Twenty years ago We R Fabrics owner Heidi Leverant Nov traveled north from San Diego looking for the right location for the fabric store that she had envisioned. She traveled with her most esteemed advisor, the man who had provided her with an unrivaled retail pedigree. That advisor was her father Oscar Leverant.
We R Fabrics will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in May with special offers and events. During the anniversary celebration, Heidi and her extraordinary staff will also celebrate the retail tradition of the Leverant family that goes back more than fifty years.
Since she was a pre-teen, Heidi and her two siblings worked in the Phoenix, Arizona store owned by their parents - Oscar Leverant Draperies. With the ever-present support of his wife Pauline, Oscar opened the first store in 1952 and before he retired in 1974 they had opened two more stores in the Phoenix area. Today each of the three Leverant children owns a fabric store in California and as each store was opening, Oscar came out of retirement to help.
Heidi initially followed the path of her mother's career when she became a third-generation teacher. But in the mid-80s when her inner-city teaching position seemed to have no future she decided to go toward the other family tradition - retail.
"Oscar picked the Mission Viejo location and it was because of his tenacity that we secured the lease on this building. It was a Jazzercise studio in 1983 and Oscar walked in and said 'I hear that you want to move'", offered Heidi about their initial visit to the current We R Fabrics location.
The owner of the Jazzercise studio had been secretly thinking of moving, but had not told anyone except her husband. Within a few weeks Heidi and Oscar had the keys for the new store.
The family rallied around Heidi to support her venture. Oscar's brother even came from Boston to do the carpentry necessary to convert the former exercise studio into Orange County's largest fabric store. We R Fabrics in Mission Viejo opened in March of 1984 with 7,000 square feet of fabrics.
Oscar continued to have a presence at We R Fabrics through the early 90s and the 'Oscar's Alley' remnant section of the store is dedicated to his retail legacy and passion for bargains.
This year Oscar will celebrate his 90th birthday as We R Fabrics celebrates 20 years in business.
Over the years, Heidi's training as a teacher has been reflected in such areas as establishing a place for children to play in the store while mothers' shop and rewarding the children with 'good behavior' stickers.
We R Fabrics is also noted for innovations in educating customers through classes and one-one-one personalized service with the store's experienced and patient sales staff.
In 1999 the store doubled in size adding more fabric and trim selections and additional services for customers. Heidi says that her parents were there for support in the early years, but she
couldn't have built the store into what it is today without the store's manager Linda Migge who has been with We R Fabrics for 18 years. Linda along with several other loyal, long-term
employees have made it possible for Heidi to stay at home with her two sons, now ages fourteen and nine. To Heidi family is the most important thing in her life.
Heidi Leverant Nov has dedicated the past twenty years to growing a vision into a resource for home decorating. The store's positioning statement says it all … From concept to completion,
We R Fabrics is an established resource for home decorating fabrics and accessories. Offering first-quality fabrics at mill direct prices and caring customer service, We R Fabrics stands on decades of family-owned tradition and experience.
