Tessuti Fabrics turns 18!
Time has surely flown since our first fabric stall in Chatswood, waaaaaaay back in May 1992. I never imagined that I’d still be here selling fabrics all these years later. Back then, I vividly remember (as I was furiously stuffing rolls and remnants into the back of my little hatchback) wondering if anybody would seriously be interested in buying these cast-off fabrics from Mum’s collections past. A couple of hours later I was racing back to the factory for more stock. Fast forward eighteen years and four stores later, and I suppose the answer is a fairly resounding ‘yes! Sadly I don’t have any *photographs from that day but it’s etched in the memory forever. And back then, serving those first customers at that wobbly trestle table, the seed was planted and now I can’t imagine doing anything else.
And so, in order to mark Tessuti’s coming of age, we’d like to offer a special giveaway – a Japanese pattern book of your choice from our collection, for two Australian and one international customer. Simply leave a comment below (include an email address if you’re a non-blogger, and mention somewhere in there where you’re from eg. Aust, US) before Friday 14th midnight AEST . The winners will be chosen randomly.
Good luck!
* this is the earliest photo I have from our first year, a small temporary store in Victoria Plaza ( we sure did use up a lot of calico!!!) and Katie our very first Tessuti employee.
Happy Birthday! Wow 18 years!
I'm in Aus. 🙂
Congratulation on Tessuti's coming of age. Quite an achievement. I am from South Australia and have been sewing from many many years.
I thank you for offering such wonderful giveaway
I will keep my fingers crossed. Here's hoping.
helenreiters@hotmail.com
Happy Birthday to you!
I would love to win one of the Japanese pattern books. I am drooling over Drape Drape 🙂
I'm in NSW, Aus.
The first time I came into Tessuti in Victoria Plaza was late 1993 or early 1994. Congratulations on making 18 years (although it does make me feel quite old)!
Happy Birthday! I wish wish WISH I lived in your city. I'm so glad you took the risk back then. And glad you're having fun too.
I'm in Australia.
judd.s.r.7 at gmail dot com
Happy Birthday! Good long life to Tessuti… I'm in Australia!
Happy Birthday! My favorite thing about Tessuti is the way you guys helped me get my wedding fabric!! I'm in Sydney. 🙂
jenn@beardandfringe.com
Congrats!!!! I'm proud I was able to be part of that making, for 7 years!! And you still help my fabric obsession grow stronger…ever in Singapore!
I think you have my email address 😉
Em in SINGAPORE xx
Happy Birthday guys! Does this mean you're all grown up now? 🙂
Australia.
mail.suboo[at]gmail.com
What a beautiful history – your family is born and bred rag trade!
A big congratulations to you.
xxoo
Cherri
Australia
Happy birthday! I loved shopping in your Surry Hills shop when I last visited Sydney and can't wait to come back again! It's my birthday too – well, next week and I'm not 18 :(.
PS. I'm in Australia
Congratulations on a great 18 years!
Rose in SV (California-USA)
Happy 18th. Persuing a passion for 18 years you lucky thing.
Thank you for the oportunity of the giveaway.
Estee from UK.
Congratulations! I am from Germany and I finally have the chance to get one of these great japanese pattern books. I do not want to leave my email adress so I hope it is ok to tell that my username on burdastyle.com is Susisonne. So you can leave a message there. Thanks!
I found your blog only recently…when searching for Japanese pattern books – you have such an amazing selection! Happy 18th birthday – I can imagine that you got in far ahead of the time and must have seen things change massively as sewing has undergone sure a major resurgence in popularity in the the last five years.
I'd love to entre your competition and come from England.
Florence x
Wow ! 18 years ! congratulations – Tessuti filled a huge gap in the market between Home Yardage /Lincraft/ Spotlight and bridal silks, and still does. Heres to many more years of success for you.
Vicki from NSW Aust.
Happy 18th birthday! What an exciting journey.
Happy birthday Tessutis!
Your japanese fabrics are my favourite. I keep buying metres from your surry hills store, and then have great fun trying to figure out what to make. May you enjoy many more years of enticing us with beautiful fabrics 🙂
Mez in Sydney
[korewatastyfishATgmail.com]
Wow! Happy birthday! I discovered Tessuti in about 1996 in Chatswood. I was a beginning sewer and just knew I had to work out how to make these divine fabrics into something. I've been thrilled to find your stores all around Sydney where I've lived and worked and now full circle, I am shopping at Tessuti Chatswood again!!
Eighteen years – I can't believe it. I have been a regular visitor to your original store since the nineties when we come down from Brisbane to visit family and friends. Congratulations, and when are you opening your Brisbane store?
Robyn Dixon
Did you say a giveaway of a Japanese Sewing Book?? Seriously?!! You offer the best fabric I can source anywhere, the most adorable buttons and trims, fantastic advice … and now Tessuti is sweetening the deal with a free giveaway?!! You guys are awesome! The sewing machine continues to hum away daily here in Tamworth, country NSW, and Japanese sewing books are my fav!
Ooops- email address for Kylie in Tamworth jandkturnbull@bigpond.com
Well done, it is great to see a fabric store thriving! (Australia)
Hi Colette,
Congradulations, I love your fabrics and have an actively growing collection as I seem to have more ideas than time. I'm trying to remember when I first found you but it must have been not long after you opened in Chatswood. I'm still wearing a simple bias cut shift made from a lovely piece os silk from Tessuti made at least 15yrs ago and that was far from my first purchase.I still have the skirt I made from the first piece of fabric from you, a beautiful piece of linen (wide stripe in neutral shades) I found on the remnant table outside the store in Chatswood before you moved to th back of the arcade. All power to you, please keep supplying us with beautiful fabrics for the rest of our sewing days.
Best wishes for the future,
Lesley
lholgerssonultimo@yahoo.com.au
What a wonderful milestone – the sewing community here in Australia is very thankful that you endured with your passion! Congratulations!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…I hope you're all eating cake with candles on top… Katherine
Congratulations on 18 years, when I lived in Sydney I loved visiting Tessuti. It always reminded me of the fabric stores Mum took me into as a child, as apposed to a supermarket like, well, you know who….
Happy birthday from your cousin next door – New Zealand!
Congratulations Colette, I too have fond memories of my childhood, shopping for fabrics with my mum. Today, I shop with my daughter for fabrics at your lovely shop in Melbourne. It is a delight to visit Lisa, Liesl and Nicole, whilst working out my next project. Wishing you all the success in the future…
Evelyne (Melbourne)
Happy Birthday Tessuti – and well done Collette. I like hearing success stories with small beginnings and look forward to celebrating more of Tessuti's milestones – seeing as though you help us celebrate so many of ours
Here's cheers from me in Melbourne!
What a lovely story. It is so nice to know where it all began. And hard to imagine sewing without Tessuti. Happy birthday!
Passiona, NSW, Australia
passiona.cottee[at]uts.edu.au
Happy birthday and thank you, thankyou for coming to Melbourne, Australia where i live!
rosa@cyarchitects.com.au
Congratulations and Happy Birthday!
I loved hearing the story about Tessuti's beginnings. 🙂
Congrats on the birthday celebrations… a gr8 achievement…thanks for the intro to Jimmy Web
Mustang Andy
Happy Birthday Tessuti! Congratulations on 18 years.
I'm in Aus.
what a wonderful `giveaway`!
I have been shopping in your stores for at least 18years.
Your Chatswood store came up with fabric for my daughters little bridesmaids, after I had searched Melbourne and Canberra to no avail!(I live in Canberra and we just dont have any fabric stores worthy..)
I visit Melb and Sydney frequently and love the Melb store-I happened to be in Melb the day after it opened.
I enjoyed sewing little girls dresses last summer- I now have 3 granddaughters and just loved the Japanese Pattern books- such simple designs which make up into `little frocks with flair`-I loved the `Butterfly sleeves for summer
I would be honoured to win your giveaway!
Congratulations on making it to 18 years. Here's to another 18 years and even more stores!
Rachel (in Australia)
Congratulations – now you can vote! Thank you for the generous giveaway, too.
Congratualtions Collette, what a wonderful story! We all love what you do and are so glad you had that lovely idea way back then. You guys keep our stash levels and ideas flowing. I love, love, love the Japanese book and have bought many so don't give one to me, for anyone that hasn't tried them, you must, they are fun & quirky & use very different methods from our traditional patterns. Best regard, Keri L
glad you came to melbourne (although honestly i do get visit your blog much more frequently than your stores!)
happy birthday!
brkich.belinda[at]gmail.com
Happy Birthday. Definitely a monumental event.
Would love to be your lucky international winner.
Renee
USA
rsgrandinetti@yahoo(dot)com
Wow, 18 years. Fantastic!!
Happy Birthday. Here's hoping to an instore visit long before the next 18 years pass – in the meantime, I'll keep loving the online store. 🙂
Jaqi (jaqstar66@hotmail.com)
Happy birthday! I love your fabrics and the ease of on-line ordering. I'm so glad you started this adventure 18 years ago. I'm in South Australia
Liz
watch[underscore]1[at]bigpond[dot]net[dot]au
Happy Birthday! I love visting your sydney stores & dreaming of all the lovely things I wish I could make… 😉
Jess
Australia
Congratulations! 18 years of fabric heaven – lucky you.
Vicki (Aust)
Happy birthday. I savour the fabric in your Melbourne store whenever I visit the city. I'm on the south coast in Victoria. I wish myself luck with toes crossed.
Can we ever be so lucky to have a Tessuti in Perth?
Congratulations on 18 years!
i heart tessuti xx
leanne
buderim, sunshine coast , australia
leanneruegg@bigpond.com
So many years of providing beautiful fabrics to all of us! Congratulations on your 18th Birthday! I was so excited when you opened your fabric store in melbourne. My three years at fashion school before you had opened here were spent trawling across town to get the best fabrics. And now i only have to come to your store and i always find something i love!
Keep up the great work and here's to 18 more wonderful years.
Ai Mie
Melbourne, Australia
email: croadster24@gmail.com
Love a good "business done good story". Happy birthday and well done.
A hearty congratulations Colette. I'm astounded its been so long (surely you can't have started work in your early teens?!), but I am not alone in my undying gratitude that you've stuck with it. Your arrival in Melbourne has really transformed the life of us sewing types down here and we're excited to see your collection of stores grow 🙂
Congratulations! Great to see someone with vision bring it to fruition. I certainly enjoy shopping at your store in Melbourne – how did we sew without you for so long?
Cheers
Jenny (Melbourne, Aus)
missjenny01@hotmail.com
Happy birthday! Here's to another 18 years.
Kate (Orange, Australia)
rsvp.kismetist@gmail.com
Congratulations on 18 years! Quite a milestone. I love your online store but, unfortunately, have never been into one of the physical ones. I'm from South Australia and can't wait for the day that you open a store here! I have the Drape, Drape and one of the skirt books and I love them both. You don't need to read Japanese to follow them at all.
Michelle
(mischka@live.com.au)
Hi, i am in Melbourne and love your store. I love the fabric, the space, the books and the help i receive. My email address is fpcoventry@hotmail.com
thanks
Fiona
Congratulations to Tessuti and Collette! I remember going into the Chadstone store when I lived in Sydney a few years ago and just loving the fabrics. Then we moved to Melbourne, where I now live. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I heard that you had opened a Melbourne store.
jackie-stuart@bigpond.com
Congratulations! 18 years, who knew? What a great effort, you should be so proud!
Laura
lawla@excite.com
Hey congratulations …. I was there in 1992 at Victoria Plaza with my friend Lynn! And still loving visiting tessuti!
Stephanie
Happy birthday and congratulations on 18 years! I adore your Melbourne store!
Kimberley
laurencek at pacific dot net dot au
Congratulations on making 18 years in a tough market. I remember going into your Chatswood store about 15 or so years ago as a poor uni student and having to decide whether to buy fabric or have a big night out! Fabric won the day, and luckily these days I don't drink anymore…..
Congratulations! Always interested in your blog posts. I'm in Sydney.
Amy
a[dot]perkins23[at]yahoo[dot]com
Happy birthday Tessuti!
From Kazz in Canberra, Australia
vienkaren[dot]tran[at]gmail[dot]com
Congratulations Colette. I was there the week you opened in Victoria Plaza! I remember how excited I was to be able to buy fabric the top designers were using. I still have some of your early kids fabrics in my stash – my daughter is now nearly 16! I love visiting your blog and Chatswood store regularly. Keep up your marvellous work.
Congratulations on coming of age, Tessuti!
clake[at]iinet[dot]net[dot]au
I'm a beginner sewer from California, USA and your blog constantly inspires me and makes me challenge myself. Congrats on your success!
akfactor[at]gmail[dot]com
congratulations! I am from Canberra and have been known to drive up to sydney, pop into Tessuti to stock up and drive back home again. After 18 years of succcess, Collette I think it may be time for a Canberra store!?
Congratulations on your continued success.
monica_dawes@hotmail.com
Happy Birthday from Sydney town. I love your store and was v. sorry when Bondi J. closed but now I have an excuse to shop at your even more fab Surry Hills store. You really do serve a very special niche in the fabric market – keep it up!
Happy Birthday Tessuti, and congrats on your success!
I'd love to go in the draw for the pattern book as well – my beloved machine comes back from the longest ever repair time (or so it feels!) on Saturday, and I'm itching to get sewing 🙂
(I'm in Sydney, Aus as well).
Happy 18th Birthday! Hope the next 18 are just as successful!! I'm in Melbourne, Aus.
Happy Birthday! I am ever so glad you decided to open that store 18 years ago. I'm in Brisbane Australia.
Simone
ssdeckers@hotmail.com
Bring out the champagne and Happy Birthday.
I love your site and am always reading the blogs. I intend to purchase fabric on line in the very near future and call into your Melbourne store when I am next there. Love your inspiration. I now live in Townsville Qld.
Congratulations Tessuti! I love having you just up the road from work – I always feel nice leaving the store in Melb with a bag full of Tessuti goodies. xx Rachel
Many Happy Returns and Congratulations on your 18th! It's great to have Tessuti in Sydney!
happy 18th birthday…legal drinking age!!!!
Happy Birthday! Would love to win! I'm from Canada
WOW what a milestone! Congrats and a big happy birthday to you all xxx
aussie blogger here 😉
Congrats on 18 fabulous years.
I'm in Oz.
Happy 18th Birthday Tessuti. I live in Brisbane and thank god for your online shop!
Happy Birthday! Tessuti is my essential stop when I visit Sydney.
Brisbane Aust!
kirstinburrowes@iinet.net.au
Happy Birthday! Love reading your blog from here in NZ.
Happy Birthday! How I wish you had a branch here in Dunedin, New Zealand. Mind you, I'd be permanently broke if you did!