Good Morning Everyone!
There are many benefits to owning a yarn shop, I think you might be surprised by my favorite one. The obvious would be the yarn, for me, it's my peeps. I am feeling a bit nostalgic this morning, I looked at the date in the corner of my computer, 8/1/2023, WOW, I opened my shop 12 years ago today. I remember feeling all the feels, nerves, excitement, naseousness, happiness, fear. My biggest one was, "What if someone has a problem I can't fix?" I am naturally wired to be a problem solver, I get that from my Boppa who was the epitome of Mr. Fix-It. He was a wise man of few words, we all know that I always have more than a few words. I get that from my Mom, the swear words are a result of soap in my mouth as a kid, nope, didn't work....
There have been many changes during my years in business, 3 locations, surviving a pandemic, and recreating my shop (myself). The one constant has been, YOU, my peeps. I can still remember my early days in Bayberry Cottage and some of my very first customers. My favorite memory is meeting Luann Ross. What's funny is, I thought after that initial meeting, I didn't think I'd ever see her again, I was wrong. When Luann walked into my shop, I took one look at her and thought, "you are not from around here." I was right, she was the most put together woman I'd seen walking Main Street in a very long time. Everything was perfectly appointed,, not a hair out of place and she certainly had style, she drips class. Little did I know that Luann would eventually move up here permanently, to FAIRFIELD, VT no less, what a shift in her world. She still dresses to the nines which is one of the things I just love about her. Annie Fox, Lori Baker, Barb Sawyer, Beebe Potter, Donna Fontana-Smith, Marilyn Fairbanks & Sandy Leclair are just a few more that I can think of off the top of my head, please don't be offended if your name isn't here lol...ANDRA ANDRA ANDRA (she's scanning for her name).
When I started writing my newsletter it was a short blurb to invite you to attend Stitch and Bitch on Wednesday evenings, now look at it. I can remember us cramming around with our camp chairs, some of us on the floor, at Bayberry Cottage. We had to morph out of my space (100 sq ft) so we could fit everyone in. We got completely spoiled when I eventually took over the entire space at the Ralston building, sofas, big chairs, a coffee table, those were the days. I think we had close to 25 people attend one evening, that was amazing! It was so popular that Alisha had her group of women in the back for a group lesson while we were up front, seems like ages ago now. We've come full circle, my shop is small again (which I love) and we somehow manage to make room for everyone, we always have. I am the happiest I've ever been with my business, I think the growing pains are finally over and I'm blooming now. I love my shop, I love my peeps, I love the sense of community we've built together, I really am so very lucky. I have had the opportunity to connect with people I cannot call customers, you've become much more than that to me, we're friends aka my peeps. I truly could not do what I do without you, I thank-you for your friendship, confidence and support. Here's to many more years of laughter, fun and YARN!!!
We will be meeting tomorrow evening, Wednesday, from 6-7:30 for Stitch and Bitch, I hope you can join in the fun. Make it a great day and I'll see you soon!
Katy
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