Once upon a time, Debbie Northover and Read Bowen owned their own individual shops. But in July 2019, they joined forces and combined their shops to form East Coast Quilt Co.
These two sewing soulmates have brought so much color and life to their corner of St. John’s, earning them many accolades in the 2025 Local Quilt Shop Contest.
With the help of their social media manager, Kerri, they launched a series of hilarious videos encouraging their customers to vote.
This gained them the votes to become the Regional Winner for Newfoundland and Labrador in the 2025 Local Quilt Shop Contest.
These videos also shined a spotlight on the creativity found in this shop making them a front runner for the NEW Creative Hub Award.
In the end, it wasn’t their videos that won them the award —it was the hundreds of thoughtful comments from their customers.
Reading customers’ comments revealed the deep sense of community and high artistic drive found at East Coast Quilt Co.
2025 Contest Voters’ Comments
“They make you feel welcome, it’s not so much about ‘customer service’ with them vs creating an ‘experience’, that’s how I feel when I’m at EC Quilt, each visit there is truly an experience.” — Beverly
Vicky — “It is a veritable kaleidoscope of colour, bursting with creative ideas and inspiration (and that’s just the fabric!). The staff are amazing and their combined expertise has a solution for every creative conundrum.” — Vicky
“I love the sense of community I feel when I am there… Being in class meeting other women in the community is something I really look forward to.” — Emily
Many customers additionally commented on:
- the expertise of the staff
- the thoughtfulness of their displays
- the quality of their selection
- their twenty-foot quilted whale, Becky Lou
After reading all the comments, it became clear that East Coast Quilt Co was exactly the type of shop that should be one of the first to receive the Creative Hub Award.
A “Stitching Nirvana”
Located in North America’s “Oldest City”, East Coast Quilt Co is a beautiful shop to visit for anyone traveling through Newfoundland.
The newly expanded 7500sq shop is located right alongside the gorgeous harbor with plenty of windows for viewing the North Atlantic.
Debbie and Read work hard to select the best fabric to bring into their shop.
Their large fabric selection is topped off by their exclusive Newfoundland-themed prints, hand-drawn and colored by local artist, Lori Doody.
You won’t find these prints in any other shop in the world, so be sure to stock up when you visit!
East Coast Quilt Co offers sewing machine sales and service, long arm services, and custom quilt sewing. They also have THREE dedicated classrooms areas to host quilting, sewing, stitching, and weaving workshops.
They often run three classes a day; one for the morning, noon, and night!
There’s no way you’ll leave this shop bored! Their dedicated team makes sure every single visitor gets the full “East Coast Experience”.
Their team of quirky, talented individuals include Jessica, Donna Mac, Kevin, Kerri, Emily, Quinn, Mark, and Cherise, as well as a team of super talented instructors: Colleen, Rochelle, Katie, Sharon, Lori, Nicole, Juliet, Glenda, Christian and Kim.
But their star employee is their rescued beagle, Maggie Mae, the official store greeter, dedicated lunchroom monitor, and budding internet star!
Visit North America’s “Earliest City”
If you’re somehow not already planning your trip to Newfoundland, just wait until you learn what else St. John’s has to offer.
East Coast Quilt Co is located on a rocky island with stunning vistas around every bend in the road.
Come visit and see puffins, icebergs, and whales while hiking, biking, or kayaking.
That is, if you can see through their legendary fog.
You’ll always find live music playing when you stop in for some fresh cod, lobster, and other seafood.
Or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try Newfoundland’s famous moose sausage or a feed of Jiggs.
When you come in to East Coast Quilt Co, you’ll get the full experience, simply by sitting at their window overlooking the bay and sipping on a cuppa tea.
Want to learn more?
