Kensett resident offers sewing services to small town community

In 2016, local Kensett resident Linda Kauffman opened Quality Quilts & Sew to offer a new service to her community.

After 20 years of working in a factory job, Kauffman decided it was time for a change. Considering opening a business, she enrolled in an entrepreneurial class, helping her figure out what her next step would be.

Finally deciding on what type of business she wanted to open, Kauffman needed to figure out a location to operate. Instead of renting a space, she built a small add-on to her home where the patio used to be.

Even once the area was finished and her equipment was set up, Kauffman still took some time to get extra practice and chose a business name before opening.

“I had worked in quality assurance, and before I send a quilt back to a customer, I inspect them,” Kauffman explained her business name.

Kauffman’s projects and for-sale items range far beyond just quilts, including dog coats and bow ties, children’s capes, table runners, golf cart seat covers and more. She even had a request from an exotic animal farm owner in Northwood for kangaroo bags, which look like a large fabric tote bag for the baby kangaroos to sit in.

While a lot of her customer base is women who need assistance putting together elements of their own quilt, some men request help with fixing their clothes.

“I have one lady that was like ‘I have grandchildren, and I made these, I just don’t know how to do the rest,’” Kauffman said. “They (customers) wanna make things, but they don’t know how to put it together. It’s a service that needs to be done.”

What makes her business unique to the community is her use of technology to create her products. In contrast to another quilter in town who strictly sews by hand, Kauffman uses her Brother sewing machine, along with a long-arm sewing machine that can sew pre-downloaded patterns on its own.

While Kauffman has set business hours, she is also willing to meet customers after-hours if they could not make it during the day.

Kauffman will be doing a presentation during NIACC’s Quilting Treasures event on Oct. 2.