Zoe Moffatt
A Sunbury business is closing its doors on June 28, after 36 years forging friendships and servicing the local community.
Alterations, patchwork and fabric store, Creative Stitches, was born from a love of sewing and friendship by Sunbury neighbours Lynnsey Steel and Marilyn Rhodes.
Lynnsey said the pair bonded over their shared interest and decided to buy the store from the previous owners on March 1, 1987.
“Marilyn was actually working with the previous owners … and they wanted to sell… it was basically just a little patchwork sewing shop,” Lynnsey said.
“We had six kids between us, so one of us worked in the shop [at a time] and the other stayed home and looked after the kids.
“Whoever was home had the raw end of the stick,” laughs Lynnsey.
Over the years the pair have changed the shop to include homewares and crafts, while focusing on alterations.
Lynnsey said a highlight of their time has been watching their customers grow up and serve generations of families.
“We’ve seen customers come in with their mum, for their school uniforms and debutante [dresses], and now they come in with their kids,” she said.
“We’ve gone through that whole cycle, which is probably what we’re going to miss most of all.”
Throughout almost four decades of owning the shop, the pair also had to work through COVID-19 lockdowns, which Marilyn said was tough on the store.
“Covid was tough, like it was for most retail shops,” Marilyn said.
“We had sort of been umming and ahing about [closing] for a couple of years… [and] after covid the retail side of the shop never really came back, so we took that as a sign.”
Both Lynnsey and Marilyn said they will be spending their new found free time sewing, and finishing a few projects they have left.
