Thursday, October 11, 2007

Another LYS Loss for Connecticut

The yarn shop, Knottygirl, has announced they are closing their doors on December 1st.  This will make the fifth yarn shop, that I know of, the state of Connecticut will lose this year: Knit Together in Stamford, Selma's in Southbury, Rag Shop in Danbury, and The Wool Connection in Avon, and now Knottygirl.  (http://www.knottygirlknits.com/)

Dang!

Do you think it is because people can't afford the higher prices and get most of their yarn from the discount chains and large craft stores that have sales and coupons? there is only one LYS in my town but there are some others not too far away. The Lys in my town seemed to be going out of business but it turned out that it just changed hands and the new person change the name and the setup inside the store I was only in the previous store once - I was actually looking for a particular pattern which it turned out they did not have - but while I was there I took the time to look at all the yarn and the prices and they were just too expensive for me. So I was just wondering what your take on the situation is.
Laurel


Wow, that's a great question, Laurel!

Initially, Laurel, I had many thoughts typed out here, but decided this video clip, although about a small shop in the Netherlands, relates to my feelings on this topic.  Check it out and share your thoughts:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's my thoughts, for what it's worth.
People are working more and have less time for leisure. Because of that, hobbies (including knitting and crochet) suffer. I don't have the time to crochet as much as I like and there are times I just don't get the chance to crochet - either too tired or my wrist is sore.
Yarn shops are generally a 1 or 2 person business. If somebody gets seriously ill or a family problem presents itself, it somebody's life changes (gets married, gets divorced, has a child), it can change how much time they are willing to devote to a business.  I sell books on Amazon and when anything comes up in that line, it's very difficult to keep going.
Sometimes the yarn does seem overpriced. Sometimes, even at a yarn shop, the clerks aren't exactly helpful - I know that sounds weird, but I had a recent experience of looking for a particular yarn at a LYS I had shopped before. I was told by the clerk "they don't make that anymore". Apparently, Plymouth Yarns just decided to drop off the face of the earth.  I visited another yarn shop in another state - lo and behold, they had a lot of what I wanted. I asked the owner  was it true that Plymouth had discontinued the yarn I was buying. She said as far as she knew, they hadn't.  Just because you go to a yarn shop doesn't mean the clerks will go in the back and look for something for you.  SUrprising, but true.
Yarn shops aren't always open when it's conveinent for people to get there. Some are closed by 5pm. Some close at 3pm on a Saturday. I can appreciate the people wanting to have the time off, but if you're closed when I'm off work, I can't purchase anything there.
That's just my thoughts....

Anonymous said...

This is truly a loss!

The most-recent Smiley's sale at the Hampton Inn in Westchester is indicative of what I dislike about chains--not a lot of selection. At this sale, they brought out nothing but acrylics. There were a scant few wools and cottons, and nothing truly creative. Nothing "organic," and by organic I mean yarns that obviously had been crafted by hand, whether spun or hand dyed.

With each LYS that disappears, so too does our connection to our organic connection to our craft. This is just my humble opinion, but an opinion nonetheless.

The craft stores do offer volume and discount, but at what cost? In the end when the megastores are all that's left, I don't want to think about how difficult it will be to obtain more natural fibers.