On a weekday afternoon, in a small shop in downtown Hillsborough, a handful of young kids have their faces fixed on devices, as soft “clicking” sounds fill the room. Then there’s “whirring,” “clacking” and the unmistakable sound of scissors in use. There’s no quirky music, explosions or goofy sound effects. What has those kids so fixed and focused are not tablets, laptop or cellphones. They’re sewing machines.
A few weeks back, Ginger Lipscomb expanded her sewing class business — Thread Your Path — into three rooms at 220 S. Churton St., where Anne & Arthur Fine Arts Supply was formerly located. Lipscomb’s mix of classes for adults and children was (ahem) busting at the seams, making the move to bigger digs necessary.
“I had been in a space over near the Orange County Sportsplex for about two years, and just outgrew it,” she said. “Always in the back of my mind, I thought it would be cool to have a fabric shop. I started after-school sewing classes for kids and it got big pretty quick. I started with about 12 kids, and within two or three sessions I had doubled that.”…