B-Sew Inn started its journey in 1981 as a small vacuum cleaner store in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and operated under the name “The Vacuum Cleaner Shop”.

With only 250 square feet, approximately $5,000.00 of inventory and no employees, the store owner focused on serving the customers and meeting the needs of the community. After an expansion in 1986 to a leased building with 950 square feet, Bernina sewing machines were added to the line of products and the name was changed to “Godby’s Sew-N-Vac Shoppe”.

Singer sewing machines were added in 1987 and the store was expanded to 1600 square feet to accommodate the growth of products. In July of 1988, the store owner purchased “The Sewing Machine Store” in the Farm Shopping Center in Tulsa which also offered New Home and White sewing machines. Later in the year, the Viking product line of sewing equipment was added. With five major brands, the retail stores were now positioned to serve the customers in the Muskogee and Tulsa marketplace.

In 1992 expansion plans began. Mary Hess, the current owner of B-Sew Inn, joined the company and began working closely with management to develop a long-term strategic plan for the state of Oklahoma. A key element of the marketing plan was to reduce the number of brands offered and formulate strong relationships with key suppliers. The vision was to have the statewide dealership for only 1-3 major brands; thus offering a smaller number of great quality products to allow B-Sew Inn to focus on being more knowledgeable and better capable of providing outstanding service and education to the customer.

After meeting with the suppliers for the five brands currently being sold in the two stores, disappointment arose as no one was interested in granting exclusivity for such a large land area, even though the population is relatively small. In January 1993, the marketing proposal was presented to an aggressive leader in the sewing & home product industry, Tacony Corporation, owned and operated in St. Louis, Missouri. Tacony has been bringing outstanding products to America for over 60 years, and is the exclusive distributor of the Baby Lock brand for the United States. Tacony’s desire to create a stronger, aspiring independent retailer network gave them the fortitude to try this concept.

In 1994 B-Sew Inn elected to begin the process of discontinuing Viking and White products, and over a three year period Bernina, Singer and Elna were also eliminated. Mary Hess was now the Operations Manager for the company and involved daily with her team and customers in charting the course for the next phase of the expansion. In the spring of 1995, the business changed their name to B-Sew Inn Sewing & Software Center and embraced the mission to be “The Best Value in Sewing Machines & Service to help you (the customer) be sewing!’, and thus B-Sew Inn was established with new purpose.

Within three year of Tacony’s decision to join this adventure with the Oklahoma based retailer, B-Sew Inn was now the largest independent sewing machine retailer for Tacony Corporation & Baby Lock, USA. Customers were enjoying the great products, inspiring education and unmatched service … the results was evidence as they stayed focused on changing the way the sewing industry had operated for many years. Sewing wasn’t a chore any longer, it was a hobby; and B-Sew Inn believed all customers deserved to experience the “best value” in all aspects of their hobby.

The marketing plan continued as B-Sew Inn’s team worked together through the course of 1995 to open five lease departments in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. While these retail operations began inside of a fabric store, the long-term goal was to test these markets for two years and determine the potential for full-service retail stores. In March of 1997, Mary and James Hess purchased the business from the current owners with the dream of fulfilling the 5-year marketing plan for the tri-state area. By the summer of 1998, the goal was accomplished and all lease departments were now offering a full-service experience to the customers, including clubs and classes, special events, factory-trained technicians and a variety of products to make the sewing experience nothing less than excellent!

During this time, the realization of sewing being diminished in the public school curriculum created great concern for many parents, grandparents and the entire sewing industry. The art of sewing had been a life-skill since even before Betsy Ross made the flag, and the idea of this creative expression of art being eliminated was unthinkable. Responding to this realization was the development and implementation of the B-Sew Inn Education Division, known as “We Think Sew”. This division had one purpose – keep sewing alive in the public classroom! Currently “We Think Sew” operates in all three states and is instrumental in maintaining the art of sewing in over 1500 school systems.

Based on the philosophy of continually expanding and maximizing the love of sewing, the Outside Sales Division of B-Sew Inn actively participates in major shows and host several industry leading events each year. B-Sew Inn has participated in excess of 150 special events since 1998, including State Fairs, Home & Garden Shows, Sewing Technology Expos, Sewing & Quilting Retreats. Steve Wilson and John Deer, who are recognized as industry experts for well known embroidery digitizers such as Mattel, Disney and Spiderman, continue to host fun and educational events with B-Sew Inn. Likewise, world renowned celebrities, authors and TV personalities, such as Nancy Zeiman, Martha Pullen, Eleanor Burns and Eileen Roche have all delivered incredible, once-in-a-life experiences for thousands of customers who love the art of sewing, embroidery & quilting!

In 2002, Mary had the incredible opportunity to fulfill a long-standing dream in the Tulsa marketplace. Continual interaction with customers over the past 10 years, and hearing their desire to have a beautiful store with lots of space to shop, a place to meet new friends and hang out with other sewing enthusiasts was the foundation for the soon to be 16,000 square feet sewing store in the Farm Shopping Center. This facility would operate as one of largest sewing stores in the United States; it would host the largest retail showroom for unmatched brands such as Baby Lock, USA and Koala Cabinets, a centralized service center, plus a fully equipment Technology Training Center to provide nationwide, hands-on training and education. The dream began in 2001 and came alive in August of 2002!

Watching the faces of men, women and children alike enjoy the experience in this new sewing “dream store” only created a bigger dream for the B-Sew Inn Team. Customers throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri continually sent letters and emails requesting B-Sew Inn to open more retail stores and to expand the existing stores. With the onset of e-commerce, the fear of larger showrooms surrounded all retail businesses, and B-Sew Inn was not exempt from that fear. However, B-Sew Inn believed customers, especially those who are creative and love to sew, deserve a fun place to shop. Customers want to interact with others in an exciting atmosphere, and be inspired by beautiful displays.  They long for a cheerful retail showroom with great-valued products, state-of-the-art classrooms with computers & sewing equipment, a world-class service department and best of all, a team of sewing consultants who are passionate about their love of sewing with the same enthusiasm as their customers coming through the door!

Following the pursuit of this dream, the B-Sew Inn Team opened the Fayetteville, Arkansas location in late 2004. The incredible growth of Northwest Arkansas made this area a natural part of the expansion. Over 5,800 square feet is home to the largest sewing store in the area; and is just the first phase for this thriving state. B-Sew Inn is excited to continue their expansion into Arkansas in the upcoming years and look forward to serving the talented & creative customers throughout the state.

Springfield, Missouri is the home to the retail store opened in 1998. After great response from the area, we celebrated an expansion into about 6,000 square feet in the summer of 2006. This location serves the customers in Southwest Missouri, as well as parts of Kansas and Arkansas. The love of quilting, embroidery and sewing continues to grow in this great community and B-Sew Inn is pleased to be able to serve the creative customers from all around!

With such large showrooms and classrooms in several cities, operating out of a small 2,000 square foot space was becoming quite challenging for both B-Sew Inn’s Oklahoma City team and their loyal customers. Endless years of searching for a larger location finally proved successful and in March 2007 Oklahoma City’s largest retail showroom of almost 10,000 square feet was opened. Nancy Zeiman was the special guest at grand opening in August, and it was incredibly rewarding to watch her share her passion of sewing and landscape quilting with hundreds of men and women from all over the southern region of the United States.

B-Sew Inn still enjoys the small town of Muskogee, Oklahoma and the wonderful customers who supported their beginning in the retail world in 1981. The very first customer to purchase a sewing machine from B-Sew Inn (at the time Godby’s Sew & Vac) still frequents our Muskogee location, and we are honored to still be serving her love of sewing!  The once 250 square foot store is now over 6,000 square feet of retail space and classrooms.

Muskogee Store

Not only is Muskogee home to the first retail store for B-Sew Inn, but it is also the home of the company’s offices, warehouse and support team. Two buildings, consisting of approximately 12,000 square feet, is the place where each day B-Sew Inn thrives to make things better for their team and for their customers.

B-Sew Inn Offices & Warehouse Facilities

I’m very proud of the B-Sew Inn team and the manner in which together we strive each day to bring the joy of sewing to our friends and customers. In retail you often hear people say, “Who you buy from can be just as important as what you buy.” I believe this statement is very true, and therefore, one of my personal goals as a leader is to take great care of our team members. Collectively our team has over 300 years of experience in the sewing industry – 36% of our team members have now been with B-Sew Inn for over 5 years, and 20% of the team has been serving our customers in excess of 10 years. Our technical team is factory-trained and our Service Manager, with over 20 years experience in the commercial and home sewing industry, works diligently to retain state-of-the art knowledge on the multitude of machines now in the marketplace. Equally knowledgeable are the highly skilled consultants whose primary job is teaching our customers to maximize the features of their machines while inspiring them to have fun! Our team of sewing consultants; whether in the showroom, the service department, classroom or warehouse; are some of the finest people you’ll ever meet – truly, they are a blessing to our company!

B-Sew Inn continues to be the world’s largest Baby Lock independent retailer for Baby Lock, USA. A close relationship with Tacony Corporation and Baby Lock has allowed B-Sew Inn to maintain the “Retailer of the Year” since 1994. Baby Lock introduced the world’s first domestic serger in 1967 and still today remains the leader in the industry with the world’s only 8-thread serger featuring Jet-Air threading. Baby Lock’s full line of home and semi-commercial sewing equipment leads the path as we journey into the next generation of sewing. Their easy to use embroidery and quilting machines provides endless enjoyment for all sewing enthusiasts, and their 3-Year Gold Standard Program is unmatched by any other sewing brand in the world. Most of all, this American owned & operated company stands firmly behind every product they sell, and as their largest retailer, B-Sew Inn can take pride in their commitment to the highest quality products and services not available through any mass retailers.

Our company is poised to grow and meet the challenges of the future. Our sewing industry is thriving and continues to offer some of the most revolutionary advances in technology and software. We are committed to continually be searching for the latest and greatest products for our customers.  Sewing is not just a stress relieving opportunity; it’s also an exciting hobby, and with our “Embroidery Professional Package” many customers are now turning their hobby into a business. The Art of Sewing has rallied and is now a much-desired creative passion for the young and not-so-young alike. Men, women, boy and girls can now enjoy endless hours of fun as we deliver great products, service and education like never before in the sewing and craft world.

The team members of B-Sew Inn are excited to be leading the industry to new heights. As the leader of the team, I believe the reason for the success of B-Sew Inn is founded on God’s rich blessings, an outstanding team who are friendly and knowledgeable, a high quality of products, service and education, maintaining good business practices and relationships. When you combine this with great customers, who have a love of sewing and creativity, the result is “B-Sew Inn Sewing and Software Center”.

As we journey forward, I am committed to make every effort to meet the needs of each individual on our team. Accordingly, I expect every team member to perform to the best of their ability, while exhibiting high values of honesty and integrity. It is my goal and responsibility to provide a workplace where each person can be proud of what they accomplish, and to enjoy a Christian environment when serving our customers. It is my personal desire to stand proud of our team of sewing consultants, and to work side-by-side with them, as we daily deliver world-class products, service, education and entertainment to you, our customers and friends!

Thank you for inspiring us to be the best!

Mary Hess

The Hess Family