The History of Wineberry Fabrics & Yarns

Like so many women who venture into the quilting and knitting business Wineberry Fabrics was started by a mother and daughter team.  Barbara and Linda Marr saw a need for a good, quality quilting store in their area, and in 1989 created Wineberry Fabrics as a home-based business in Surrey, British Columbia.  Two years later they opened their first location and 4 years after that expanded into larger premises. 

Their main goal has always been to offer quality products, which is obvious in the carefully chosen cottons, notions, patterns, etc., but also to bring in supplies that are different from what you would normally see in a fabric store.  When you visit the store, Barbara's influence can be seen in the selection of products offered, she has a keen sense about what people want and from her inspiration the very knowledgeable and friendly staff create a wide variety of kits and projects.  Linda's passions are represented in the more specialized areas such as the Asian fabrics, the beautiful Japanese quilts displayed, Sashiko supplies, as well as the array of Foundation Piecing patterns and Locker Hooking supplies.  She will tell you that her 'light bulb moment' came from a visit to an "Odimono" factory (where they weave the beautiful Japanese silks) in Kyoto.  Linda also designs the "Wineberries" pattern line which is exclusive to Wineberry Fabrics. 

Barbara's husband Bob joined the company in 1993 and manufactures wood products, among them the very popular "Convenience-At-Hand" miniature ironing board.  2 years ago Bob built a wonderful area for the knitting store, which now makes Wineberry the exclusive source in Surrey for European yarns, such as "Noro", "Sirdar", Ella Rae, etc. 

Wineberry Fabrics has a large and varied selection of classes, taught by some incredible teachers among which we are proud to include Brenda Brayfield, nationally known teacher, published author and creater of the "Quilting Pastimes" and "Knitting Pastimes" pattern lines.  It is not uncommon to walk through the store on any given day and hear gales of laughter coming from the classroom or to have students invite you in to see what they have created. 

Bernie Tobisch is the only certified Bernina technician in the lower mainland, but his expertise covers many types of machines.  His wife Shelley Scott Tobisch has a reputation for being an incredibly talented quilter and one of our most popular teachers.

Wineberry Fabrics is not your average store.  This is a place where quilters, fiber artists, sewers and knitters can get together, compare ideas, explore their creative juices, a place that inspires and encourages everyone to think outside the box, just like Barbara and Linda did over 20 years ago when they decided to create a very special store.