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Provo fabric and yarn store in harmony with local crafters

By Karissa Neely daily Herald - | Sep 27, 2016
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Allison Stayner, left, and her daughter Cassidy Stayner, 13, show off the afghans they crocheted as they begin their walk between the crowd during a fashion show Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. In addition to selling a variety of fabric, yarn and other craft products, Harmony also offers classes and workshops to help people craft their own creations. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Leah Smith, left, wears a McCalls pattern shirt she made as she stands with Laura Harmon, the owner of Harmony, who wears a Vogue pattern Vlisco shirt she made Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. Harmon has run the fabric store for four years. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Louisa Harmon, 6, skips up the sidewalk while sporting clothes made from materials from Harmony during a fashion show Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Malcolm Smith, 10, sports a scarf he knitted himself Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Leah Schutz, 14, walks with friends during the fashion show while they show off afghans they made Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Janell Tuttle, left, and Edie Zambrano show off outfits they created while they walk between the crowd during the fashion show Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. The duo wore a Free Spirit design by Westminster. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Leah Smith watches the fashion show as she waits her turn to showcase her outfit Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Madeline Quayle knits wrist warmers before the fashion show Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

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Nell Smith, 1, pulls a receipt out of her mother's purse while the crowd watches the fashion show Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 outside Harmony, a fabric store in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald

The 2007 movie, “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” was every child’s toy store dream come true. Harmony Shop in downtown Provo is similarly like every fabric and yarn crafter’s dream store in real life.

Harmony Shop, tucked inside a historic home on the corner of 300 East and Center Street in Provo, is a bit off the beaten path. The retail shop specializes in supplying fabric and yarn to local crafters, but true to its rustic home roots, the store itself is a unique sojourn. It’s not the typical fabric store, take-a-number experience — it’s more of an exploration.

Stepping into Harmony Shop in Provo is like rummaging through your grandmother’s craft room, but without the getting-in-trouble aspect. Harmony far removed from the big box stores dotting the valley. Yarn is sorted by style and color, but tucked in bookshelves and sideboards. The home’s historic granary is the storage room, accessible by movable steps. In the home’s kitchen, modern sewing machines sit atop a barn table, poised for weekly kids’ sewing classes.

Customers who look closely and take their time will find fabric handspun by a Ghanaian crafter, yarn from America and Japan, and felt accessories from Nepal. Tucked in one armoire are Mexican embroidered dresses, while a nearby dresser holds hand-smocked dresses from Madagascar.

“We feel like we have a niche. We have such a little space, we can’t get everything. But we have fabrics from around the world, and we closely curate what we bring in,” said Laura Harmon, owner of Harmony Shop.

The trimmings room is the one that hearkens back to little girls’ and some little boys’ dreams of yesteryear. With vintage buttons sorted and tucked into glass jars, and multi-colored vintage ribbon resting on the shelving above, customers take a step back in time, remembering those days of wonder poking and peeking through grandma’s craft room.

“My daughter, Rachel, picks out the trim and the vintage jewelry as well. She really has an eye for finding the unique and one of a kind,” Harmon said.

Harmon learned to sew and knit from her own mother, and has made about half of her own clothes throughout her life. Harmon’s husband is a retired physician, and Harmon’s work was raising their eight children. Sewing and knitting for herself and her children was a creative outlet during their childhood. Now, Harmon, who runs the shop with her daughters, said Harmony is a labor of love and community outreach more than a business.

“We want to pass down the skills and art of sewing, knitting, crocheting, and quilting. It’s really a satisfying thing to do,” Harmon said.

In keeping with this, Harmony Shop hosts more than 10 ongoing crafting classes. In addition to the kids sewing classes, there are crocheting, weaving, quilting and embroidery classes, with even a couple of cooking classes and a “Dyeing Yarn with Kool-Aid” class.

The profit margins in the fabric business are slim – Harmon mentioned some concern when she heard Hancock Fabrics in Orem had closed earlier this year – but she and her daughters price both the classes and the materials reasonably. For them, it’s more about the experience their customers have as they meander through the eclectic offerings.

Earlier this month, to celebrate the store’s fourth anniversary, Harmon hosted a fashion show – something that is starting to be a tradition. Customers came in Sept. 17 modeling their latest creations made with fabric or yarn from Harmony Shop. The variety was quite broad, from afghans to cowls, and dresses to T-shirts. The one that stood out for Harmon was a little 5-year-old boy who had knitted his own scarf.

“Making clothes, it’s a tangible creative product that’s going to endure. You get something nicer, one-of-a-kind from nicer fabrics with infinite choices. It’s the creativity, the sense of satisfaction,” Harmon said of the motivation behind sewing and knitting in a throwaway world.

Starting at $4.32/week.

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