Enjoying the Process

My boyfriend and I just spent the last 5 days in Northern California and recharged. It was fantastic, spent some time in the Russian River Valley (wine tasting!), enjoyed the sun, spent a day in San Francisco, and drove along the coast and through the majestic Redwood Forest on the way back home (my favorite part).

While we were there, we checked out two local yarn shops and talked with the owners for a few minutes. I would love to give a shout out to Trudy, the owner of Yarnitudes in Sebastopol (near Santa Rosa) and to Rosanne of Purls of Joy in Healdsburg, about 30 minutes north. They greeted us right when we stepped through their doors and immediately made us feel like part of the family. When I explained that I was planning on opening my own store in Washington, they were so very supportive- and almost overwhelmed me with lessons learned and hints! The wealth of knowledge between the two - to include the stitchers at Purls of Joy who were there working on their projects - was so vast, and everyone was so much fun to talk to. I will take their comments to heart and keep in touch.

I am rejuvenated. I had to make it a point NOT to think about what I want to do with my shop while on vacation and just enjoy the moment. (It was so very difficult to keep my mind quiet!) As we were getting closer to home, however, I could feel my mind start to crank up again.

I will definitely be incorporating Trudy's and Rosanne's ideas in my shop. Some of the ideas I already had tossed around as possibilities. One thing that I did completely change my mind on was the color of the shelving. Remember in my earlier blog that I wanted dark shelving? Well, after walking into Purls of Joy and being blinded by the brightness - which was a GOOD thing, I was convinced that WHITE shelving is the way to go. How much better to see the yarn colors!

Keep stitching!

Teva

The search is on

Well I checked out two potential leases today. One was for 5,000 square feet and the other was 1200.

The 5,000 sf place was EXACTLY WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. Except that I don't think my yarn shop is going to make $2000 a month right off the bat. So that one is on my "will move into someday" list.

The 1200sf place is also a good place for a start-up, but it was a salon&spa before and it has too many small rooms that would have to be demo'd. I don't want to demo. Also, it has a drop ceiling that I would want to demo, because the REAL ceiling, maybe 6 feet higher, HAS THE ORIGINAL TIN CEILING SQUARES!!! Oh, that would be so awesome to see every day. Owner only wants $500 a month for it, but it is on a side street and not quite on the main "antique mall" strip.

There is one more shop available that I am pretty sure is the one for me right now. It is probably 3,000 sf and it the storefront is RIGHT ON THE STREET that I want. The owner wants $600 a month. However, I know the person who owns the belly dancing studio right next door, and with her help there's a chance I could get him to drop the rent 50-100 bucks. Worth a shot!

So now I am trying to get off of my duff and get the financial projections together. It's a pain in the ass and the leg work....ugh. I need to decide how much, what type, and what colors of yarn to get initially ordered. Notions, too. What sizes of knitting needles? How many of each size? Same with crochet needles too.

There is a local glassworks guy and I might be able to get an order of glass stitch markers made....

I think I am going to shoot for a September  or October Grand Opening. Which means I will be stocking for fall and Christmas initially. Now I just need to find wholesalers in the local area. :)

A safe for the cash. A file cabinet. A scale so when I buy roving in 50lb bulk I can break it down and sell it by the oz. (roving is fiber for spinners to make yarn out of).

This blog is a great place for me to get my thoughts together.

Peg board and hooks. Where do I get that from? hmm, more research to do!

Yarn that I know I am going to have initially: Malabrigo wool. Alpaca. Sock weight. Sport weight.
I am also going to look at knitting patterns and have those available with the yarn it calls for too. Does anyone have any ideas? Feel free to post them in the comments!

Ok, enough procrastinating, back to finances I go.....

The Decision Has Been Made!!

So, today was the second week that I visited the shop to see if the owner had her financial paperwork yet. She seemed busy with a customer, but when she looked up and saw me she immediately said "I don't have them yet" and then she went right back to showing the customer how to use a spinning wheel. I felt absolutely dismissed, so I hung around for about 10 minutes to see if I could talk to her. However, the customer was asking specific questions about the shop......and it finally occurred to me that she was the other buyer!

So, I decided then and there that I am going to open my own shop in Centralia. It seems to me that if a seller was interested in selling, they would have the paperwork ready as soon as possible. I realized today that she is favoring the other buyer so that is the end of that! Look out Chehalis, you are about to have some serious yarn competition. :)

Plot Twist!

Oh no! I went to the yarn shop to ask the owner for copies of her financial records, and she told me that there is another person interested in the place, too. Competition!

You know what? That's ok. Because when I do all of this hard work putting my business portfolio together with a business plan and financials in place, it will be a piece of cake to take it and start my own business with it here in my town. (This shop for sale is in the neighboring town, but not far). THEN who's the competition? #alwaysabrighterside!

When I showed up at the shop today, I expected it to be quiet and just be her there, like it was two days ago. Surprise! The place was full of knitters and spinners! It was great! So I hung around for a while and got to know everybody and had a ball learning about spinning. I even got invited to one lady's house to learn how to weave! They meet at her place the first Wednesday of every month. How cool is that?

This is exactly what I am looking for. I hope I am able to take it over!

New Business Daydreaming

There is a yarn shop in Lakewood, Washington that I absolutely adore. What I love about it is that it is a welcoming place with lots of comfortable deep chairs, love seats, and coffee tables. It makes you want to bring your current WIP (work in progress) project and sit down, have a cup of tea, and visit with others. It's like the South's version of the barber shop. Hahaha. You feel at home.

This is what I want my place to be like. The same way I wanted my book shop to be like. Welcome! Come on in! Have a seat, pull out your yarn, and stitch away! Put your feet up, have a cup of coffee, enjoy the atmosphere and join the discussion!

The yarn shop I am interested in buying doesn't have that ambiance right now. An extra large folding table and folding chairs, that's it.

Even the containers that the yarn inventory is in -- stackable white steel wire containers! How cold and uninviting! Those of you who know me know how I love wood furniture. I think wood containers - the kind of diamond shape shelving like wine bottles are stored in - would be more warm and inviting. Hey, I will have YOU be the judge. Imagine yarn in place of what you see in these pictures:

Which is more inviting? Which would you prefer? (Of course, just the wine, right?!! Well, you are in luck, because there is a WINE BAR right across the hallway in this building!! So we don't need our own wine!)

And smells....I am all about inviting smells. I could put sachets of cedar chips in with the yarn....or, I could find a chocolate chip cookie candle. Or maybe even and oatmeal raisin candle. Anything that reminds you of your Grandma and the crafts she used to make.

Why spend a quiet night at home crocheting or knitting by yourself? Grab your WIP and come on over. We have a seat waiting for you with a nice hot cup of tea.