By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
TOP PHOTO: OWNER OF RIVER ROSE, SHARON WILSON.
Sharon Wilson said she loves the flavor of small-town life in Wetumpka and that her quilting and home décor business is thriving in downtown after only a few short months in business.
Wilson opened River Rose on Company Street in October 2021. A well-known professional in the drapery and quilting business, Wilson owned Rose of Sharon in Montgomery before moving to Wetumpka. She and her husband Richard built a home in the Santuck area four years ago.
She said she loves the slower lifestyle. “We love Wetumpka and the hometown flavor it has,” she said. Family is also important to her. Wilson and her husband live next door to their two daughters and their families.
Wilson has more than 30-years-experience in the business. Where did she learn the fine art of crafting custom quilts? “My grandmother Elvis taught me how to quilt when I was six-years-old,” she said. “She was a hillbilly who lived in a holler in Tennessee. We lived in North Alabama, so I spent a lot of time with her.”
She now has a Master certification from the Draperies and Window Coverings training program and has been published in Traditional Home, Southern Accents, and Veranda.
She said River Rose is much more than a quilt store. Quilters can also buy fabric and supplies. In March, she will teach beginning quilting classes. The store also has a work room where they make drapery and soft furnishings for the home.
Custom window treatments can be created as well as custom bedding. Also available are pillows, cushions, slip covers, antique Turkish rugs, custom quilts, T-shirt quilts, and custom and edge-to-edge long-arm quilting. Her merchandise also includes a variety of silk greenery, textural botanicals and candlesticks.
Wilson is located in a 100-year-old building which she said was once a dormitory for the men who built Jordan Dam. She loves her location and the spotlight HGTV has brought to the downtown area.
River Rose is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located at 120 Company Street. For more information, call (334) 478-4203 or send an e-mail to [email protected]
Wilson is currently packing up and getting ready to man her booth for a big event about to happen in Wetumpka called Beautiful Table Settings. Organizer May Eason has already sold more than 440 tickets for the March 3-5 event at the Wetumpka Civic Center.
Eason said she has about 40 tickets left for the event. To purchase or for more information, visit her Facebook group by typing in Beautiful Table Settings and requesting to join the group. Tickets are $120 and cover meals, speakers, classes and a wine and cheese reception. There will even be a mini antique roadshow.
Eason’s Facebook group, created only two years ago, has more than 111,000 members from 90 countries. This is the first year for the Wetumpka conference.
