StitchBox!

Every month you can have a box of yummy yarn and notions delivered right to your door.  We look for the most wonderful, yummy yarns and send them right to our most special shoppers.  Order yours on our facebook page or through the website.

StitchBox!

Surprises that come in the mail are great!  Some people even send themselves surprises in the mail just to get that little thrill that comes from the mystery box that suddenly appears.  I am talking about those subscription boxes that are all the rage right now.  You can find subscription boxes for snack foods, doggy toys, wine, cheese, and yarn too.  Yarny surprises delivered right to your door with patterns and needles and sometimes even a goody or two.  It's the best fun.

We have a subscription box at the shop now that is getting rave reviews from the regulars.  It is top secret until they are mailed out and then everyone is excited to share what they got.  They leave comments on the facebook page or email the shop to share how exciting the box was.  The secret to each box is that it has items that are not in the shop yet.  It is filled with new colors of yarn or new lines of yarn,  needles, notions and who knows what else.  The items in the box are a lot less than you would generally pay for those same items in a store.  That is another plus for subscription boxes.  You can count on getting deal with most of these boxes.

Try out a surprise for yourself this month.  Pinterest has loads of subscription box posts.  Find a box that interests you and try out something new this month.

Here's a link to our offering this month : http://www.juliayarnshoppe.com/

Shopping online or your local small business?

I own a small business and I shop online.  I support the 3/50 project with my business and in practice with several small local businesses and I shop online.  I am an Amazon quick fix junkie for some things.  I can have a quick shopping fix right from my desk or my favorite chair if I choose.  I know.  It’s a problem.  Sometimes it’s a budgetary problem.  Sometimes it’s an “I live in rural America and this thing isn’t available here” problem.  I’d rather this item of the moment was available at my local department store, but it’s a specialty item.

When I work on a project, I love the touch and feel the craft materials I use.  I have not had success choosing materials from a catalog or an online site because I am so tactile and sensory about the process.  If I order something crafty, when the desired item arrives it’s the wrong color, the wrong size, and the wrong shape.  It goes to a dusty shelf and I reorder or try something else. 

When I travel with the family, we specifically search out yarn and fiber shops.  I gather their addresses in advance on Google, KnitMap or SweaterBabe.  I plan out the time to visit.  My family usually goes for ice cream after they drop me off at the LYS.  It’s a long adventure and they know it.  And I get something there that I cannot get at home in my favorite chair.  I pick out a random skein of beautiful yarn or a shop pattern.  I have a nice chat with someone who lives in another part of the country.  They usually don’t know that I own a yarn shop because I don’t share that.  I am seeing what other yarn shops feel like and that is best done incognito.  I want to know the atmosphere and character of the shops I visit.  I soak it in because each shop has a different feel.  And I write down something interesting about each one.  I look for ideas that I can take home and that are worth using another time.  You can’t get that on Amazon.