ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Did you know Florida’s oldest continuous-running quilt shop is located in Orange Park?
Positioned just off Wells Road, Calico Station serves as a kind of sanctuary for local quilters who call the shop their second home.
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“When I started working here, they told me it was the longest continuous-running quilt shop in Florida,” said Calico Station owner Jennifer Brannon. “And I was like, ‘Wow, that is so cool.’”
So she decided to learn a little bit about the history of the shelves that house the fabric, which have been custom-made for the shop.
“There are also other items in the shop that come from a couple of owners ago. So there is still history in the furniture and things that are in Calico station,” Brannon added.
She continued to state that preserving the shop’s history makes her “feel really good and proud” to carry on something that started over 44 years ago.
Brannon explained that a customer told her that coming to the Calico Station quilt shop feels similar to working at the bar featured on the hit 80s sitcom, “Cheers.” It’s where everybody knows your name.
“It is just a happy place. I mean, you walk in and there’s beautiful fabric everywhere, there’s color everywhere. Everybody just feels at home. And another one of my customers reminded me of that. Calico station is home.”
Brannon also noted that many new faces have begun showing an interest in quilting and she takes joy in seeing the more experienced quilters take the newbies under their wing.
“We’re bringing up the younger generation,” she said. “The older quilters, they take [the new ones] under their wing, which is awesome. The same thing was done to me when I first started sewing here. Someone said, ‘Here, sit down and I’m going to show you how to do this,‘ and she spent an hour and a half with me.”
Finally, the storeowner described the heartwarming experience of walking into the quilt shop and seeing people working on “building their stash” or working on an item intended for a loved one.
“I love it. That’s one of the greatest gifts, when you get a group of ladies sewing, there’s always someone that says, ‘Hey, does anybody know how to do this?’ Five people may know how to do it. They may say, ‘I know a faster way or a better way.’ And then they all learn. So it’s a constant learning, and it’s sharing, it’s community, it’s socializing. It’s just all of it. It’s just a wonderful thing to see.”