Page 44 - Allisons Magazine Issue #91

“ THE COMPANY NOW OWNS

FOURTEEN SHOPS IN TOWN—
INCLUDING A DOZEN FABRIC

SHOPS WITH A VARIETY OF
DIFFERENT THEMES, MUCH
TO THE DELIGHT OF QUILTERS
ALL OVER THE WORLD.

success means to them, they’ve been sure community,” he continues. “!e local
to share it with their customers and store stu% is actually only 5 to 10
with Hamilton. percent of what we do; we’ve sunk
millions into Hamilton. It’d be way
“Quilters are the most kind, loving, easier to tear down these old buildings
Catch all the quilting excitement at Missouri Star Quilt Company by forgiving customers you’ll ever have,” and replace them, but we buy them
checking out the exclusive video at americanlifestylemag.com/video
declares Alan, who’s now the company’s and completely refurnish them because
chairman. “!ey are very, very good to we want to show this beautiful place to
us, and we try to be the same to them. the world. I can’t think of another
!at led us to building this Disneyland place where I’d consider building
!at’s when he came up with the !at wasn’t the only communication myself and became famous online? It’s And, as it turns out, Missouri Star’s for quilting. We are not geniuses at another business.”
Quilter’s Daily Deal. “In college, I’d confusion. When Alan started making pretty amazing. !e best part is that I customers were eager to pass on that business planning, but we’re really
seen companies with these daily deal the videos, he was often ba#ed by got to do it with my family.” healing to others. “!ese people love good at listening to our customers and !e Doans came a long way to set down
sites, and I was hooked on them,” Jenny’s quilting terminology. She quilting so much, they really can’t creating things they like.” !e company roots in Hamilton, and $nding their
Alan remembers. “I didn’t understand quickly realized that she had to simplify But that’s just one of many meaningful stop,” Jenny continues. “So then they now owns fourteen shops in town— slice of the American dream has helped
why nobody was doing this for mom’s and explain things to make it more user- rewards for Jenny and her family along start donating—that same fabric they including a dozen fabric shops with a reinvigorate not only their town but
demographic, and she agreed. Fabric friendly and accessible—and it worked. this journey. “I thought the tutorials had to have is now being given away. variety of di%erent themes, much to the also the creativity of millions through
is really hard, though, to sell as a deal, “People love the fact that they could would bene$t women who work, And when they make a pillowcase for a delight of quilters all over the world. quilting. Once known as the birthplace
which led us to sell precut fabrics.” Now, view a tutorial and they could quilt what women with kids, and women who child who’s lost their hair to cancer, it of James Cash Penney, founder of the
instead of looms of fabric, people could they saw,” she says. “I have a trick for couldn’t a%ord quilting classes or didn’t changes them, the child, and also every In addition, Missouri Star Quilt retail giant JCPenney, Hamilton is now
buy small, precut swaths of it, cut into just about everything, which makes it have time for them,” she admits. “Well, person who walks in that room. It’s a Company employs four hundred known for a di%erent type of retail
various shapes and sizes, which Alan says easy for people.” I started getting mail, and the $rst brighter, happier, more colorful place, people, making it the largest employer business, according to Alan: “Retail is
turned them into the “LEGO blocks women who wrote to me were disabled. and it changes everybody who sees that in Caldwell County. It’s a responsibility dead, but here we can’t get enough of
of quilting.” !anks to word of mouth And, just like that, an internet star was !ey could never take a class, so they pillowcase. !is quilting business is the Doans take seriously. “You have to it because Hamilton has become an
about the Quilter’s Daily Deal, people born. Jenny’s weekly quilting tutorials were so grateful for the videos. So blessing so many people’s lives, and it’s be good to your community,” Alan says. advocate for creativity in people’s lives.
started "ocking to the website. on YouTube became massively popular: many others: a man with agoraphobia, changing people and the world we live “We are very focused on our community Quilting is functional but also magical.
to date, they have over 400,000 children, people from other countries. in. It’s pretty amazing.” and our town. We put a lot of time, It breathes creativity back into you. And
Equally successful was Alan’s next idea: subscribers and over 120 million total People who could never take this type of e%ort, and energy into it. As a young, this town has become a torch—people
taking advantage of a year-old website views, with the top videos gaining over class now could through our tutorials. I HELPING HAMILTON growing company, we needed to take come here because this company has
called YouTube. “He kept saying it was two million views. “We never expected was stunned. I would read these letters Today, Missouri Star Quilt Company care of our employees, so we o%ered changed them by letting them rediscover
going to be a center for learning, and he that to happen,” Jenny confesses. “Once and just start sobbing. It was amazing to is a multimillion-dollar business that’s good bene$ts and a 401(k). who they are as creative people. It’s
asked if I’d do a tutorial,” Jenny recalls. we went online, it developed a life of its me how many people they helped. !e the world’s top seller of precut quilt really a symbol of life, passion,
“I said, ‘Sure. What’s a tutorial?’” own. I mean, I was $fty years old. Who desire to create is healing for people.” fabrics—making the Doan family a true “We also had to be very, very conscious and excitement.”
would have thought that I’d remake rags-to-riches story. But as much as their about how we gave back to the For more info, visit missouriquiltco.com

42 | AMERICAN LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE americanlifestylemag.com | 43