We are Ann and Annemie. 2 young mothers with a great passion for handicrafts. With both 3 young children, sewing is a unique relaxation and we found a quiet place in ‘Atelier In’t Leerke’ to share our passion with you.
Hopefully we will get to know you at one of our courses or workshops, or you will jump in soon. Our range of fabrics is always up-to-date, and you are always welcome for the latest haberdashery trends.
The story of In den Beer begins with Achille Flamand and Marcella Rigole. In 1947 they started their own dream, a fabric store.
70 years later, In den Beer has grown into one of the largest fabric stores in Belgium. A shop where every day they toil hard to find the perfect fabric for every customer. Be it for curtains, wedding clothes, crafts, pyjamas or something else. You can contact us!
In the meantime, the third generation is already working in the shop, so a real family business with a heart for fabric.
Our webshop is only a fraction of what we have in our store. New fabrics arrive every day!
In 2016 Krista Schepers sees her passion culminating in a store on the Hulsterweg in Tessenderlo. In her shop she offers a lot of sewing supplies in addition to fabrics and wool. From the outset, she opts for the finest fabrics of the highest quality.
You can also follow sewing workshops with her. And during knitting cafes you will experience a pleasant afternoon with like-minded people
Krista’s husband, Bart Engelen, installs window decoration for Cortina. If necessary, he takes care of the whole with light joinery. Thanks to his past as a carpenter, he can do this in no time. Thanks to their many years of experience, Krista and Bart advise you on furnishing your interior.
Both around the use of color and the use of curtains, fabrics and cushions. Cortina realizes your dream with creativity and exclusive materials.
Opening hours
Mon – Wed – Thurs – Fri: 10:00 – 12:00 | 13:00 – 17:30
Closed on Tuesday
Saturday: 10:00 – 15:30
Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Stoffe & Koffe is a fabric shop in Schoten, not far from Antwerp, that combines the pleasure of drinking coffee and sewing. While you are sipping your coffee, you can browse through many magazines from our library, discover our range of fabrics and think in peace about which fabric and which pattern you want to use to make that trendy dress or cool jacket. You can also order your favorite fabrics online via the webshop of our fabric store.
A wide range at our fabric store near Antwerp
In our fabric store near Antwerp and online you will find a lot of women’s, children’s and decorative fabrics with which you can get started cheerfully. Our range is very extensive, with fabrics in many different styles and colours. So come and take a look at our fabric store or discover the products in our webshop. In addition, we also have all kinds of other supplies and accessories such as haberdashery, ribbons, vlieseline, and much more. You can also view and order all kinds of fabrics at your leisure in the online shop of our fabric store.
Sewing courses and workshops
Have you ordered the material you need via the webshop of our fabric store near Antwerp? Then you can get started! We also organize various sewing courses for both beginners and advanced in our fabric shop near Antwerp. Do you want to delve into the world of sewing? Could your sewing skills use a refresh? Register now. Would you like to order fabrics via the webshop of our fabric store before you participate in these courses and workshops? That is possible. You can order the desired fabrics online via our online fabric store. A wide range of fabrics are available in the web shop of our fabric store, from uni cotton to coat fabric.
Discover our coffee house ‘Coffee’
Are you a big fan of cappuccino or latte? Does your day always start with a steaming cup of coffee? Then you will certainly appreciate our coffee house and our fabric shop in Schoten, near Antwerp! You choose from an extensive range of quality coffee; from a quick espresso to a relaxed latte. But you can also come to us for a nice tea or a soft drink. There is something for everyone, including in our online fabric store! The icing on the cake is our nice library with a lot of reading material on the theme of ‘sewing’. Are you curious about our offer? Then take a quick look at the webshop of our fabric store.
hey! This is us, two sisters with a passion for sewing and fashion. In 2015 this passion became its own business!
High-quality fabrics for women’s clothing are not easy to find, so we thought there was nothing better than opening a shop ourselves 🙂 What started as a side project next to a full-time job, grew into a full-fledged business in a historic town house in the heart of Mechelen . The cozy space is always filled with beautiful women’s fabrics, patterns, haberdashery and other fun gadgets for every seamstress. With two major collection changes per year, the range remains varied and sensitive to trends. We regularly travel to Paris to look for the latest novelties and to purchase unique, contemporary fabrics. This way your homemade outfit will look like it came from a nice boutique!
A small family business also means personal service! We are always ready to help you in a friendly and non-binding manner. Questions are free, and tips and tricks are included for free!
Scissors, scraps of rags and thimbles in my hand since I was little, I never stopped tinkering with my needles.
At 8 years old I transformed and redecorated an old piece of furniture into a Barbie house. From dresses to pants, from hangings to tablecloths, from making furniture to plates made of juice capsules…. Everything went there! With always a preference for textiles.
As a teenager, it was mine: skirts, pants, jackets and others… Trends from the 80s…. (Please do not ask me for photos!)
With the arrival of children, it is for them that I sew, especially for my daughter (she does not show you photos either…).
And then comes the discovery of patchwork, early 90s: a revelation!
Since the virus took me, it hasn’t stopped feeding me…
A few years later, at the request of some friends, I embarked on the adventure of lessons.
The workshop is now a multitude of courses in different disciplines. 3h00 lesson or one-day course, given by a few speakers or by myself for the pleasure of transmitting our knowledge, our constant learning, or simply exchanging ideas, always accompanied by tea and small biscuits (sometimes, a small biscuit becomes big cake, it’s true…). This is the life of the workshop…
But no class without supplies! And no supplies without a store…
From the year 2000 to the present day, the workshop has gone from a modest fabric shelf to the Ali Baba cave you know (if not, stop reading! Jump in your car! ).
And since, supplier of these ladies for their creations of patchwork, embroidery, cardboard, framing, old-fashioned bears, rag dolls, and much more!
In recent years, requests for online orders have been increasing. Unfortunately, the old site of the workshop was not adapted to answer it in an optimal way. This is why in the fall of 2014, we are going to make this a reality!
The shop we are preparing for you now will be more accessible and will open the doors of the workshop to those who are not lucky enough to be able to go there. I had to open it…
Who said that our computers, tablets or other smartphones isolate us? Distances are getting shorter!
Two of his three daughters, Annie (Guy’s mother) & Irène, later join the company with their respective husbands. Irène and Etienne successfully ran the shop in Hamme until 1997. Between the 1960s and 2005 Annie, Jozef and son Guy sold an extremely extensive range of high-quality sewing materials on the markets in Waasland and Dendermonde.
In 1982 Guy starts in the sewing machines. With a technical background as a background, he starts training with the most renowned sewing machine manufacturers of the time: Husqvarna in Huskvarna, Sweden on the one hand, and Pfaff in Kaiserslautern, Germany on the other. He learns all the basic elements to repair and adjust a machine. During the same period, he meets Chris, his future wife. Soon Chris, meanwhile his wife, begins to learn many tricks of the sewing trade from Guy.
During that period, Guy’s Sewing Center was located at 2 Plezantstraat in the center of Hamme. With the extensive range they already had at the time, they quickly proved to be an established value in the Waasland and beyond. Guy’s Sewing Center is bursting at the seams for the first time and a brand new store is opened in 1987 in the Roodkruisstraat. In the meantime, in addition to all possible sewing materials, from embroidery and overlock threads to an unprecedented range of zippers to scissors, various brands of machines have also been added to the range: the Japanese top manufacturers Babylock and Janome (then marketed in Belgium under the brand name Lewenstein). ) join the range. In the mid-1990s, the store was expanded for the first time with an underground warehouse, extra large showroom annex classroom and computers for software lessons. A few years later, the quality brand Bernina is also added to the range.
At the end of 2004, the range was expanded to such an extent that a new expansion was necessary. The new building with adjoining shop is being built in record time. In less than 12 months, Guy’s Sewing Center has doubled in size. Quilting fabrics, gems from GĂĽtermann & Swarovski and an even more extensive range of handicraft items, such as knitting yarns from quality brands Lana Grossa, Rowan and Schachenmayr, further complete the range. With the sewing machines, the Japanese brand Juki completes the unparalleled selection of overlock machines and the quality brand Bernina is also included in the range.
From the autumn of 2012, his son Joris also joined the family business as the 4th generation in the sewing sector. He gradually learns the trade from both his father Guy and mother Chris as well as from the countless courses he regularly follows: he follows the lessons of Pfaff & Husqvarna VIKING, Bernina’s 3-4-5-7 series and the countless Janome- models, but also of all brands of overlock machines. Embroidery software and the multi-needle Janome MB-4/MB-7 series also hold no secrets for him.
In 2017, the decision was taken to tear down the adjacent building on the other side and build a completely new store: spacious, modern and light are the keywords here. Demolition will start in July 2017. After a tour de force, Guy’s Sewing Center 2.0 will open its doors in August 2018. An extra spacious showroom, much more light and space in all areas, efficient quality lamps to give the most true-to-colour image of the products,… Everything has been thought of. There is also a spacious classroom for the private lessons of the machines and workshops. The new store has a low carbon footprint in relation to its size:
large solar panel installation,
exceptionally economical LED lamps,
warehouse lighting sensors,
efficient and powerful ventilation,
heat pumps for heating and cooling,
using rainwater for the toilet.
The range of knitting wool and fabrics will be further expanded at that time. Lana Grossa even distinguishes Guy’s Sewing Center as a Lana Grossa Superstore.
Our permanent team of people now consists of Guy, Chris, Joris, Hilde, Anita, Liesbeth & Lore. Fixed points of contact to offer you the best possible service, each with its own specialty.
Far and wide, in East Flanders, Antwerp and Flemish Brabant, we are known for our customer-friendly service, clear explanations without buzzing marketing terms, large stock, unparalleled range. Guy’s Sewing Center is therefore the one-stop-shop for everything that has to do with sewing, needlework, knitting, ….
You read it. Passion and knowledge for and of our profession, it has been in our blood for generations. Since the 1930s, we have distinguished ourselves with the choice for
In 2016 Krista Schepers sees her passion culminating in a store on the Hulsterweg in Tessenderlo. In her shop she offers a lot of sewing supplies in addition to fabrics and wool. From the outset, she opts for the finest fabrics of the highest quality.
