Local Business
Historic home welcomes new craft and gift shop, Makers & Co.
Madelyn Wilson | Lehi Free Press
When the owner of The Sewing Basket in American Fork, Donna Shadowen, chose to retire and close her fabric shop, local resident Becky Snow couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to open her own craft store in her family’s historic home.
“The previous owner wanted to retire, and my ears perked,” Snow said. “I don’t know if I’ve always wanted to run a business, but I knew I could. I was just waiting for the right opportunity; the lightbulb moment.”
Snow started preparing in August. The Sewing Basket closed in mid-September, and Makers & Co. rapidly turned the store around, opening on Oct. 1, followed by a grand opening event on Nov. 1.
Snow’s great-great-aunt, Lillian King Brown, built the home as a young mother alongside her husband. She raised 10 children there, became a widow, served the community and tended to the sick before passing away in 1941. Becky Snow’s father acquired the home in 2010 and renovated the space to be used as a business, and it’s been a quilt shop ever since.
The shop’s website mentions Lillian King Brown: “She was a mighty woman—resourceful, resilient, and endlessly creative. More than a homemaker, she became all the makers: baker, seamstress, gardener, quilter, fixer, teacher. That spirit of making is what inspires this shop today…together, we carry on her legacy: to create, to share, and to make happiness.”
Becky Snow also draws inspiration for the shop from her faith and love for making.
“Maker came to mind, and I thought, ‘What am I truly? I am a maker,” Snow said. “It’s one of the godliest things that you can do, which is to make. My Heavenly Father, He is a maker of all things.”
The home, directly across 100 East from the American Fork Library, has remained largely true to its original design, with the original brick exterior, solid wood doorways and creaky hardwood floors. The well-loved features give the shop a warm and cozy feel, inviting patrons in from the cold to see what the historic space offers.
The shop features quilting fabrics, yarn, and gifts, and will soon host classes for the community, taught by local crafters. While specifics are not finalized yet, Snow noted that they hope to hold their first class in January and said she plans to keep the classes affordable.
Popular fabric brands, including Tilda, Art Gallery, and Fableism, grace the shop’s shelves, offering pops of color along each wall. Sewing notions and accessories are available in a few spots throughout the shop. The butler’s pantry acts as a yarn room, an offering unique to Makers & Co. from its predecessors.
The front parlor holds various giftable items, including picture books, candles, puzzles and greeting cards. The store also boasts the beautiful and eclectic “Maker’s Tree,” adorned with ornaments from local crafters. Anyone is welcome to bring a handmade ornament of any kind made of paper, clay, fabric or yarn. Each ornament added to the tree enters the maker into a giveaway for a $100 gift card.
“I feel like just ornaments are something that a family does and curates together. I wanted to use that to bring the maker community together and to bring in ornaments from people they’ve made. I just love that everyone took a little time, it’s sweet,” said Snow of the inspiration behind the Maker’s ornament tree.
While the previous owner, Shadowen, decided she no longer wanted to be the one running the business, she didn’t want to say goodbye to the everyday contact with the local crafting community. Now she works as a Makers & Co. employee, bringing years of experience in fabric sales and quilt-making.
“The customers are so fun. They become your friends, and they become more than just acquaintances,” Shadowen shared. “When I retired, one of the customers came in — her husband’s an artist, and he had entered this picture he had drawn in 1999 in a big national art show and took first place. She brought it in and gave me the picture. She said, ‘Here, I can’t think of anybody I’d rather have this picture.’ I just cried.”
The transition has kept Snow incredibly busy, but she feels hopeful for the future.
“I haven’t had a sour experience,” Snow shared of her time running the shop so far. “It’s not a need, it’s a want that women have, and it’s a community.”
“Everybody wants that feeling of being needed and cared about, and that’s what they get in a quilt store,” Shadowen added. “Every quilt store is different, and the most important thing is you make them feel like they’re coming into your home.”
For seasoned crafters, novice makers, community seekers and curious browsers alike, Makers & Co. is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 51 S. 100 E. in American Fork.
For Black Friday, Nov. 28, the shop is offering 25% off storewide, with some exceptions, and will extend shop hours until 7 p.m.
