Postcard of Cut-N-Sew fabric salon in Bradenton, Florida

I could research and write about postcards all day long for Papergreat.

Let's see how many I can get through today.

(IDEA! Maybe I'll try to hold a Postcard Blogging Marathon sometime this year. I'll see how many postcards I can blog about in a 24-hour period and try to raise some money for a worthy cause. People will be able to pledge a certain amount for each post — say, 25¢ — and it'll just be a swell old hootenanny.)

Fortunately, I find all postcards interesting, so it's by no means an expensive hobby for me. For others, it certainly can be. But I am not enraptured by Holy Grail quests for postcards that sell for hundreds of dollars at auction.² Or those hard-to-find vintage Ellen Clappsaddle Hallowe'en postcards. Nope, the "commons," for those who would call them that, suit me just fine. And there's nothing common about them, to my eye.

So today's first vintage card is for Cut-N-Sew Fashion Fabric Salon, which was located on U.S. 41 in downtown Brandenton, Florida.²

The unused card, likely from the 1960s, was published by Paul L. Patterson of 717 21st St. West in Bradenton. It was printed by Dukane Press of Hollywood, Florida.

According to the 1999 book "Sarasota and Bradenton," by Bonnie Wilpon:

"Fabrics and patterns to make your own clothes were sold at the Cut-N-Sew Fashion Fabric Salon in downtown Bradenton in the 1960s. 'Come meet the friendly folks' was its slogan."

I also found this newspaper article, which mentions Cut-N-Sew, in the February 23, 1971, issue of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. At some point, the business might have changed its name to Gulf Coast Cut-N-Sew, and, in this 1974 Florida court case, Gulf Coast Cut-N-Sew is mentioned as being "defunct."

Does anyone have any memories of Cut-N-Sew? If so, please share them in the comments section.

Footnotes
1. According to that Valuable Rare Postcards page, some of the biggest sales in December 2012 were for a rare, unused 1905 Philadelphia Athletics card ($600); a real-photo postcard of Main Street in tiny Adrian, Minnesota ($466); and a real-photo postcard of the Titanic leaving Belfast ($321).
2. U.S. 41 sounds like a great road to travel on. It winds from the upper peninsula of Michigan to Miami, Florida, taking you on a 2,000-mile trek through America. It's kind of a north-south version of Route 66.