ThayerRags About Us

Open Monday-Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM, including lunch time, ( with few exceptions).

ThayerRags™ Fabric Center is a DIVISION OF MARDE Enterprises LLC - Frederick, Oklahoma, USA

Old-time fabric store charm & hospitality, just like you remember from years ago. Formerly the Spinning Wheel Fabric Center for 30 years, we have those hard-to-find items no longer available in most stores, plus the most current fabrics and supplies found in today's modern Quilt Shop. It is 1700 square feet of vintage and current fabric, sewing, quilting, & craft supplies!

History
	*2000 - The name "Pressed for Time" was born.* - Being a stay-at-home wife that loved sewing and crafts, Marlene looked for a way to raise money for her favorite hobby - shopping for and buying fabric. To increase her fabric budget, she decided to start an ironing service out of her Anadarko Oklahoma home. Her husband made up fliers for her to distribute to businesses around town, and slowly, her "Pressed For Time Ironing Service" had a steady customer flow.

	*2001 - The name "ThayerRags" was born.* - After being married for 26 years and the parents of three grown children, CD & Bear took up motorcycling for entertainment and excitement. One item of gear that has been popular by motorcyclists for years is the doo-rag, a cotton "skull cap" that probably evolved from the use of bandanas or other pieces of cloth that were worn to hide or save hair-dos while riding. Years of sewing for family and crafts provided the background for Bear to begin creating doo-rags just for fun. Bear sold her ThayerRags doo-rags off of the back seat of "Bruiser", her Suzuki Marauder motorcycle.

	*2001 - ThayerRags doo-rags went online.* - As the demand for doo-rags increased, samples of Bear's ThayerRags custom doo-rags were shown on one of the web pages at the family domain that husband CD was running as a hobby. It was the beginning a small business that provided doo-rags for individuals by order. Customization included embroidery text for one-of-a-kind items. Local ThayerRags doo-rag orders were delivered by motorcycle, while the distant orders were mailed.

	*2002 - ThayerRags Wrap-Arounds emerged.* - At the request of her husband, Bear designed and made her first beverage can koozy. CD had searched without success for the old style of koozy that wrapped around the container unlike the style that is form-fit. Space for gear on motorcycles is very limited, so he wanted a koozy that could either be folded small and put in a pocket or attached to his motorcycle somewhere. Other bikers saw it and wanted one as well, so the ThayerRags Wrap-Around was added to the line of custom ThayerRags products.

	*2003 - ThayerRags Baby Bibs were developed.* - On a trip to a Craft Show in Colorado, Bear bought a cute little baby bib and brought it home. After showing the bib to friends, she was asked to make some for them too, and ThayerRags Baby Bibs were added to the line of custom ThayerRags products.

	*2004 - ThayerRags Shirt-Tale Bears were born.* - A lady brought Bear her dad's shirt and a pattern to make a teddy bear out of old men's shirts. She had begun one bear, but was having problems with it and asked Bear if she could help her with it or just do it for her. Bear completed the bear for the lady, and ThayerRags Shirt-Tale Bears were begun. The name implies that each bear has a "tale to tell" about the loved one that previously wore the shirt, and serve as a comfort to those who have lost a loved one.

	*2005 - ThayerRags Doo-rags & Pressed for Time Ironing Service moved.* - After working for electric power companies for 28 years, the couple decided to take a break from that and moved back to Frederick Oklahoma where they had lived for 12 years prior to living in Anadarko. They still owned a house in Frederick, and it was "home" to them and their kids since most of the kid's school years had been spent there. The ThayerRags custom product business continued essentially uninterrupted, but the Pressed for Time Ironing Service had to begin developing an all-new customer base.

	*2006 - ThayerRags Fabric Center was found.* - As luck would have it, a business opportunity arose and the couple purchased the *Spinning Wheel Fabric Center*, a long-time downtown Frederick Oklahoma business. The Spinning Wheel had been in operation for over 30 years (from 1975 until 2006), although the owner had slowed down and not kept regular hours for the last 5 years.

	The business still contained its 30-year stock of inventory, including many items that had long since went out of style or had been replaced by a more modern product. The store looked like the owner had simply went out to lunch and forgotten to return. To a fabric collector, it was Heaven! Some of the inventory was even from the previous business of *Kelly's Outlet*, a variety store that had operated in the building for approximately 20 years prior to the store becoming the Spinning Wheel in 1975.

	Among the fixtures that dated back to Kelly's Outlet (we are told by a previous Kelly's employee) is the old button box in the back room. Customers were allowed to go back and dig through the box to find buttons and buy them for 5-cents each. The button box has since been relocated out to the main sales area, and vintage buttons are still added regularly. Today's cost for these buttons remains 5-cents each.

	*2006 - The name "ThayerRags" becomes a Trademarked (™) Name.*

	*2006 - ThayerRags™ Fabric Center opened for business.* - With a new floor plan and much additional new inventory, ThayerRags™ Fabric Center opened its doors for business. The business consisted of two main categories; selling retail fabrics and providing sewing related services (mending, ironing, alterations, and sewing machine service).

	*2006 - ThayerRags™ Coat-Tale Pillows* *were developed*. - Shortly before Christmas 2006, a lady requested that a teddy bear be made out of an old FFA jacket, but after consideration of the large amount of embroidery on the back, which needed to be preserved, it was determined that a better shape for the jacket would be a pillow. Wanting to keep with the same theme as the Shirt-Tale Bear, the name Coat-Tale Pillow was selected.

	*2007 - ThayerRags™ Fabric Center grew.* - Leaning mostly towards quilt related products, the fabric inventory was increased, quilting tools and books were added, and quilt batting by-the-yard had been included. Services of mending, alterations, & ironing continued to increase and was a large part of the business.

	*2008 - ThayerRags™ Fabric Center continued to grow.* - Few changes occurred from 2007 to 2008, although the amount of both retail sales and mending services continuing to increase. The number of out-of-town customers noticeably increased as word got around that the store was open. Internet sales was now becoming a large portion of the business.

	*2009 - ThayerRags™ Fabric Center took a step backward.* - The economic problems of 2009 were a setback to us as much as most other businesses, but although the amount of retail sales was down, mending services held fairly steady. New mending and alteration customers were the norm. The number of out-of-town customers noticeably decreased as fuel prices jumped and folks held onto what money they had. Vintage Sewing Machines became a larger portion of the business, with the acquisition of a large local collection.



Contact
	CD & Marlene (Bear) Thayer Phone us at 580.335.3380 Email us at [ThayerRags at cdthayer.com] Visit us at 108 W. Grand Ave. Frederick, Oklahoma, USA We're very proud of our little store, and would love to share it with you!

www.thayerrags.com

History

Contact