I am Tabitha, the owner of Kwaint Threads, a little boutique fabric shop in the eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia.
I discovered sewing as a way to get the clothes that *I* wanted to wear... That I couldn't find in the shop. I was half way through studying my diploma in Fashion and Merchandising when I started buying LOTS of fabrics... sewing them together and discovering that joy you get from making your own clothing... and THEN the love of Organic Fabrics began...
I discovered many brands like PaaPii Design from Finland who's factory is run on solar power, whose scandi style and unique colour palette just spoke to me. Lillestoff of Germany, with their own style of story fabrics. Vintage in my Heart and Colours in my Soul from Sweden, with a bright flair to them not found anywhere else - who all have a focus on sustainability and specialise in organic fabrics.
I quickly realised that although there was a market at Kwaint Threads for organic fabrics, there was a market for good quality fabrics in general. So, we expanded our range to include a 31 base pre-order with a wide range of quality fabrics from 6 different print houses, in Australia and overseas. It was the design of the fabrics that would make us stand out from the rest and we have a massive range of gender neutral and everyone kind of designs. With the introduction of Fabric Mama, we are well known for childrenswear fabric in bright and bold designs.
We have recently been supporting Australian and overseas artists, adding their beautiful designs to our repertoire of fabrics, artists like Deb McNaughton from Australia, Karly art and Quirks Design from the UK, Sharon Gunawan, Ella Randall and Cheryl Kurien from the USA and we are always on the lookout for other artists who want to start putting their art on fabrics.
Add to that a growing range of must-have sewing accessories and haberdashery, we have really become a one-stop shop for all your sewing needs. Always open to suggestions, I also started a Facebook Group called The Kwaint Thread, where I can talk to my customers, get insights into what THEY really want and connect with everyone who shares a love of fabrics and sewing, just like I do. I really love our group and I spend a lot of time posting every day and interacting with everyone.
I also spend a lot of time trawling through the internet on the lookout for new and exciting fabrics and prints to bring my customers quality and sustainability. Whilst not all of our fabrics are organic, ALL of our fabrics are Oekotex-100 certified, which is another important factor in protecting the environment and ourselves from harmful chemicals.
In 2021 we bought an A0 printer in order to print shop patterns instead of sticking together A4 pages and it has been a massive success with our customers, with our rates and services far exceeding that of our competitors (or so I am told).
We have also added books and patterns from Tilly and the Buttons in the UK with her fabulous 60's vibe and easy to follow instructions and beautifully illustrated books and paper patterns. We stock over 10 of her patterns and ALL of her books (sold out currently waiting for more) They are so popular!
Denim has been the hot fabric on the go this winter and we are adding yet more denim in the coming weeks, with some 80% stretch polycotton denims coming from The Netherlands! They have such beautiful high quality fabrics!
This month of July, it is in fact, our 3rd birthday coming up on the 11th!! We have put together an awesome giveaway that is free to enter... why not enter it yourself!
All in all, I wanted to bring to you, everything that I love about sewing... the things I sell are the things I, myself, use and if I purchase things that turn out to be of poor quality, you can rest assured, they won't last long here!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the tour of our shop, Kwaint Threads and I know you'll find something you'll love :)
P.s You can subscribe to our newsletter for a discount off your first order at the bottom of every page, or here on the front page!