Calico Country

What Calico Country does

Calico Country is a single-location specialty retail store operating in Lynden, Washington since 1998, focused on quilting fabrics and accessories. The business stocks over 3,000 bolts of 100% cotton, flannel, batik, and themed novelty fabrics sourced from 18+ established brands including Moda Fabrics, Robert Kaufman Fabrics, Red Rooster Quilts, Michael Miller Fabrics, and Timeless Treasures. Its accessory offering includes the original Gypsy Gripper quilting tool, exclusive in-house pattern designs unavailable elsewhere, templates, rulers, rotary cutters, batting, needles, thimbles, books, and kits. The store also carries pre-cut notions such as jelly rolls, charm kits, and fat quarters.

The business operates on a direct-to-consumer retail model with walk-in foot traffic at its 1722 Front St storefront in the Fairways Shopping Center, supplemented by accommodation of special orders for unstocked items. Its target customers are quilting enthusiasts and hobbyists ranging from experienced crafters to beginners, with secondary traffic from tourists visiting Lynden and cross-border Canadian shoppers seeking broader selection than available domestically. The store is positioned as a destination shopping experience and is described as a must-see stop for Lynden sightseers.

Revenue mechanics are entirely one-time in-person retail transactions for fabrics sold by the yard and accessories sold as individual items or kits; no pricing is publicly disclosed, no e-commerce channel exists, and no social media or digital marketing presence is indicated. The business is privately held, bootstrapped, and founder-operated with 12 employees, no external funding, no parent company, and no documented partnerships or institutional backing.

Name

Calico Country

Legal name

Calico Country

Website

https://calicocountrylynden.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Calico Country is a privately held single-location quilting and fabric retail store in Lynden, WA, founded in 1998, serving individual quilting hobbyists, tourists, and Canadian cross-border shoppers with over 3,000 bolts of fabric and exclusive accessories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Retail (Quilting Fabrics & Sewing Supplies)

NAICS

Sewing, Needlework, and Piece Goods Retailers (459130)

akta.pro primary industry

Quilting & Patchwork Shops (CRALADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Upholstery & Decorative Fabrics Retail (Fabric by the Yard, Slipcovers) (CRAIALAF)

Keywords

• Quilting fabrics
• Quilting accessories
• Cotton fabric retail
• Quilting notions
• Specialty fabric store

Headquarters

HQ city

Lynden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Fabric Sales: One-time retail transactions for quilting fabrics including cotton, flannel, and batik sold by the bolt. Customers purchase fabric by the yard for their quilting projects.
2. Quilting Accessories Sales: Sale of quilting tools, notions, and accessories including Gypsy Gripper, templates, rulers, rotary cutters, batting, needles, thimbles, quilting books, and kits. One-time purchase model.
3. In-House Pattern Sales: Sale of original in-house quilting pattern designs that are exclusive to Calico Country.
4. Special Orders: Accommodation of special orders for customers requiring specific fabrics or items not regularly stocked in inventory.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Calico Country is a single-location retail store selling quilting fabrics (over 3,000 bolts of 100% cotton, flannel, and batik including holiday, novelty, and themed prints) and quilting accessories (Gypsy Gripper, in-house exclusive pattern designs, templates, rulers, rotary cutters, batting, needles, thimbles, books, kits, jelly rolls, charm kits, and fat quarters). The store also accepts special orders for items not in stock and serves both local customers and tourists visiting Lynden, WA.

Product overview

Calico Country operates as a single-location quilting and fabric retail store in Lynden, WA, offering two core product lines: Quilting Fabrics (over 3000 bolts of cotton, flannel, and batik materials in various themes and patterns) and Quilting Accessories (including the original Gypsy Gripper tool, templates, in-house patterns, batting, rulers, rotary cutters, books, and kits). The store serves as a specialty retailer for quilting enthusiasts, carrying a wide variety of fabric brands including Moda Fabrics and Red Rooster Quilts, along with notions like jelly rolls, charm kits, and fat quarters. No digital product, platform, or e-commerce integration is described.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quilting Fabrics Over 3,000 bolts of high-quality 100% cotton, flannel, and batik fabrics for quilting projects. Includes holiday-themed fabrics (Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine's Day) carried year-round, novelty prints, and themed fabrics featuring wildlife (wolves, deer, elk), transportation (cars, motorcycles, trains, airplanes), sports, batiks, thirties, florals, and more. Carries 18+ brands including Moda Fabrics, Robert Kaufman Fabrics, Red Rooster Quilts, Michael Miller Fabrics, and Timeless Treasures Fabrics. Sold by the bolt/yard at the retail store.
• Quilting Accessories Comprehensive range of quilting tools, notions, and supplies including the original Gypsy Gripper, quilt templates, original in-house pattern designs, batting, needles, thimbles, standard and special rulers, rotary cutters, quilting books, quilting kits, jelly rolls, charm kits, fat quarters, and other quilting notions. Intended for both experienced quilters and enthusiastic beginners completing quilting projects from start to finish.
• Original In-House Pattern Designs Original quilting patterns designed in-house by Calico Country that cannot be found anywhere else, offering unique quilting templates and patterns to customers seeking exclusive designs.
• Special Orders Accommodation of special orders for customers requiring specific fabrics or items not regularly stocked in inventory, allowing customers to source hard-to-find materials through the store.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Connecting Threads: Direct-to-consumer quilting fabric retailer selling bolts, kits, and patterns with its own in-house designs. Closely comparable to Calico Country's combination of branded fabric, in-house patterns, and notions under one roof.
• Fat Quarter Shop: Online-first quilting fabric and notions retailer specializing in pre-cuts (jelly rolls, charm packs, fat quarters). Directly comparable to Calico Country's fabric assortment and notions business, illustrating the e-commerce model Calico Country has not adopted.
• Missouri Star Quilt Company: The largest US specialty quilting retailer, founded by a quilter for quilters. Directly comparable to Calico Country as a quilting-focused retailer offering 3,000+ bolt-equivalent fabric selection, notions, and patterns — but operating at scale with online sales, classes, and multiple locations.
• Keepsake Quilting: Catalog and online quilting retailer focused on fabric, kits, and patterns. Comparable to Calico Country as a destination for quilting hobbyists seeking curated selections and project kits.
• Mill House Quilts: Independent specialty quilting shop with both storefront and online presence. Closely comparable to Calico Country in operating model (specialty brick-and-mortar quilter's shop with curated fabric selection) and demonstrates the small-shop competitive set.
• Shabby Fabrics: Online specialty quilting retailer offering a wide fabric and notions assortment. Comparable to Calico Country in product mix (quilting fabric, notions, kits, books) but operating purely online with national reach.

Broad incumbents

• JOANN: National craft and fabric chain offering quilting fabrics, notions, and patterns at scale. Overlaps with Calico Country on fabric and notions but serves a much broader craft category and competes primarily on convenience and price.
• Hobby Lobby: National craft and fabric chain with deep fabric and notions assortment. Comparable in product overlap (quilting fabric, tools, patterns) but operates at massive scale across multiple craft categories rather than focusing on quilters.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/calico-country

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Calico Country