About Carly

Carly, a (Dutch) lawyer by education, discovered a passion for fabric when she was in her thirties and had moved with her family from The Netherlands to the USA. She started Box Emotions, a craft business in which she sold hundreds of fabric covered handmade boxes all over the country. 

In 2003 she founded Webfabrics. Webfabrics started in the basement of her home and grew into one of the largest and most successful quilt retailers on the East Coast of the USA. Fabrics have been sold online, in the brick-and-mortar shop in Purcellville VA, and at most major quilt shows with a large representation. Carly’s business stood out for complete collections, reasonable pricing and great customer service with knowledge and personal attention. Under her leadership Webfabrics included all styles of quilting, was a true all round quilt shop with a focus on basics and blenders. The shop has been a destination for quilters.

Carly’s eye for color is well known in the quilting world. Customers have used her knowledge for their projects, she wrote a weekly newsletter in which she often described why a certain fabric was worth taking a closer look at. Carly has given lectures and workshops about trends in color and collage, her personal favorite style of quilting. She has been consulted by fabric companies for her input on collections and is available for color consulting to everyone who wants to ask her a question.

Carly has a broad knowledge about the quilting industry, the business side as well as the creative side.

With the birth of her first granddaughter, Carly realized that having a busy retail business would not give her enough time to be with her family and her desire to be available to help out with the little ones. Carly and her husband Jan are the proud parents of 3 children and their partners, Pieter (1985) and Natalie, Eline (1986) and Brandon, Laura (1991) and Shimpei. They have 4 granddaughters: Ada (6), Nora (5), Louise (4) and Claire (2).

Carly sold Webfabrics in June of 2022. She works in her studio on her art and teaches collage quilting at guilds and shows (national and international). In an effort to help her students find the fabrics they need, she started www.collagefabric.com in September 2024, a site dedicated to collage quilting with super small fabric cuts.

Her book "Freestyle Color Collage" will get launched on 2/25/2025.

 She volunteers at Loudoun Hunger Relief in Leesburg and loves playing tennis, gardening, and travel.

EXHIBITIONS

Mid Atlantic Quit Festival, Hampton  VA, February 2024: Abundance and Homage to Yaagov Agam.

Sew to Speak, SAQA Regional Exhibit, Germantown MD March 2024. Juried by Deb Cashatt: My mother has Alzheimer's. These last five years.

5th BMRE University of Maryland Global Campus, Adelphi MD, June-September 2024: The Crack.

"Celebrate Life 24" Houston International Quilt Festival November 2024. My Mother Has Alzheimer's. These last five years.

Art in Hospitals, UChicago Medicine. Sept 2024 - Feb. 2025. Abundance and Growing Color.