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The Crafts Connection

JIM REED/The Tampa Tribune

Millie Henson talks about making cheater quilts from the fabric stocked at Billie's Craft Supplies & Gifts in Plant City.

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By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

Updated: 10/11/2007 05:56 pm

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PLANT CITY - Got a yen to tat lace, string beads, burn wood? How about quilting, whittling, stitching, scrapbooking?

Then Billie Henson's got a place for you.

Henson, a fixture on the Florida crafts show circuit in recent years, has opened a downtown store where men, women and children can learn the art of crafting and buy crafts or the supplies to make them.

Billie's Craft Supplies & Gifts opened Oct. 1 at 108 N.E. Drane St., the former home of Patricia's Antiques.

'We've been busy ever since,' Henson said. 'Everybody has just been telling us they're so thrilled that we're here.'

Henson, a business analyst in her former life, believes her new store is the only one of its kind from Brandon to Lakeland and Zephyrhills to Bartow.

She and her mother, Millie Henson, and daughter-in-law, Tia Henson, have joined forces to bring their favorite hobbies to Plant City.

Millie Henson is the quilter in the family, and the new store will display plenty of her handiwork.

Customers will be able to purchase her hand-stitched quilts or make their own from the colorful bolts of fabric she helped her daughter select.

'Mom used to work in the fabric department of Wal-Mart in Plant City so she has a pretty good idea of what people asked for there,' Billie Henson said.

There also is a selection of fabrics for 'cheater quilts,' that simply require backing and batting. 'Sew it up and you're done,' she said.

Vintage treadle sewing machines purchased from landlord Dave Schultz, former proprietor of Patricia's, serve as creative display tables.

There are books, notions and supplies galore - from beginners' crafting kits to specialty adhesives and 800 kinds of scrapbooking paper - a wall of it, floor to ceiling.

'I try to get items that people would use but can't find somewhere else,' Henson said.

Among them: a variety of sports-themed scrapbook papers, Hispanic papers and Jewish scrapbooking supplies.

The store also will feature items with a Harley-Davidson and antique car theme to be prominently displayed during downtown's monthly Bike Fest and Strawberry Classic Car Show events.

A wedding section features ring-bearer pillows, flower girl petals, cake toppers and unity candles to complement the custom cards and invitations that Billie Henson crafts.

There will be a children's area, where youngsters can color and amuse themselves while their parents shop.

Henson also is putting Patricia's old brick fireplace to use as the focal point of a men's waiting area, with magazines, checkerboards and comfortable chairs.

Henson tells her male customers not to be daunted by her passion for purple, the color that dominates the shop's decor. She will have something for them, too, she said.

One section of the store is dedicated to masculine pursuits, such as woodworking and clock-making.

'So it really is a craft store for everybody,' she said.

The Henson clan has a long history of crafting.

Billie Henson's son, Devin, 21, said he misses having a garage.

'That's because we turned it into a crafts room,' she said.

While Millie Henson turned out quilts, Billie Henson was creating beading, jewelry, handbags, totes - 'anything but quilts,' she said. 'I don't do quilts.'

For a long time, they bestowed their creations on friends and family.

'We liked crafting so much we ran out of people to give them to,' she said.

So mother and daughter took to the road and started selling their wares at craft shows for a couple of years - until this year, when thieves made off in broad daylight with a utility trailer full of crafts, booth displays and tables.

'Everything we needed to do our shows, including two years worth of handmade work, was stolen right from our driveway,' Henson said. 'All you can do is move on.'

She had always wanted to have her own shop, she said. This seemed the right time to do it.

The Hensons - three generations of them - have shared a home north of Plant City for the past three years. They live together and now they work together.

That's just fine by them.

When Tia Henson joined the family two years ago, 'they started teaching me everything they know,' she said. 'Powder box dolls and quilts are my main thing.'

The Hensons plan to offer all kinds of crafting classes and are compiling a wish list from customers about items they would like to buy or courses they would like to take. Henson is in the process of locating qualified teachers for special disciplines, but will teach many of the classes.

Millie Henson will be available daily for personal quilting tips, but won't be leading any classes.

'I don't have the patience,' she said. 'I'm much better one-on-one.'

The shop is open seven days and at least two nights a week.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Billie's Craft Supplies & Gifts

WHERE: 108 N.E. Drane St.

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Friday

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (or later for event days) Saturday

1 to 6 p.m. Sunday

INFORMATION: (813) 752-4666

Reporter Jan Hollingsworth can be reached at (813) 865-4436 or jhollingsworth@tampatrib.com.

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