MAYVILLE, N.D.-Faye Grandalen started from square one when she opened Faye's Henhouse Quilts in 1996 in downtown Mayville.
"I started it from scratch," said Grandalen, whose store is currently holding a big sale as Grandalen prepares to retire.
Her last day in business is expected to be May 1.
"I just want to do some things besides being tied down to a business," said Grandalen, who took little time off during the decades she sold quilt-quality fabrics, notions, books and patterns.
"I would say the longest one (vacation) we ever took was about a week," she said, referring to herself and her husband, James, who died about 3½ years ago.
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"You just have to be on hand. If you're not paying attention to your business, it's not going to fly," Grandalen said.
Still, the job had its rewards, according to Grandalen, who said that although the store was a business, making quilts is something she loves to do.
"I still want to get together with other quilters and quilt, so I will be doing that, but I won't be tied to the store while I'm doing it," said Grandalen, who also intends to travel.
"I've got plans for the summer into the fall," she said.
In addition to being a custom quilter, Grandalen has also made quilts for special causes, some of them personal.
Randalen said last year she made a special quilt for one of her husband's buddies who was in the Marines with him.
"Got a tremendous thank you from that gentleman," she said. "Things like that make it very rewarding."
Randalen said if anyone is interested in purchasing the business or just the building, she would be open to the idea.
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For now, she said she still plans to rent out an event space in the back of the business, and she will continue to host quilt retreats as she has in the past.
That's good news for other businesses on Mayville's Main Street, said Diane Young, manager of the giftware at Aasen Drug.
"We hate to see her business go, but she deserves to retire and spend some time with her children and grandchildren," said Young, who has known Grandalen since Grandalen opened her quilt store in the 1990s.
"I feel very fortunate to have a shop like hers in our town," Grandalen said.
"People come from miles around. She (Grandalen) brings busloads of ladies from all around the state, including Canada. We have a lot of Canadian ladies come down here, they'll make a trip out of it, spend the weekend.
"They come over to the drug store where I work. They stay at the hotel. They eat at the restaurants. It's going to be a real loss for our community," Young said.
