I love pulling the curtain back on the eternal mysteries of owning a yarn shop. Yes, it's a ton of work, I work long hours, I work six days a week, etc, but that's just small business ownership in any industry. But I do get asked the same questions a lot and I think it probably helps you all make decisions if I answer the common ones when I can.
It's Fall, so there are a lot of new yarns in the shop. No surprise that as the weather cools, people think about knitting and crocheting more. It's such a nice, cozy thing to do on those long, dark winter nights, and it keeps you and your loved ones warm.
I've brought in some absolutely stunning hand-dyed yarns over the past six months, and have added entirely new yarn companies to the mix. Knitty Gritty, Mode at Rowan, Leading Men, La Bien Aimee -- and lots more.
And I get asked a LOT -- Will you be getting more of this in?
Well, it depends. It depends on how well it sells, and how quickly. It depends on customer feedback. It depends on how reliable and efficient the company is to do business with. And it depends on how much space I have in the shop at any given time.
I try to keep the yarn selection changing pretty frequently. I want people to always feel like there is something new to discover when they come here.
There are certain lines that I consider to be "base" yarns -- yarns that people will work with over and over for the kinds of projects that we make a lot of. Those yarns usually come in a broad selection of solid colors, hold up very well over time, are more reasonably priced, but are still a pleasure to knit with.
There are upgrade yarns -- yarns that are still reasonably affordable, but are a little bit of a splurge. Yarns you would use to make a sweater for somebody whom you know would take care of it and appreciate it.
There are splurge yarns -- yarns that are a luxury that you would use to treat yourself or somebody you feel is very, very knit-or-crochet worthy.
All of these categories need to have good representation in a balanced shop, at every gauge. It takes a lot of planning and research to keep the balance! And no matter how much I might think a yarn is just the exact right thing for my community, sometimes it just doesn't sell.
And sometimes a yarn outpaces all my expectations and becomes a best-seller!
So the truth is, when a yarn is new, I don't know if I'll reorder it. If it's been around a while and I've had to restock frequently, then YES I will absolutely be getting more of it. But all of that depends on the buying habits of my customer community.
So if you like a yarn, buy it! Quick sales are the best indicator of longevity. And if you buy a yarn and you like or dislike something about it once you've worked with it PLEASE let me know what you think! There just aren't enough hours in the day for me to work with every yarn, so please share your opinions. Bring in those finished projects and SHOW me what you like and don't like! I really do listen.
I'll go a little farther than that. If you've bought a yarn at another shop and you LOVE or HATE it, bring it by and show me. Friday night, a friend showed me a yarn that I was having some FOMO about not carrying in the shop, but she showed me what she disliked about it and friends, I will NOT ever be carrying that yarn! Your opinions REALLY matter to me, so don't ever hesitate to let me know what you think.
(and yes, sometimes I'll tell you that something in the way you handled the yarn caused you a problem. Sometimes it's not the yarn's fault! But wouldn't you rather know what happened?)
Sometimes, a yarn producer who makes a lovely yarn has terrible business or accounting practices and it's just too hard to deal with them. Sometimes they can't produce enough yarn in a reasonable amount of time to supply the needs of a shop this size (that's probably why I don't carry yarn from certain indie hand-dyers by the way). Some companies have corporate ethics that are simply in conflict with my corporate ethics and I can't in good conscience give money to people who do harm with that money. Sometimes the yarn looks pretty but doesn't hold up well, has an unreasonable number of knots, or simply isn't of the quality that I require.
But mostly, it's up to you. So buy the stuff you like and tell me what you think! That's the best way to guarantee that Chattanooga Yarn Co will always carry the yarns YOU love!
