MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – Posh Point Needlepoint held its grand opening Monday at 400 22nd Avenue in downtown Meridian.
The shop invited the public to “stitch, sip, and celebrate” at an open house. Doors opened at 10 a.m., and the grand opening ran from 5 to 7 p.m. A good crowd turned out.
Event artist Rosilyn Holladay painted the scene as it happened.
What the shop sells
Needlepoint is a craft that uses thread and a blunt needle to stitch a design onto mesh canvas. The shop already has supplies for it, such as canvases, thread, stencils and scissors.
The shop’s website also says it will feature hand painted canvases. Some will be custom designs by local artists, including Mississippi favorites and Meridian landmarks.
There is a fun twist, too. The shop has needlepoint vending machines. You put in a coin, and a surprise canvas comes out.
New to the craft? Owner Katelyn Ullrich said the shop can’t hold full classes yet. However, workers can still teach you the basics when you come in.
“All the people that work here can help you figure out what threads you need, what canvases you should start with,” she said.
Classes start in January
Classes will begin in January. Ullrich hopes to hold one or two a month at first. She said she still needs to see if people want beginner classes, advanced classes or both.
Finishing services also start in January. Finishing means turning a stitched piece into a final item, such as a pillow or ornament.
After classes begin, the shop may also host stitch nights. Ullrich said a big TV will go up on the wall. She has seen events where people stitch and share wine during a movie for a couple of hours.
She described the goal as “just like a place for people to be.” The shop’s contact page also invites people to ask about private events.
Why she opened the shop
Ullrich started needlepoint in 2020 during COVID. However, she stopped after she had her first child. She later picked it up again, then learned she was pregnant with her second child. At the time, she worked in health care.
That is when she wanted a change.
“I want to slow down. I want to have somewhere where I can bring my kids. I want to be at all the school things…,” Ullrich said.
She also said she is not artsy. Instead, she called needlepoint “almost like paint by numbers.”
“I can’t draw a circle, but I can stitch all of this stuff,” she said.
Why downtown
So why did she pick downtown Meridian?
“The windows, for sure,” Ullrich said.
She also said the shop has great neighbors. In addition, she likes that it sits in the middle of what is downtown now and what is coming.
The first look was not as easy. Ullrich said she came in the back door, through what used to be the food prep room for a Subway.
“I was like, what am I even looking at?” she said.
But once she walked through and saw the windows, she said, it started to make sense.
If you go
Posh Point Needlepoint is at 400 22nd Avenue in Meridian. Ullrich said hours are still being set because of the holidays. For now, the shop’s website lists 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Ullrich said the shop will stay open on Mondays through the holidays, but it may close Mondays in the spring. Sundays will be by appointment or for events only.
You can email the shop at [email protected]. You can also follow it on Facebook and Instagram.
Photos by: Meridian’s Marketing Girl, Brittanie Campbell
