LAKE RIDGE — It didn’t take long for Debbie White to come out of retirement.
The bookkeeper turned professional quilter opened her new fabric store and sewing workshop Serendipity Quilting Studio at Tackett’s Mill Lakeside.
The shop is the brainchild of hers and her husband, Allen, who never expected to go into business so soon after Debbie’s retirement from Prince William County Public Schools in December 2017.
“We did a business plan, and we started looking at the numbers, and we just said ‘we think this is going to work,” said White.
She and her husband of 26 years were joined by nearly 100 members of her family and friends who came to a grand-opening ceremony hosted by Prince William County Occoquan District Supervisor Ruth Anderson, who praised the small business for not only opening in eastern Prince William County, but helping the county further its goal of expanding companies there.
“I don’t know much about quilting, but I have memories of cuddling up in my favorite quilt while growing up in Alaska,” the 21-year Air Force veteran said.
Two of Allen’s 11 children were there to help out with the ribbon cutting. After raising four of their own, the couple chose to adopt children from Vietnam and China.
The Flory Small Business Center in western Prince William County played an important role in preparing the couple for life as small business owners. The Allen’s attended counseling sessions and classes geared for small business owners in the months leading up to the ribbon cutting.
On the nights Debbie couldn’t attend, Allen stepped in for her, said Flory Small Business Center Director Linda Decker.
In addition to a vast array of fabrics, White will also hold classes where small groups may come to learn how to sew. Some of the topics include tips and tricks to get the most out of your fabric, a “block of the month” class where participants receive fabric for their very own quilt block on the first Tuesday of each month at 11 a.m. or 6 p.m.
Serendipity Quilting Studio is located at 2224 Tacketts Mill Drive in Lake Ridge.
