Discover the nationwide movement that's transforming how quilters explore, shop, and connect—and why your next quilting adventure might be just a hop away
Picture this: you're driving through unfamiliar territory, following a carefully planned route that takes you from one charming quilt shop to another. At each stop, you discover unique fabrics you've never seen before, meet passionate shop owners who share their expertise, and collect exclusive patterns that aren't available anywhere else. By the end of the day, your car is filled with treasures, your heart is full of inspiration, and you've made connections that will last a lifetime.
This isn't just a quilter's dream—it's the reality that Koleene Herlocker has created through Shop Hop Inc., the nation's largest sewing and quilting hop initiative. What started as a simple idea inspired by Iowa's successful shop hop has grown into a nationwide movement that's not just changing how quilters shop, but actually helping to save the brick-and-mortar quilt stores that are the heart of our community.
In a world where online shopping dominates and physical stores are disappearing at an alarming rate, Shop Hop Inc. represents something revolutionary: a way to bring quilters back to the tactile, personal experience of shopping in real stores while creating a sense of adventure and community that no website can replicate.
From Iowa Fields to National Phenomenon: The Unlikely Beginning
The story of Shop Hop Inc. begins in the most unexpected place—retirement. Koleene Herlocker had stepped back from her career when a quilt shop owner in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, approached her with an intriguing proposition. The All Iowa Shop Hop had been successful, but it needed someone with vision and energy to take it to the next level.
What happened next is a testament to the power of recognizing a good idea and having the courage to scale it. Koleene didn't just take over the Iowa event—she saw the potential for something much bigger. She recognized that quilt shop owners across the country were facing the same challenges: how to attract customers, how to compete with online retailers, and how to create marketing opportunities that individual stores couldn't manage on their own.
The solution was elegant in its simplicity: create a collaborative marketing opportunity that benefits everyone involved. Store owners get increased foot traffic and exposure to new customers. Quilters get the adventure of discovering new shops and exclusive products. Communities get the economic boost that comes from increased tourism and local spending.
Starting with the All Iowa Shop Hop in 2019, Shop Hop Inc. has grown at a pace that even Koleene finds surprising. The planned expansion to 16 events covering over 30 states in 2025 represents more than just business growth—it's evidence of a real need being met in the quilting community.
The Magic Formula: Why Shop Hops Work When Other Marketing Doesn't
To understand why shop hops have become so successful, you need to understand what makes them different from traditional retail marketing. Koleene uses the analogy of a "pub crawl" to explain the concept, but the comparison goes deeper than just moving from location to location.
Like a pub crawl, a shop hop creates a sense of adventure and discovery. But unlike casual shopping, it's a structured experience with clear goals, exclusive rewards, and a community of fellow participants. You're not just shopping—you're on a quest, collecting unique fabrics, gathering stamps in your passport, and working toward prizes that make the journey even more rewarding.
The tactile element is crucial to the shop hop experience. As Koleene emphasizes, there's simply no substitute for touching and feeling fabric in person. Online shopping can show you colors and patterns, but it can't tell you how a fabric drapes, how it feels against your skin, or how it might behave when you're piecing it into a quilt. The sensory experience of shopping in person is irreplaceable, and shop hops celebrate and amplify that experience.
But perhaps most importantly, shop hops create connections—between quilters and shop owners, between quilters and new stores, and between quilters and each other. These connections often extend far beyond the event itself, creating lasting relationships that benefit everyone involved.
The Ripple Effect: How Shop Hops Save Local Businesses
The impact of shop hops on local quilt stores cannot be overstated. In an era when many brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling to survive, shop hops provide a lifeline that goes beyond simple sales increases.
First, there's the immediate economic impact. Shop hops drive foot traffic to stores that might otherwise struggle to attract customers from outside their immediate area. Quilters travel significant distances to participate in shop hops, bringing tourism dollars to communities that might not otherwise see them.
But the benefits extend far beyond the event dates. The year-round marketing opportunities created by shop hop communities, particularly through Facebook groups, provide ongoing value to participating stores. Shop owners can promote special events, new arrivals, and sales to an engaged audience of quilters who have already demonstrated their willingness to travel and spend money on their craft.
The exclusive fabric lines created for each regional shop hop become collector's items that drive repeat visits and create buzz that extends far beyond the participating stores. These fabrics, developed 14-15 months before each hop, represent a significant investment in creating unique value that can't be found anywhere else.
Perhaps most importantly, shop hops help stores build relationships with customers who might never have discovered them otherwise. These relationships often result in ongoing business long after the shop hop ends, as quilters return to stores they discovered during their hop adventures.
The Community That Never Sleeps: Facebook Groups and Year-Round Engagement
One of the most innovative aspects of Shop Hop Inc. is how they've leveraged social media to create year-round communities around their events. The Facebook groups associated with each state's shop hop serve multiple purposes that extend far beyond event promotion.
For quilters, these groups become sources of inspiration, advice, and connection. Members share photos of their purchases, ask for help with projects, and offer support and encouragement to fellow quilters. The groups create a sense of belonging that many quilters, particularly those in rural areas, might not find elsewhere.
For shop owners, the groups provide unprecedented access to engaged customers. A single post about new fabric arrivals can generate immediate phone calls and sales, as Koleene's anecdote about a customer calling immediately after seeing a fabric post demonstrates. This kind of direct, immediate connection between stores and customers is marketing gold that traditional advertising simply can't match.
The groups also serve as valuable feedback mechanisms, allowing shop hop organizers to understand what's working, what isn't, and what participants want to see in future events. This direct line of communication helps ensure that shop hops continue to evolve and improve based on actual participant needs and preferences.
The Passport to Adventure: How Gamification Drives Participation
The passport system used by Shop Hop Inc. is a masterclass in gamification—turning shopping into a game that encourages exploration and rewards participation. The concept is simple but effective: visit participating stores in a region, collect unique stickers, and submit your completed regional passport for a chance to win prizes.
This system accomplishes several important goals simultaneously. It encourages quilters to visit multiple stores rather than just their favorites, exposing them to new shops they might not have discovered otherwise. It creates a sense of accomplishment and progress as participants work toward completing their passports. And it provides a mechanism for collecting contact information and building mailing lists for future events.
The regional approach is particularly clever, making the goal achievable even for quilters who can't travel extensively. You don't need to visit every store in an entire state to be eligible for prizes—completing a single region is enough. This makes participation accessible to quilters with limited time, mobility, or travel budgets while still encouraging exploration beyond their immediate area.
The prizes themselves, including the special 2025 promotion of quilting cruises, add an element of excitement that transforms routine shopping into an adventure with potentially life-changing rewards.
The Magazine Strategy: Creating Value That Lasts All Year
The Shop Hop magazine represents one of the most sophisticated aspects of the entire program. Far from being just an event guide, these magazines are comprehensive resources that provide value long after the shop hop ends.
The fact that many customers buy two copies—one for their sewing room and one for their car—speaks to the magazine's utility and appeal. These aren't disposable promotional materials; they're keepsakes that quilters refer to repeatedly throughout the year.
The magazines serve multiple functions: they're directories of participating stores, collections of exclusive patterns, sources of inspiration and education, and marketing tools that keep the shop hop top-of-mind year-round. The patterns included in the magazines often become sought-after designs that drive additional interest in the events and participating stores.
The magazine also serves as a tangible reminder of the shop hop experience, helping to maintain the emotional connection quilters feel to the event and encouraging participation in future hops.
The Expansion Challenge: Growing While Maintaining Quality
The rapid growth of Shop Hop Inc. presents both opportunities and challenges. The addition of Arizona, New Mexico, and Wisconsin for 2026 brings the total reach to an impressive scale, but as Koleene acknowledges, managing this growth while maintaining quality is the organization's primary challenge.
This challenge is particularly significant because the success of shop hops depends on the quality of the experience. Unlike many businesses where rapid expansion can be managed through standardization and automation, shop hops require personal attention, local knowledge, and careful curation of participating stores.
Each new state requires understanding local market conditions, identifying the right mix of participating stores, developing relationships with shop owners, and creating marketing materials that resonate with local quilters. The exclusive fabric lines must be designed and produced well in advance, and the logistics of coordinating events across multiple states simultaneously are complex.
The fact that Shop Hop Inc. has managed this growth successfully while maintaining the quality and community focus that made the original events successful speaks to the strength of their model and the dedication of their team.
The Beginner's Guide: Your First Shop Hop Adventure
For quilters who have never participated in a shop hop, the prospect might seem overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you plan your route? What should you expect?
Koleene's advice is refreshingly simple: just start. Whether it's a large national shop hop or a smaller regional event, the best way to understand the appeal is to experience it firsthand. The shop hop community is welcoming and supportive, and fellow participants are always willing to share advice and recommendations.
Planning your first shop hop doesn't require extensive preparation. Start by checking the Shop Hop Inc. website to see what events are available in your area or areas you're willing to travel to. Get your magazine and passport, and study the participating stores to identify ones that particularly interest you.
Don't feel pressured to visit every store or complete entire regions on your first hop. Focus on enjoying the experience, discovering new places, and connecting with fellow quilters. The competitive aspect of collecting stamps and winning prizes is fun, but it shouldn't overshadow the primary goals of exploration and enjoyment.
Most importantly, approach your first shop hop with an open mind and a sense of adventure. You're likely to discover stores, fabrics, and techniques you never knew existed, and you might just find your new favorite quilting destination.
The Economic Impact: Supporting Local Communities
The economic impact of shop hops extends far beyond the quilt stores themselves. When quilters travel to participate in shop hops, they're contributing to local economies in ways that ripple through entire communities.
Participants need places to stay, meals to eat, and gas for their cars. They often extend their trips to explore local attractions, visit restaurants, and shop at other local businesses. The tourism dollars generated by shop hops can be significant for smaller communities that might not otherwise attract many visitors.
This economic impact is particularly important for rural communities where many quilt shops are located. These areas often struggle to attract tourists and outside spending, making the economic boost from shop hops especially valuable.
The success of shop hops also demonstrates the continued viability of brick-and-mortar retail when it's done right. By creating unique experiences and building genuine communities, local stores can not only survive but thrive in competition with online retailers.
The Future of Quilting Retail: Lessons from Shop Hop Success
The success of Shop Hop Inc. offers important lessons for the future of quilting retail and small business marketing in general. The key insights are surprisingly straightforward but powerful in their application.
First, collaboration beats competition. Instead of viewing other quilt stores as competitors, shop hop participants work together to create experiences that benefit everyone. This collaborative approach generates more value for customers and more business for all participants than any individual store could achieve alone.
Second, experience trumps convenience. While online shopping is undeniably convenient, it can't replicate the sensory experience of touching fabric, the personal connection with knowledgeable shop owners, or the social aspect of shopping with fellow quilters. By focusing on these unique advantages, physical stores can create value that online retailers simply cannot match.
Third, community is the ultimate competitive advantage. The Facebook groups, year-round engagement, and sense of belonging created by shop hops represent something that no individual store or online retailer can replicate. This community becomes a powerful force for customer retention and word-of-mouth marketing.
Finally, gamification and exclusive offerings create compelling reasons to participate. The passport system, exclusive fabrics, and prize drawings transform routine shopping into an adventure with unique rewards. This approach could be adapted to many other retail contexts with similar success.
The Ripple Effect: How Shop Hops Change Quilters
Beyond the economic and business impacts, shop hops have a profound effect on the quilters who participate in them. Many participants report that shop hops have changed how they approach their craft, expanded their horizons, and connected them with a broader community of fellow quilters.
The exposure to new stores, techniques, and products often inspires quilters to try new approaches or tackle more challenging projects. The exclusive fabrics and patterns available through shop hops frequently become the starting points for quilts that quilters might never have attempted otherwise.
The social aspect of shop hops is equally important. Many quilters, particularly those in rural areas or those new to the craft, find it difficult to connect with others who share their passion. Shop hops provide natural opportunities for these connections, often leading to lasting friendships and ongoing support networks.
The sense of adventure and exploration fostered by shop hops often extends beyond quilting. Many participants report that shop hops have encouraged them to travel more, explore new areas, and be more open to new experiences in general.
Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter of the Shop Hop Story
As Shop Hop Inc. continues to expand and evolve, the future looks bright for both the organization and the quilting community it serves. The planned expansion to 16 events in over 30 states represents just the beginning of what's possible.
The addition of special promotions like the quilting cruises shows how the organization continues to innovate and find new ways to reward participants and generate excitement. These kinds of unique offerings help differentiate shop hops from other retail events and create additional reasons for participation.
The continued growth of the Facebook communities and year-round engagement suggests that shop hops are evolving beyond simple retail events into comprehensive community platforms. This evolution could lead to new opportunities for education, collaboration, and support that extend far beyond shopping.
Perhaps most importantly, the success of Shop Hop Inc. demonstrates that there's still a strong appetite for authentic, community-based experiences in our increasingly digital world. As more aspects of our lives move online, the value of real-world connections and experiences only increases.
Your Next Adventure Awaits
The story of Shop Hop Inc. is ultimately a story about the power of community, the value of authentic experiences, and the importance of supporting local businesses. It's a reminder that some of the best things in life—the thrill of discovery, the joy of connection, the satisfaction of supporting something you believe in—can't be replicated online.
Whether you're a seasoned quilter looking for new inspiration or a beginner seeking to explore the craft, shop hops offer something unique and valuable. They're opportunities to discover new stores, meet fellow quilters, find exclusive products, and support local businesses—all while having an adventure that you'll remember long after the fabric is sewn into quilts.
The next time you see a shop hop announced in your area, consider it an invitation to something special. Pack your passport, charge your camera, and prepare for an adventure that might just change how you think about quilting, shopping, and community.
After all, the best quilting stories often begin with a simple decision to explore something new. Your next great quilting adventure might be just a hop away.
Your Shop Hop Questions Answered
What exactly is a shop hop? A shop hop is an organized event where quilters visit multiple participating stores in a region, collecting stamps or stickers in a passport for chances to win prizes while discovering new shops and exclusive products.
Do I need to visit every store to participate? No! You only need to complete a region (not an entire state) to be eligible for prizes. Focus on enjoying the experience rather than trying to visit every single store.
How do I find shop hops in my area? Visit the Shop Hop Inc. website to see current and upcoming events. They're expanding to 16 events in over 30 states for 2025, with Arizona, New Mexico, and Wisconsin joining in 2026.
What makes shop hop fabrics special? Each regional shop hop features exclusive fabric lines developed 14-15 months in advance. These fabrics are only available at participating stores during the hop and often become collector's items.
How do the Facebook groups work? Each state's shop hop has its own Facebook group that operates year-round, providing a community for sharing projects, asking questions, and staying connected with fellow quilters and participating stores.
Are shop hops only for experienced quilters? Absolutely not! Shop hops are perfect for quilters of all skill levels. They're actually one of the best ways for new quilters to explore the craft, discover resources, and connect with the quilting community.
Ready to start your shop hop adventure? Visit Shop Hop Inc.'s website to find events near you, and don't forget to check out Linda's Electric Quilters for all your quilting needs. Your next great quilting discovery is waiting!
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