""We were able to launch this '12-Days of Christmas' sale that we would've never done otherwise for sales generation. The 'Fall In Love With Your Serger' [campaign] – we've sold three $6,000 sergers over the past week. It's kind of an investment, and I'm willing to do it if it's going to help us grow in the long run. And it definitely has, for sure.""
— Maggie Smith, Owner
The Challenge
Maggie Smith, owner of Pintuck & Purl — a specialty retailer offering fabrics, yarns, sewing machines, and classes — had always understood the importance of social media, but never had the bandwidth to do it well. In the early days of the store, her strategy amounted to posting here and there when time allowed. She eventually hired a friend to help, but even that effort lacked real direction: photos were taken only when a post was needed, with no underlying plan.
Then COVID hit. Her friend had to stay home with her kids, and Maggie was back to managing social media on her own — at the exact moment her store was experiencing rapid growth. Orders were flooding in from in-store customers, online shoppers, and phone calls all at once.
"We just kind of blew up as far as sales and customers. And social media was still kind of lacking — customers in-store, online orders and phone orders, it was just too much. So we were always kind of catching up. Then someone mentioned BELAY."
Despite knowing she needed help, Maggie was initially nervous about BELAY's matching process. With no say in who she'd be paired with, she worried about fit: "What if we don't get along?" It was a real concern — her brand voice, her customers, and her community were all on the line.
The Solution
Maggie was matched with BELAY Marketing Assistant Jessica Vaughn, and her hesitations quickly disappeared. "Right off the bat, I was like, 'I'd be friends with her. This is fine. We're good!'" The onboarding required real communication, but Jessica's curiosity and drive made all the difference. Even without a background in sewing or knitting, she immersed herself in the brand, the products, and the culture of Pintuck & Purl.
"I asked a lot of questions. 'What does this machine do vs. that machine? How is this yarn different from that yarn?' I asked a lot of questions to immerse myself in not only the brand but the work and the products themselves. That comes easily because I'm a learner."
Maggie recognized that she didn't need someone who could sew — she needed a social media specialist. And Jessica delivered. Maggie extended trust earlier than Jessica expected, which Jessica credits as a turning point: "It communicated that I was getting something right. And that she knew that she could trust her brand to me earlier than I expected her to. That meant a lot."
Together, they developed strategic campaigns — including a major ad initiative for BERNINA, a global sewing machine brand that Pintuck & Purl retails. Jessica took on the creative direction, produced video content where none had existed before, and built a consistent social media calendar that replaced the old reactive approach entirely.
""It's just given us the ability to focus on the things that we need to focus on to grow the store. I don't know if I could work any other way. It's been honestly so helpful as far as being able to focus on bigger things that need my attention.""
— Maggie Smith, OwnerThe Impact
The results were measurable and significant. Between November 2020 and the following months, Pintuck & Purl's Instagram saw explosive growth: post reach jumped 408% (from 13,698 to 69,553), impressions grew 380% (from 15,503 to 74,451), and overall engagement increased 329% (from 1,032 to 4,429). Profile visits grew 180.4%, and a single post on January 16 went micro-viral with over 11,200 views — more than 4.3 times the store's previous best.
But the impact went beyond vanity metrics. Strategic campaigns directly drove sales. The "Make It With Maggie" campaign sold four or five machines. The "Fall In Love With Your Serger" campaign sold three $6,000 sergers in a single week. The business also launched its first-ever "12 Days of Christmas" sale — something Maggie says would never have happened without Jessica's coordination.
"I could go through [my sales] and be like, 'These are definitely sales from social media. These are sales definitely from coordinated marketing that Jessica has helped us do.' The [MA service] absolutely is paying for itself."
Beyond the numbers, the partnership gave Maggie back her most valuable asset: time. No longer caught in a reactive cycle of last-minute posts, she's free to focus on growing the store. "I don't know if I could work any other way," she says — a sentiment that speaks to how deeply the BELAY partnership has become woven into the fabric of how Pintuck & Purl operates.