GREEN – From birth in South Africa to building a bright and colorful global business in her adopted green has been a lifelong journey for dreamer, quilter, teacher, designer and globetrotting traveler Sue Spargo .
Founder and General Manager of Sue Spargo Folk-Art Quilts at 3755 Boettler Oaks Drive, Suite B, Spargo is proud of all she, her family and staff have accomplished over the past 20 years.
Spargo’s business has grown from a startup in the basement of its home to a 12,000 square foot facility with two other locations in between that the company has outgrown.
She now has 23 full-time and part-time employees at her facility alone, including three of her four children. His daughter Kelly and son Jason are listed as corporate secretaries, with Kelly in charge of the company’s large website and Jason in charge of production. His daughter Aimee is a corporate treasurer and a graduate of Youngstown State and Cleveland State universities. Son Andrew is a Kent State University alumnus and a fashion designer in New York. Both Jason and Andrew graduated from Green High.
The mother-of-four didn’t just grow up in South Africa, she lived in England, Connecticut, Tennessee and other places before choosing to settle in Green mainly because of the reputation of quality of Green’s school system “and the community quickly felt like home”. she says.
A nurse in Johannesburg before starting her global journey, Spargo is a self-taught quilter and designer, who has learned from others and taught both at home and in many parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a little in Europe. Portugal is her next destination, she revealed.
The artist specializes in hand dyed wool, wool embroidery and wool appliqués and owns a hand dyed wool store as well as a large classroom, offices, retail store and a gift shop at his resort, which is run by Green High graduate Abby Sexton.
Store hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The establishment is closed on Sunday and Monday.
With siblings taking care of day-to-day operations, Spargo can travel, which she loves, and teach her techniques and design across the U.S. and abroad while seeing the world after school. from one to six days.
Spreading its fame, Spargo and its team use the website, word of mouth and repeat business to sell their fabrics, including velvets, embroidery materials, gift items and all other craft supplies for quilters, as well than books. She started a block of the month program long before it became so popular, and she has published over 25 books on her products and techniques.
Spargo explained that much of its supplies are branded products made in that country while “we have a lot of different yarns from many places around the world like Germany, Canada, South Africa and Japan, and we also have our line of manufactured yarn that is produced in Asia through a Canadian company.
Summarizing her life, Spargo said, “I feel very lucky to have been able to turn my craft from a hobby into a business, and I love every stitch I create. I also love teaching because my students inspire me to learn even more.
George W. Davis can be reached at [email protected]