Why would you "do" this????

I've been asked quite a number of times why I would start a business "now".  Now is as good a time as we are likely see and there are quite a number of people in this area who feel as passionately about good fiber products as I do.  That said, business is slow to find us but the people who do find us, really enjoy the products and the store.  I found this piece in another yarn shop's blog and it is so important that I am reposting it here.  The author gave permission for other yarn shops to use it with personalizations and it references the 3/50 project which The Painted Sheep supports.

Only $40 a month. . .

It’s happening all over the country. Every day our hearts break as we see another

“OUT OF BUSINESS” sign on the door of our favorite businesses. A great restaurant,

delightful bread store, or especially our favorite yarn shop; here one day and gone

the next. The fiber community is still reeling from the closing of Vintage Yarns and

Fiberworks, and the question asked of me every day is, “So, how is your business. . .

really? You won’t be closing too will you?”

To honestly answer your questions,

it all depends on sales.

below what was expected and what is needed

exists today. The last thing I want to do is break your heart. . . and mine, and I’ll do

anything to try to keep that from happening. Which is why I have information to

share with you.

I am not PLANNING on going out of business, butPlain and simple. And, quite honestly, sales are significantlyfor long-term survival of the shop as it

Why Shops Don’t Survive

1.

 Profit margins fall below what is needed to re-stock. Example: a skein of yarnThe first $5.00 is needed to pay rent, taxes, salaries, utilities and

the remaining $5.00

If the yarn goes on sale,

now there is not enough money left to re-buy yarn because it still costs $5.00

Suddenly there is less to sell, customers get bored or already have it, and stop

buying. (not all “sales” create this condition, but most do, unless the item was

greatly discounted to the LYS at the time the shop purchased it)

The above is a very simplistic explanation, and there

can do to increase the profit margins somewhat, but the two items listed here are the

major components to success or failure for retailers.

is left to re-buy another skein of the same yarn to restock.the first $5.00 still has to pay rent/salaries/taxes, and.are things a small shop owner

You Can Save Your Favorite Small Business!

A Minneapolis-based retail consultant explains that if even half of the employed population

spent a mere

$50 a month each, at 3 independently-owned establishments

(instead of big box/chain stores), this economy would turn around in the blink of an

eye! And those 3 businesses would be saved from closing. That is about $12.00 a

week at each of your 3 favorite independently-owned retailers. Think about what you

spend weekly on gourmet coffee, texting charges, or bottled water (ooooh, I just

found some money for MORE YARN !).

At The Painted Sheep, if every person on our Preferred Shopper list spends even just $40and be!

a month (or $10 a week), we will not only survive, we will prosper

able to offer you more new exciting yarn, great classes, and a wonderful place to

come and play and forget the outside world exists for a while

I hope you will continue to see The Painted Sheep as your “favorite” shop of choice, and that you will continue to support us by: referring your friends, by NOT using photocopied patterns from a friend, and by taking a class or two now and then. It all adds up. Only $10 a week keeps your favorite yarn shop in business.

 

2.

is sold at $10.

Customers stop buying. No explanation needed.

Inspiration

Antique baby cribs and yarn.  Is there any better inspiration??  This crib in the shop is old but who knows exactly how old.  From the beginning of time, mamas and grandmas have knit precious little sweaters, hats and mitts for their babies.  I don't know the first baby to sleep in this crib, but just looking at it makes me think of generations of small people who were lovingly cared for and knit for over time.   Who's on your list to knit for this winter?  Is there a baby on the way?



Crystal Palace Panda Cotton

I spent today getting to know some of the newer yarns in the store.  I needed a store sample of the Crystal Palace Panda Cotton.  I now have a very pretty sample of lace and the start of a sock.  Panda cotton is more stretchy than you would picture cotton to be.  It has 25% nylon content.  The color changes are very quick so there is no pooling potential in your usual plain vanilla sock.  A lace pattern shows nicely, even with the color changes.  One of the nicest parts of this yarn store starting is being able to try lots of different yarns.  The hardest part might be choosing which color to start with.  Come on by if you need a new project for Fall.   We have lots of interesting patterns and yarns to start out on.

To email or not to email...

I use the computer a lot.  It is probably my most used knitting tool.  I use it to look up patterns and manufacturers.  I use it to track prices, sales, inventory, bills and on and on.  It's also vital to use the computer to send information to customers.  It is the best way to get out class schedules, important events, and coupons. So... What was the question?  Oh yeah.  "Would you like to be on our mailing list?"

Time

Needle work is about time.  It is a tangible representation of time spent.  You might be thinking about a certain person or a pressing problem or just a complicated pattern but the stitches and the rows accumulate in the passage of time.  In the space of one hour today, I knit eighteen rows on a scarf.  My knitting speed is officially 540 stitches per hour, regulation garter stitch.  540 good thoughts are coming your way.  Happy stitches.

Unique

There are so many knitters and crafters with talent in our area.  Today was a unique experience.  There is an independent pattern designer in our midst who is valiantly trying to publish some really beautiful work.  I hope she succeeds and we get to see the finished product in the shoppe.  Possibly in time one of us will get to test knit her work.

Get out and enjoy the many craft shows around the area.  If you need a yarn fix, stop on in.  I'll be knitting away in the corner.

Talents Are Us

One of the things that impresses me most everyday is quiet talent.  All around us are people whose talents and gifts are shared in quiet ways.  I am previledged to have some of the most talented people I know as sample crafters for the shop.  They make amazing things.  Hand crafts are like that.  No one shouts from the roof tops about the amazing baby sweater, hat or mitts that they made, but the value and appreciation comes from the heart of the lucky recipient. 

Come on in to The Painted Sheep in Richfield and see what inspires you.

New Adventures in Fiber

The Painted Sheep is off and running.  Any new endeavor is a challenge but this one is so far out of my normal that it is a huge challenge.  Please read along and follow our progress and share the new projects that come along.

The best part of owning a yarn shop could quite possibly be the yarn. It is a not so guilty pleasure to stand in the middle of all that fiber and just look at it.  There is a lot of it.  It is so squishy and so colorful that it just begs to be taken home and made into delicious socks, or a shawl, or a huge fluffy sweater.   It has been fun to seek out unique yarns, new fibers and small independent producers to share with our shoppe visitors.  I hope you make the time to visit soon.