“My research indicated there are more than 16,000 people in South Sarasota County who work and enjoy sewing,” said Nasir Mahmad, who has opened Pennie Textiles, 120-B Triple Diamond Blvd., Nokomis, off Knights Trail Road.

He has a 3,000-square-foot showroom with almost 600 bolts of one-of-a-kind material, with designer fabrics from 7th Avenue in New York, including silk, wool, cotton, linen and specialized natural fabrics for making jackets, suits, dresses, skirts and more.