‘Seams Like Home’ Local couple expand businesses by opening quilting retreat, bed and breakfast
Jerry Eicher said there were a lot of minor miracles that occurred when he and his wife, Donna, developed their latest business enterprise. Among them: A heating system that failed, allowing them to remodel a room the way they wanted. A name-brand 10-foot-long window that cost $175 instead of thousands. Reusing fire-rated doors. Buying plumbing supplies at auction for significantly less than new ones cost.
“I don’t mean to imply they were miracles. But things sure came together on this project,” Jerry Eicher said.
The Eichers, who own Sew Special in Uniontown, will show off their new enterprise, Seams Like Home Quilting Retreat and Bed and Breakfast at 117 Numetrics Road near Vanderbilt July 8 with a reception and ribbon cutting.
The facility, which also houses their new country home, represents an investment of about $460,000 and two years of planning and design. The Eichers have hired one person part-time and plan to have two full-time employees in housekeeping and maintenance once the facility reaches 50 percent occupancy.
“We hope that as the business grows we will be able to hire more people,” Donna Eicher added.
The couple purchased the former Nu-Metrics building where the late Dr. Harry R. Sampey established his global highway measuring system company.
Donna Eicher explained due to growing interest in quilting, the couple had been seeking a way to expand its quilting instruction program at Sew Special.
“This is something we have wanted to do for some time,” Donna Eicher said.
The Eichers own the three-story building on West Main Street, Uniontown, which houses Sew Special. “We thought about using the third floor as classrooms but without nearby parking and its lack of handicapped access, it just wasn’t feasible. So, we looked for something else we could use.
“We also wanted to move our home out of the city,” she added.
“I had traveled to Zanesville, Ohio, and to Wisconsin to view quilting retreats there. There is growing interest in this. There has been a lot of interest in this locally and in neighboring counties,” she said.
Eicher explained there are a number of quilt guilds in Morgantown, W.Va.; Hagerstown, Md.; Erie, Pittsburgh, Greensburg and other areas that have expressed interest as well.
The Nu-Metrics property, Eicher added, was in the right location but “it was too big for just a house.”
Jerry Eicher said they first looked at the property about two years ago. Sampey, who sold them the property before he passed away, was interested in the project but died before he could see the end result.
They began working on it Jan. 15 and had most of the major work done by mid-May, Jerry Eicher said. “It worked out well that many of the contractors we brought in were looking for indoor projects for the winter. We met with them all and told them what we wanted,” he said. There are some remaining details and landscape work but they are confident it will be completed by the grand opening.
They also traveled the auction circuit, bought fixtures and materials on e-Bay and found the brand-name window at Construction Junction in Wilkinsburg, a non-profit building material reuse center.
In addition, the new site is near the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, a popular tourist attraction used by bicyclists and hikers. Eicher said the Progress Fund, a community development financial institution, expressed interest. The Progress Fund loaned the Eichers $280,000 and arranged another $100,000 loan from First Industries Tourism Program.
“That money was for property acquisition and renovation but we still needed working capital,” Donna Eicher said. An employee at her bank put her in touch with the Washington County Council on Economic Development, which provided a loan.
Located on nearly four acres of rural wooded hillside, Seams Like Home is billed as “the perfect place for a quilting, sewing or scrapbooking getaway.”
The facility has five guest rooms, each one able to accommodate two people. Each room is named and has its own bath: The Americana Suite, which can be split into two rooms, each accommodating two people, Hydrangea Room, Magnolia Room and Garden Room. Donna Eicher designed the rooms and decorated each with handmade quilts. She explained she asked 10 of her select customers to make the quilts in exchange for a trial weekend retreat. “It went really well and we had a lot of fun,” Donna Eicher said.
There also is a guest lounge/recreation area with TV, pool table, games, movies and wireless Internet access and two large quilting classrooms.
Meals are served in the dining room, featuring an antique buffet and supply of snacks, coffee and flavored teas.
Quilting retreats are offered for three days and two nights, Friday through Sunday. After dinner on Friday, quilters can get organized and prepare for class on Saturday.
Some of the themed retreats are Christmas in July Gingerbread Man Paper Pieced Wallhanging; October, Haunting Halloween Paper Pieced & Appliqued Wallhanging; and in September, Pyrotechnics, also known as Farmer’s Fancy Wall Quilt.
Retreat educators will include Sue Cook from Larkspur Lane Designs, Fran Kordek of Elkins, W.Va., founder of Subtle Endeavors patter company; and Eicher.
Named for Nu-Metrics founder Sampey, the Sampey sewing and quilting classrooms feature pressing and cutting stations, each person has his or her own table and drawer unit to store supplies and projects during a retreat, adjustable chairs, computer stations with embroidery software and quilting software and a design wall for experimenting with block placement.
Each classroom has an adjoining handicap accessible restroom.
For more information and room rates, call 724-984-1399 or go online to www.seamslikehomeretreat.com.