Every month The CARON Collection features one of the outstanding shops who so ably provide stitchers with not only supplies but guidance, technical expertise, and inspiration. We hope you'll support your local shops and browse through our extensive SHOP LISTINGS to find a shop near you. This month we visit... The Cross-Stitch Place
in Chicago, IllinoisWelcome to The Cross-Stitch Place, Home Sweet Home to every stitcher, whether you're taking a tour inside their quaintly decorated shop, or taking a virtual tour of their cyber-space shop, consider them your oasis. Located on the far-northwest side of Chicago, on a busy tree-lined street, The Cross-Stitch Place is the oldest and only shop devoted entirely to the love of cross-stitch in the area. They've doubled in size and content over the past nearly 14 years, and their website, currently under construction, is their latest expansion. They'll do their best to make you feel right at home.
Laurie Riley, an enthusiastic customer and loyal supporter of the Cross Stitch Place nominated her favorite shop to be featured as our Shop Focus, stating, "They have fabulous merchandise all the Caron products, beautiful shop models, helpful and talented staff. When I travel, I love to visit local needlework shops. But I always enjoy coming home to The Cross Stitch Place." What a recommendation! And now you'll see why Laurie feels the way she does about The Cross-Stitch Place.
Cathy Eliopoulos and Norm Rubens, the shop's proprietors, were both born and raised in Chicago and have been fast friends for 25 years. While Norm graduated from Ball State University with a degree in business, Cathy pursued her love for creative arts and crafts, which she inherited from her father who was an artist. Cathy is married and has a wonderful husband and two teenage children. She enjoys all sorts of sewing, including stitching, while Norm enjoys being a soccer coach, woodworking and making frames. Cathy's husband, Gus, also lends Norm a hand with the framing.
Being avid stitchers and living in an area where supplies were hard to come by, both Norm and Cathy decided to open their shop to supply their own needs and to, hopefully, satisfy other area stitchers' needs in the process. They have succeeded in both goals remarkably well. In addition to being a stitcher, Norm is also an accomplished woodworker. He adds, "We have done framing at the shop since we first opened and I have been interested in woodworking long before we opened the shop." While Cathy is in charge of the stitching side of the business, Norm runs the framing department. He is well known for his innovative frame designs made specifically for customer requests, many of whom leave the final result to Norm's fertile imagination. Norm's only complaint these days is that a lack of free time keeps him from immersing himself in his own needlework projects. This is somewhat counteracted by the fact that he is able to be immensely creative in his framing treatments of their customers' needleart works in addition to spectacular shop models.
Cathy and Norm initially set up their business in a space of about 800 sq feet, but quickly outgrew it, relocating to a shop encompassing 1200 sq feet on a busy tree lined street in a quiet neighborhood. After only a few years they again found it necessary and very exciting to expand the store to its current size of 2400 square feet. The shop is located 10 minutes drive from O'Hare international airport, which gives out-of-towners the opportunity to visit as well. The Cross-Stitch Place is also just a quick trip away from the downtown area and surrounding suburbs.
Three expansions and 15 years later, Cathy and Norm are blessed with loyal and enthusiastic customers, as Laurie Riley attests to. Their customer base has also expanded proportionately, affording them the opportunity to increase their inventory. They offer a great variety of cross stitch patterns, fabrics, fibers, supplies, etc., etc. In addition to fibers and fabrics, they carry graphs of many countless different subjects. They also support the work of two local customers who are designers, First Love Designs and Cross Stitch Out of the Ordinary, by carrying their designs in the shop. Cathy and Norm also publish a shop newsletter to keep customers abreast of everything new, exciting and different.
Norm relates, "We have many loyal customers, who have, over the years, shared their lives with us. We feel that owning our business, we provide not only a full service cross stitch shop, but we also think it's important to provide friendly service which in turn, have garnered us many friends."
The shop offers a variety of classes to their clients geared to both education and sheer fun. Two annual sales events are held. The first is on December 26th and is their trademark half-off Christmas sale. The other sale falls on their annual Birthday / Anniversary celebration in the spring. During the late summer, Cathy and Norm hold a customer flea market and in early summer they host a cross-stitch weekend at the National Counted Cross Stitch Show, which is held in central Illinois in a town called Arcola. Cathy adds, "We call all kindred spirits to join us once a month for our UFBNF Night (unfinished but not forgotten) Stitching, with goodies to eat and great fun."
Cathy and Norm first discovered the Caron Collection fibers at the Charlotte Needlework Market and have been loyal fans ever since. The shop stocks Wildflowers, Waterlillies, Watercolours, Kit Kin, Snow, Impressions and Soie Cristale. Norm adds, "We are also happy to special order for our customers any Caron fiber that we may not have."
Two shop mascots are kitties, Mike and Moe, that greet all the shop's clients and says Norm, "Demand some sort of attention seeing that they think that you are only there to visit with them."
The Cross-Stitch Place
6154 W. Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60630
Phone- (773) 631-8802
Fax - (630) 213-3619
E Mail: tcspinc@aol.com
Website: http://www.crossstitchplace.comShop hours - Monday and Thursday 10:30 am - 8:00 pm
Tuesday and Friday 10:30 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday 10:30 am - 4:00 pm
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