Mikala’s Quilting - Owners: Mike and Shelly Schmatz.
Shelly has previous retail experience as the owner of a yarn and craft shop – which was called Mikala’s Knitting Boutique. Everyone always asks – where does “Mikala” come from? Well – it is sort of Shelly’s name! She was in a wedding in Hawaii in 1990 and picked up a souvenir cup with her name “Michele” on it – with the Hawaiian version of her name too– Mikala. She was at the time trying to come up with a name for her knitting business – and decided on Mikala’s! The shop was closed in 2005 when Shelly & Mike got married and moved to the Rochester New York area.
Shelly has been sewing since age 4 and quilting for almost 30 years. After renting time on several longarm machines, Shelly decided it was time to get her own machine. After researching all the longarm machines available – she found that INNOVA machines were by far the best machine. As there wasn’t a dealer close by, she contacted ABM International to see what it would take to become a dealer. Mikala’s Quilting is pleased to be chosen as New York’s only authorized INNOVA Quilting Systems Dealer! When the time came to name the business – Mike said we need to have a “Mikala’s” again!
Mike has joined Shelly in the business as co-owner and technical support – with professional experience since 1983 in field service. He not only knows how to set up the machines – he is thoroughly trained in the whole quilting process. Mike also has quilting experience as his mother Ruth has been an avid quilter and teacher for many years. Mike will give each new machine owner a class after he has installed their machine – from machine maintenance and adjusting tension to refreshing what was learned in their New Owner Training Class.
Mikala’s Quilting offers many services: Longarm quilting, Longarm rental machines, Longarm sales, service and training. We also stock many items for quilting – from INNOVA parts and supplies to batting, thread and other sewing and quilting notions. Contact us today for a demo or come rent time on one of our machines!