Basketcases Unlimited
Frequently Asked Questions-FAQ’s
• How can we contact your shop?
• Who are the owners of the shop?
• What are your shop hours?
• What do you have at your shop?
• How did you come to own this shop?
• What is your business philosophy?
• What is your staff like?
• Do you design quilt patterns or have on staff designers?
• Do you teach classes in the store?
• Where is your shop located?
• Where do you advertise your shop?
• Why is your shop out in the country?
• What other attractions are in the area?
• Who is your average customer?
• How far do people travel to visit you?
• Do you sell only to walk-in customers, or do you fill mail-order requests?
• Do you sponsor special quilting events?
• What kinds of products do you carry in your store-strictly quilting supplies or finished crafts and supplies for other techniques too?
• What distinguishes your quilt shop from others?
Who are the owners of the shop?
Owners-Donna S. Larson and Carolyn Birch McQuillan
How can we contact your shop?
Quilt Shop Name-Basketcases Unlimited, Inc.
26271 Malta Road
Clare, IL 60111-9123
Phone-815.393.3414
Fax-815.895.8024
Web Site Address-www.basketcasesunlimited.com
E-mail address-basketcasesunlimited@comcast.net
What are your shop hours?
Business Hours-Monday,Tuesday,Friday 1-9 pm,
Saturday 9 am-4 pm
Sunday noon-4 pm (September through May)
What do you have at your shop?
Basketcases is a cooperative venture selling quilts, handmade baskets, rugs, wool, herbs, and antique furniture. We offer classes in many pioneer traditions on a regular basis. High quality fabric, quilting, rug hooking, and other basket, chair, and loom weaving supplies are available for sale to other craftspeople. We have an on-site machine quilting service as well. We offer demonstrations and specialty classes upon request.
How did you come to own this shop?
Carolyn Birch McQuillan and Donna Larson met in 1991 while working together with at-risk youth in DeKalb County. Carolyn retired in June 2006 as the program administrator and Donna is still working full time as the counselor/social worker.
In 1995 we became Basketcases and began renovating a corn crib on Carolyn's farm to create a studio and workshop. A new barn was built in 2001 which includes classrooms, a kitchen, air conditioning, heat, and a bathroom!
What is your business philosophy?
At Basketcases we are committed to preserving and nurturing the spirit of traditional American craftwork. We are DeKalb County’s oldest quilt shop, celebrating 11 years in business. We have been apprentice white oak basketmakers to fifth generation basketmaker Lestel Childress of Park City Kentucky for more than 10 years. We learned from Lestel the value of a mentoring approach to teaching and keep class sizes to six students or less. We believe that people come to a quilt shop to see the owner and so we do our best to be on site during business hours so that we can meet with our customers ourselves. Since we live in a rural area, we rely on word of mouth and good customer service to develop and maintain our reputation. Lastly, we offer quality goods and services at very reasonable prices and aren’t afraid of hard work.
We want our customers to enjoy their visit, to learn more about pioneer traditions, and to plan to return for shopping or classes. Our customers almost always comment on how quiet and peaceful the environment is and how good it smells in the barn because we have homemade soap by the door.
What is your staff like?
The staff includes Carolyn Birch McQuillan and Donna Larson who are the owners of Basketcases. Carolyn is a lifelong DeKalb County resident and farmer. She is a grandmother of three, an avid gardener, and lives with her two dogs on her family farm. She is the winner of the Betty Crocker award in high school and holds numerous college degrees in education and administration. She taught school for more than 30 years.
Donna Larson is a wife and mother, working for more than 25 years as a teacher and counselor. She is a trained herbalist and makes almost all of her own medicines for herself and her family. She has three children, two cats, two dogs, and very little sleep.
Dave Samulowitz does some of the machine quilting and chair caning at Basketcases. Dave is a retired computer systems designer who does meticulous work, doesn’t care when he gets paid, and works well without supervision. He is also Donna’s dad.
Do you design quilt patterns or have on staff designers?
We specialize in historic reproduction fabrics, quilts, patterns and materials. We often find antique aprons, baskets and quilts that we use to develop patterns, but use the patterns for ourselves and our customers alone. We have no staff designers.
Do you teach classes in the store?
We offer a variety of classes in quilting, rug making, embroidery, basketry and seat restoration. See the link for the current class schedule.
Where is your shop located?
Basketcases is located 1 mile north of Route 64 on Malta Road in rural DeKalb County IL. The town of Clare has 50 residents, a grain elevator, and a post office. Clare is about 10 miles west of the City of Sycamore which is also the home of the historic county courthouse. Kishwaukee College and Northern Illinois University are just a few miles away in DeKalb and Rockford is a 30 minute drive.
Where do you advertise?
We advertise regularly in the following:
Midweek Newspaper
The Rochelle Leader
and we are underwriters on National Public Radio
What other attractions are in the area?
Attractions and annual events in the surrounding area include:
• Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb
• Stage Coach Players and Community Theatre
• Ellwood House Museum-1880’s home of the inventor of barbed wire
• Weekly summer music concerts at Hopkins Park in DeKalb
• Sycamore Pumpkin Festival (October)-the second largest event in the state of Illinois
• Sycamore House Walk-home of the Underground Railroad
• Sycamore Steam Power Show (August)
• Midwest Museum of Natural History in Sycamore
• Genoa Historical Society and Pioneer Day (August)
• DeKalb Corn Fest (August)
• Historic Opera House of Sandwich, Illinois
• Elmwood Cemetery Walk-final resting place of many local civil war veterans
• Afton Prairie in DeKalb
• Northern Illinois University
• National Public Radio
Why is your shop out in the country?
We selected the location for the Basketcases shop based on the concept of developing a school and retail studio/workshop for pioneer traditions. It just made sense to keep it on the farm.
Who is your average customer?
Our average customer is a woman around 50 who has a higher than average level of education and income. Most are basically “crafty”, but maybe hasn’t sewn since junior high and is interested in taking up a new hobby. We have male students as well as young moms and teens. We teach embroidery to children and help 4Hers and scouts as well. We began to sell fabric at our customers’ request because many of the older rural farm women were not comfortable driving to Rockford or the Chicago suburbs to buy fabric. One woman in her 70’s came to visit us to ask for supplies to do Redwork. She said, “When I was a girl there were always older women who helped teach us to do craftwork. Now I am the older woman and I don’t know who to go to for help.”
How far do people travel to visit you?
Most of our customers travel between 10 and 30 miles to get to us, but we have students in our classes and quilters looking for machine quilting who regularly travel from as far as Wisconsin and the southwestern suburbs of Chicago.
Do you sell only to walk-in customers, or do you fill mail-order requests?
We sell rug hooking supplies and basketry supplies to people all over because there just aren’t that many dealers nearby. About ten years ago we had a mail order catalog business for the handmade baskets and rugs. Basketcases is the regional distributor for Howard Card and Brush for rug hooking gripper strips and the Illinois contact for African Folklore Embroidery. We are considering internet-based sales through our web site, but are still exploring the pros and cons. We regularly mail product to elderly customers, people who live far away, or those who are reluctant to travel when the winter weather arrives.
Do you sponsor special quilting events?
We are currently involved in the Quilt Pink Event through American Patchwork and Quilting. Basketcases will be part of the DeKalb County Quilter’s Guild Harvest of Quilts Show in October this year. We have regular retreats for quilters and basketmakers at the shop and Poker nights every Friday. Poker players pay $25 annually and tell their families that they are out playing poker, but they come to the shop to relax and discuss ideas, quilt or weave or stitch awhile, and unwind from the week’s activities.
What kinds of products do you carry in your store-strictly quilting supplies or finished crafts and supplies for other techniques too?
We primarily work with quilting and basketmaking supplies. Basketcases also sells wool we hand dye ourselves for appliqué, penny rugs and rug hooking. We supply chair seat weaving supplies like cane, Shaker tape, and rush. We have Harrisville yarns and embroidery books, kits, and supplies. We have some herbs and remedies, Free Trade Coffee from Frontier as well as some homemade salves and soaps. We always have antique furniture and chairs for sale.
What distinguishes your quilt shop from others?
Basketcases is devoted to the mentoring relationship in developing skills in traditional craftwork. We are the only shop we know of that has on-site machine quilting services. We also emphasize finishing projects and offering support in the process. We believe that by committing our time and energy to research the traditional techniques in historic reproduction work, we are helping to preserve our American culture and heritage.
Basketcases Unlimited
26271 Malta Road * Clare, Illinois 60111-9123 *
815.393.3414
Shop Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Friday 11 am-9 pm,Thursday 11am-5pm
Saturday 9 am-4 pm, Sunday noon-4 pm, Closed Wednesdays
Closed Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day
basketcasesunlimited@comcast.net