Ann Christian never assumed that her hobby of making cloth napkins for her family would turn into a business. But, as she sits around the worktable with her two sisters, Dede Bruington and Kay Porczak, in their store Picking Daisies, it is clear that her hobby has grown into more than just a pastime.
Entering Picking Daisies is not unlike a vibrant painting full of life and pops of color. Everywhere you look your eyes are treated to patterns and fabrics in every shade imaginable. Squares of napkins line the walls, challenging you to pick just one.
The napkins had become so popular among friends that Christian soon found herself selling them out of her car. When production space became an issue, the store made sense.
“I could never find any napkins I liked, so I would just go buy pretty fabric and make my own,” Christian said. “The business grew to the point where it was a little too cumbersome to be doing out of our houses. I thought, ‘I wonder if we could sell them?’ But, I didn’t want to do it by myself.”
All three sisters gradated from Cal Poly, and after years of living apart, they are reunited not just as sisters, but as business partners. They each bring different strengths to the table including business sense, textile knowledge and fashion-merchandising skills.
“We all have different things we are good at,” Christian said. “We talked about it and we thought it would be a fun endeavor.”
Located in the Creamery downtown, the shop has been open since October and offers a wide range of colors, sizes and patterns of napkins to choose from. These aren’t just any napkins, however; the sisters make it their priority to use only the finest materials and intricate sewing to ensure they will withstand years of breakfasts, lunches and dinners. They almost look too pretty to use, but Porczak encourages people to use and reuse them, as they become softer over time.
“The fabric doesn’t wrinkle a whole lot and it is nice and absorbent,” Christian said. “We do mitered corners which are a little bit better quality.”
The process has become easier with the space allowed by the shop, and the sisters have adapted an industrious process to produce their work.
“We have streamlined it to be more of an assembly line rather than each person doing each step at a time,” Christian said. “We pre-wash the fabric, then we have to iron it and roll it to prepare it for cutting.”
“It’s a quality product that we put out and it takes more time, but they are going to last,” Porczak added.
The grids of napkins adorning the walls are not the only decorations in the store, as Picking Daisies is also a part of Art After Dark. Once a month people come in to see the featured artist, and may very well come out with a new view on napkins.
Some view cloth napkins as a great and easy way to save paper and be more environmentally conscious.
“They are thrilled that something is a catalyst to help them be a little less wasteful,” Christian said.
Porczak said that with the economy people are eating at home more frequently, and the cloth napkins adhere to that trend.
“This is a simple way to spruce up your kitchen table,” she said. “It’s an easy way to treat yourself to make meals at home a little more elegant, a little more fun. Our timing is right on.”
Above all, the sisters are having fun through this experience and recall that it is similar to their childhood days of playing store.
“I am having a blast; I think it has been so much fun to do this,” Porczak said. “People who come in that have used cloth napkins all their lives say, ‘where have you been all my life?'”
“Most people are delighted with the store,” Christian added.
Picking Daisies is open Tuesdays noon to 5 p.m. and Wednesday- Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find out more at www.pickingdaisiesinslo.com.