Woman sews creativity, community into small town
Shelly Stubblefield cherishes the first quilt she made.
It was for her then-boyfriend — now-husband — Todd.
“It’s a heavy flannel quilt,” she said. “It’s definitely a man’s quilt.”
The quilt is so basic, Shelly said, but it’s special because it was the beginning of a love affair with quilting as well as a committed relationship.
“It’s personal, and it means so much,” Shelly said about handmade quilts. “There’s so much sentimentality in a gift like that.”
And that affair found her at The Calico Whale quilt shop in Valdez.
“I wasn’t a longtime quilter,” she said. “I was interested in it and got a job at a quilt shop so I could learn.”
She worked at the shop for three years before the business owner, Trudy Koszarek, decided to sell it. And Shelly bought it.
“I think you become so attached to your business, it’s like your baby and you want it to go to a good person,” Shelly said. “Trudy made it work for me.”
During the years Shelly worked at the shop, she got to know the customers and the products, and got a hang for the craft.
Shelly, 32, has owned and operated The Calico Whale for nearly five years. It’s the only fabric store in Valdez, a roughly 3,800-person town at the end of the Richardson Highway and the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
An Idaho native, Shelly found herself in Valdez after college, when she couldn’t find a job in the Lower 48.
Her aunt and uncle lived in the Alaska town, and she flew up to babysit for them, got a job waiting tables, made friends and never left.
“I came up for two weeks and stayed for 10 years,” she said.
Now Shelly and Todd have a 5-month-old baby, Thane, who comes to work with her.
Natural ability
Shelly has creativity in her blood, she said. Her parents are artistic, and her mom always did crafts when Shelly was growing up.
Shelly’s mom was the one who convinced her to start quilting when she was in her early twenties.
“I never wanted to get into quilting,” Shelly said. “I thought it was the stupidest hobby. I (couldn’t) imagine cutting fabric apart and sewing it back together. It sounded so boring.”
But after her mom convinced her to piece and tie together a rag quilt, she was hooked.
“I sat down and made one and realized I loved putting the colors together and the fabric,” she said.
At that time, she had no idea how technical sewing and quilting could be.
“I just knew I loved fabric and wanted to pursue it,” Shelly said.
Quilting community
The Calico Whale is not just a storefront or a place for Shelly to indulge her passion. It’s also a social hub.
“We live in a really small town,” Shelly said. “There’s not a lot of options here. … A shop like this is kind of crucial. It gives you a place to come and talk with your friends and hang out.”
Her shop sells notions, basic sewing equipment and a wide variety of fabric and yarn. And she always keeps the product fresh.
“I try to carry a lot of bright fabric,” Shelly said. “It’s so cold here and so monochromatic outside, you can come here and see the colors.”
Shelly has a longarm quilter to do the actual quilting on the blankets that her customers sew from the fabric at her store.
“Most of the time, my quilting business really helps sustain the whole thing,” she said.
The Calico Whale also offers quilting and sewing classes for all levels of seamstresses.
“We’re going to be doing a newsboy hat and a cute bag, a little zipper pouch,” Shelly said of the upcoming listings. “You can leave with something that’s almost done or totally finished.”
A popular class at the shop is one for “a mystery quilt,” where the quilters piece together the material one step at a time until the quilt top is completed.
“Those are so much fun, and I think everybody loves a good mystery,” Shelly said.
The shop has an increasingly youthful clientele of new moms and hip twentysomethings who need an outlet in the small town.
“You’re creating,” Shelly said. “You’re kind of keeping yourself sane in the wintertime.”
Shelly’s advice:
Any aspiring business owner or new entrepreneur must be very self-motivated, Shelly said.
“Owning your own business is great, but I don’t think people realize how much work it is,” she said. “Make sure that you really know what you’re getting into before you do. It’s harder than working for anybody else.”
Keeping your finger on the pulse of the industry and keeping product fresh is important.
“Don’t get stagnant because that can really pull your business down,” she said.
But owning a business also can be really rewarding.
“When you see all the hard work paying off, there’s nothing like that feeling,” Shelly said.
The Calico Whale:
WINTER HOURS: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays
LOCATION: 354 Fairbanks Drive, Valdez, AK 99686
PHONE: (907) 835-4263
ONLINE: The Calico Whale Facebook page
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The Calico Whale is a great addition to Valdez. How well said that it’s a social hub. I learned how to quilt in a beginner’s class probably 10 years ago and am an addict now. Brielle, the article was fun. When are you coming back to make Valdez your home again?
It’s awesome to see Brielle writing about Alaska again…Wyoming’s gain was definitely our loss. A great reporter and a wonderful addition to your staff. Keep up the good work!