nspire! Quilting and Sewing in Downtown Plant City began their 12-day celebration this week, honoring 10 years since the local business first opened its doors.
Owner Lynn Haberl and her sister started sewing when they were children, learning from their mother and often joining along on trips to the crafts store. They would sew their own clothes and it ultimately became a lifelong love of the craft.
“This was a passion project,” Haberl said. “For me, this was a dream that I’ve had since I was a little girl, I wanted a fabric store.”
After a long career as a small business owner, operating an auto body shop alongside her husband in Lakeland, Haberl retired and dove deeper into the world of quilting, learning techniques and beginning to teach the craft from her home. Three years into retirement, Haberl found the location on Collins Street and immediately said, “that’s it.” With her sister Lisa La Pointe committing to run the store alongside her – with a career in long arm sewing already under her belt – renovations began and the business opened their doors shortly thereafter.
“I can remember the day when I stood right here, when the Chamber of Commerce came for the grand opening, I looked at them and said that the Lord had placed some expectations in my heart,” Haberl said. “One of those was that I called it a destination store from the very beginning, I put it in the description of the business. I told them that when we opened the buses would come, and they did.”
Over the years Inspire! has indeed become a destination store, attracting thousands of sewing, quilting and all-around craft enthusiasts from all over to their Plant City shop and becoming a staple in the downtown area.
To celebrate 10 years, Inspire! will hold several giveaways along with a silent auction, offering up four different high-end quilts to bid on that feature designs by international instructor Judy Niemeyer, with the proceeds benefiting the Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City and the Raining Cats and Dogs shelter. Giveaways will include three Brother NS-80 sewing machines, three EverSewn Sparrow 25 sewing machines, three Brother ScanNCut machines and a set of sewing threads.
“We do a lot of giving back to our customers and things like that and because we’re a creative industry, we’re trying to mix some creativity along with some philanthropic endeavors here in this celebration,” said. “Because that’s what we want to be known for, our friendliness and our fun, being a happy place for people to come.”
The celebration will end on Friday, Aug. 12 as the business hosts a catered celebration where winning tickets will be drawn and the winners of the auction announced. You can stop by the store, located at 110 N. Collins Street, and bid on the silent auctions any time during regular business hours between now and Thursday, Aug. 11. Two raffle tickets will be provided upon entry on Friday, along with additional tickets provided with purchases at designated amounts.
The drawings and silent auction results will also be streamed live on Facebook, so participants will not need to be in attendance to win.