision to close out my hand dyed fabrics. We did the last of our retail shows in 2005 and made the transition to our new identity as the Paintstik Place.

Looking Ahead

In life and in business, one thing leads to another. As the fiber art and quilting world embraced the paintstiks, we saw the opportunity to venture into accessory products. In 2006, we manufactured four sets of rubbing plates for use with the paintstiks, and started a pattern line in 2007. What's next? Who knows! Just keep an eye on our site and we'll keep you informed of our current adventures.

The Paintstik Place Team

I would be greatly remiss to allow you to think that I run this business on my own. I couldn't begin to get things done without a wonderful team working with me to keep things going.

My husband Jack is the guy in charge of getting things in the door and out to our customers. He used to be retired, but graciously came "back to work" as the business got larger. Leanne Mills is our go-to gal when I am away from the office. She takes care of orders when I am away on business or when Jack and I take an occasional vacation.

In another family connection, Matthew Mills (son of Leanne) is our talented graphic artist. Matthew (owner of Piperdown Studios) works on our rubbing plate designs, ads, packaging, and any projects that I can't handle on my own.

Nancy Kazlauckas, of Sauk Centre, MN , is our pattern designer. Nancy is best know for her work with free-motion thread calligraphy. You can see the other side of her business at www.ThreadCalligraphy.com.

Carol Logan Newbill, owner of Pisces Moon Web Design, is our talented web master. I was a programmer in my past life and am more than happy to delegate that work to someone with the talent to take my ideas and turn them into something beautiful and functional.

Last, but not least, the amazing people at the Alexandria Opportunity Center, a sheltered workshop for developmentally disabled people, do most of our product packaging. It is truly a win-win situation for a small business. The clients at the center have real work that they can be proud of and we get outstanding service. We couldn't ask for a better partnership.

Many Thanks

As the owner (and now president) of this growing business, I offer my special thanks to you, our customers. I sincerely appreciate the support you have given us in the past and hope that you will be with us for years to come.

Thanks for joining me in this paintstik adventure,

Shelly Stokes