Mending a Rip: A Sewing Studio Patches the Craft Retail Void
Marnie Kaler shows off a handmade egg, like the project that launched her into the craft studio business.
Photo Credit: Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts
Marnie Kaler, a lifelong crafter, has often strolled the aisles of craft stores thinking of how she’d structure the store if she were running it. Now, with Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts, she’s getting the chance.
The only drawback? Being patient while her dream shop grows into reality.
First: The Eggs
Kaler opened Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts with a class in November 2024 on how to create Ukrainian eggs, or Pysanky, the intricately colored works of art made with wax and dyes.
Creating beautiful art from empty eggs has been a passion for Kaler that began when she was young. Her mom took a class and, while she didn’t love it, she taught Kaler what she had learned. Kaler was fascinated, and it became a craft she came back to again and again.
“Then, you know, fast forward and all of a sudden there are groups of people who do them, and they do them all over the country. There are retreats for these things, and I had no idea. So I wanted to give that back; I wanted to give back with those classes,” she says. “Also part of me getting started was this idea that Anchorage doesn’t really have a good spot for just random crafts. There’s just a lot of specific places, but there needs to be space for random classes too.”
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Kaler organized a few egg-making classes, as well as classes for block printing, an introduction to sewing class, an introduction to sewing machines class, and a crocheting class. She’s not the only instructor, relying on friends with deeper knowledge to instruct when needed. The varied class list fits her profile as a serial crafter—one who tries their hand at many different crafts.
“I’ve done quilting and cross-stitch and embroidery and, you name it, I’ve probably tried it,” she says.
Turning a Loss Into a Gain
Movable fabric racks at Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts offer a rotating selection of fabric while allowing the space to be customized for shop events.
Photo Credit: Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts
When Joann Fabric announced in February it would be closing the Anchorage store—followed quickly by news it was closing all Joann Fabric stores everywhere—Kaler jumped into high gear, introducing her store on Facebook and letting followers know she planned to become a local “go-to spot for all things crafts and sewing.”
But first, she needed a location. Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts pop-up classes had been held mostly at 911 West Eighth Avenue, the Cowork by RSD location (Kaler’s day job is managing the Cowork location), but a store would need a more permanent footprint.
Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts challenged customers this summer to sew something from this fabric panel and win a prize.
Photo Credit: Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts
Finding one in Anchorage proved surprisingly challenging, Kaler says. Commercial rent prices are high. Finding a location that is central, affordable, and also offers room for the things Kaler envisions for the store—expanded class space, project storage, a sales floor, and perhaps a coffee bar—is difficult.
“When I first started this… I had a little bit of delusions of grandeur with opening a shop, like a lot of people do. I have relied heavily on my friends who own small businesses, and they’ve been helping, guiding me along the way. I have an amazing business advisor. But it’s a big learning curve. Never having run anything like this before, I’m completely winging it—but I’m really glad I’m doing it,” Kaler says. “I want more people to sew garments. I want more people to sew; I want more people to be creative, and to not lose all those pieces that I feel like we’re losing.”
Kaler is starting with what she can afford and hoping to grow from there. For now, Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts is in an airy second-floor space near Midtown, just off C Street, at 400 West Potter Drive. It’s just down the street from the big purple Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals warehouse.
“I’ve nicknamed it ‘Cloud City,’” Kaler says. There’s a huge table with various sewing machines, rolling stands packed with bolts of fabric, numerous sewing aides, notions, craft items, and more. It’s flexible, so if Kaler holds a large class, she can easily shift things to open up space.
The Winter Solstice Sewing & Crafts sign welcomes visitors to the store’s Potter Drive location near Midtown Anchorage.
Photo Credit: Alaska Business
The shop is open on weekends for now, but hours of operation may expand later, when Anchorage is not in the midst of one of the city’s sunniest summers in recent years. Kaler says she hopes to offer space for people to bring in unfinished objects and work on them in a group setting for a nominal fee, as well as more classes. The dream of having a crafting hub in Anchorage is inching closer.
Class schedules and other news is available online at wintersolsticecrafts.com, and Kaler frequently updates her Facebook page.
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