But It Looks Like a House

This is one of the most common phrases I've heard from customers this past year. They phone to ask where the store is located because they're having trouble finding the address. The map on their phone is taking them to a house. That can't be right, can it? Then some of them look up from their vehicle to see me waving from the living room window.

Others leave the not-possibly-correct address and go back to the last location they remember visiting only to phone from a parking spot there. Once I've convinced them that, yes, the address does take them into a residential area and, yes, that has been the address for over a year now, and, no, the city won't let me let them in to shop, they lament the fact that they came to pet the yarn. I let them know that the mobile store will soon be visiting a location near them and they will absolutely be able to pet the yarn then.

The most unusual thing that has happened recently - and I am convinced that it is related - is that I have been receiving silent voice messages on the store phone's voicemail. I couldn't figure it out until one day someone picked up their product at the door without calling first to let me know when they would be arriving so that I could provide contactless pickup by putting it in the mailbox. She said, "But I texted you about an hour ago to let you know I was coming." I had noticed a voicemail notification about an hour before she got there. A silent message. Mystery solved?

In recent days, I've also noticed people sitting in their vehicles in front of the house apparently texting before driving away. Are they texting my landline? Sadly, that means there may have been a number of people who have texted my landline and are now upset with me because I'm taking my sweet time getting back to them. Anyone have any creative ideas how to get back to them?

I've got a handle on the first problem people are having, and I may have come up with a solution to the second. I have two personal cell lines from a different provider - one for my cell phone and one for my iPad mini which I used as my remote till this past year in the pop up store. My business provider has offered me a deal I can't refuse so there may be a cell number appearing on all my social media pages in the near future. Talk about being coerced into joining the current century!

written by Lori, perplexed TCL owner, who can't believe people seem to have forgotten that land lines exist.

edited within 24 hours after having been on the ball and getting this done before Monday morning early - The even more unusual thing that has happened: Sitting down to a late dinner after my cousin delivered more of my aunt's belongings to the house (She moved in with us Saturday), a woman walked in the door unannounced wanting to look at yarn! Did she know this was going to be the topic and just wanted me to have more content?!

What if ... ?

 By now, you all know that the pop up store will be on the road soon. But what if the market is indoors? Or what if the market won’t allow strictly retail vendors?  I’ve got that covered!

I have over 60 personal patterns that I sell as either paper copies (in person) or PDF copies (online) and most of them translate to generic, readily available yarns. A small handful are for specific yarns that may be current or may be discontinued. Either way, most of my patterns are going to be made available as kits to be sold exclusively at the ‘what if’ markets.

Why the exclusivity, you ask? If you order from the online store directly, you are able to pick and choose the yarns you want and put them together with the patterns you want. In essence, you are creating your own kits. For me to create the kit as an online product means the yarn is technically in two places at once and may be accidentally sold twice and someone is going to be disappointed when they have to be told the stock amount is wrong. Doesn’t look too good on my part when that happens.

Also, at those particular markets, you could preorder a specific combination and ask to have it delivered to said market. Beats paying shipping if you can’t come to Lacombe to pick it up. ;)

Below you will see a mock-up of my display table that I have planned for the events that won’t accommodate the RV. Although I haven’t got all the details ironed out - i.e. how to display the price ranges for the kits - I would love your input as a potential shopper. You may see things from a different perspective.

There are many more kits that can be made but I decided to start with my most popular patterns for the first go round.

Please note that needles/hooks and other accessories will not be included in these kits because different people have different tastes in tools. Can you imagine the variety of prices? And people digging into kits to get the needles they want from the kit they don’t?  Don’t need that headache. 🤕 If allowed, they will be available separately.

Written by Lori, happy TCL owner, who can’t wait to get this show on the road!

Does That Mean the Warehouse is Empty?

So if you read the previous blog, you would know that a LOT of product has already found its way into the popup store. Does that mean I'm ready to start hosting clandestine dance parties in the warehouse? Heck no. There's still way too much stuff in there!

If you visited the brick and mortar store at any time between February 14, 1994 and March 1, 2020, you will recall that I have always been so much more than a yarn store. However, much of that stock doesn't translate well into a mobile store. For reference, my store on 50th Street (not to be confused with Highway 12) was 2000 square feet. My RV is 209 square feet. That's just over 10% of the largest amount of floor space that my business has ever occupied.

Interesting fact - at 7ft, the ceiling height of the RV is half the height of the ceiling at that brick and mortar location and I made good use of that 14ft ceiling for display purposes. (Another interesting fact - 7ft is exactly the height of the ceiling in the basement of Nowco Home Hardware, the birthplace of The Crafty Lady.) For those of you doing the math, the RV has just over 5% of the (cubic) space I once had for all the products I sell. So what's still in the warehouse, you ask? Where do I start?

I still have beads and jewelry making supplies. What you see in this picture are the Mill Hill beads and Weave Got Maille kits. While I still have plenty of stock, I lost my Mill Hill supplier to retirement back in 2017 and the chainmaille kits come from the US, so I won't be restocking those anytime soon due to what is and is not considered essential. All of these are available through the online store.

What you don't see in this picture are the bead drawers (and the drawers holding the DMC Pearl Cotton and Kreinik threads) whose back sides are supporting this bead wall. Most of the beads in the drawers are not in the online store, and may never be, so they may show up occasionally as Special Deals in the mobile store. The Kreinik has gone the way of the Mill Hill beads so stock is first come, first serve. As for the Pearl Cotton, if I do not have the colour(s) you want in stock, they are also not considered essential so I cannot guarantee any kind of ETA if you choose to order them in.

This next picture appears to be a bit of everything thrown together, but there is method to the apparent madness. Most of what you see here is available at fabric stores so I assumed they would be slow sellers when I set up the warehouse. It's just me that needs to be able to find them so ...

The patches are actually going to be travelling with me for a week or two as a reminder that I am more than just a yarn store but the Unique buttons and Gutermann sewing threads won't quite work in the RV the same way. I still have sewing elastic - including bulk mask elastic - and a selection of hand sewing needles. The cross stitch supplies, however, did not make the cut when my suppliers chose to downsize, so I have very few fabrics, kits and accessories left.

Except DMC floss. I can still get floss. And it will be with me in the RV. You just won't see it.

I still have massive amounts of fasteners in the warehouse!

You are looking at a 4' x 8' wall of buttons,

snaps,

hooks and eyes,

shawl pins ...

I carried many of them with me last year in the popup store but I need all that space for my knitting needles and crochet hooks now.

I still have a selection of Dylon and Rit dyes (powder and liquid respectively) as well as sets of fabric pens and paints. The pompoms may make an appearance in the RV but, until then, you can see a portion of the colours available. What you may not be able to see are the white and black snap-on poms, but they're there.

In this photo, you can see all the knitting and crochet accessories that will be rotated in and out of the RV throughout the popup season. That's another 4' x 8' wall (plus the purse handles and loom sets hanging behind it) and remember - in the RV, I am working with 5% of my previous cubic space so I can only bring what I have room for.

Further down the wall - where you can't see them - are the tatting needles. They pair beautifully with the Pearl Cotton and other fine weight threads you couldn't see in the first picture. But they're there. Trust me ;)

I have never carried a lot of paper crafting supplies, but I have always had a number of quilling and parchcraft supplies. I still have a supplier for the quilling but since you are able to order direct from the Pergamano and Parchcraft Australia websites, once these tools are gone, they're gone for good.

Sorry. There still won't be enough room for dancing once they're gone. ;)

Not pictured are the clock motors and hands that I still get requests for. Since they come from the same supplier as the quilling, they will remain regular stock.

You made it all the way through to the end?   Good for you!

As a reward, here's a little hint to make shopping easier once I have my route set for the mobile season.

1. When ordering online, choose to pick up your purchase from the mobile store when it is in your area. 

2.  Didn't buy that yarn last week when it was in the popup store? Pay for it this week and pick it up   next week when I hand deliver it for you.

3. Need Tapestry yarn or embroidery floss? Depending on how many locations I have booked in one  day, you may be able to come back after hours to pick them up.

How's that for service?

written by Lori, TCL owner, who has finally decided to not fight with the blog program any more. You want the photos stacked vertically? I'll just 'talk' a lot more to fill up the space. Problem solved.

Sneak Peek!

 While my schedule has not yet been solidified, the RV is starting to look like a pop up store again.  Currently, I have virtually all of my knitting needles and crochet hooks hanging in their retail ready positions.

It took a little bit of innovation but it's done. Have I told you that over the door shoe storage bags are amazing?

Most of the yarn is also in position - some in the retail display units, others in storage containers that may (or may not) make it easy to find. We'll see, I guess. And someday I may even figure out how to (consistently) get these photos to sit side by side without fighting with the program for a half hour before giving up.

Until then, this post was written by Lori, possibly crazy TCL owner, who will update you as soon as possible on my weekly whereabouts in the near future.

One Year Anniversary!

 Has it really been a year since I closed the brick and mortar location of The Crafty Lady?!

March 1rst, 2020 was the day we began packing up all the stock in the store to move to the warehouse that would become the home base of the online store and, later, the pop up store. It took the entire month to get everything inventoried, cleared out and thrown into a space less than half the size of the final brick and mortar space (which also had a basement).  It took another couple of months before everything found its permanent home within that space and, as I mentioned in the previous blog, it is now getting a revamp to allow for more travel time. In fact, if I planned it correctly, ALL the yarn will be able to go with me on the road!

Inventory is nearly complete, which means that most my time going forward will be dedicated to planning the most convenient arrangement of storage containers in order to find yarn not on display as quickly as possible. This is no small feat as I have already determined that 33 Parkla units will fit in the storage space above the cab and it will be under the weight limit if I use the right yarns (i.e. no heavy cottons allowed). The bunk beds (which don't have posted weight limits!) will carry up to 44 more Parkla units. That means I am looking at close to 80 containers to keep track of, not to mention the DMC products that will have their own (very special) hiding place in the rv.

If someone had told me two years ago that this is where my business would be now, I'm not sure I would believe them. I can honestly tell you, though, that I am thankful I made this decision last year before the world got turned upside-down. And it's because of customers/followers like yourselves that it has made it through this past year and will continue to thrive for years to come. The business may continue to evolve but one thing that will never change - I have never, and will never, take my customers for granted. You all are the reason I keep going. The designer in me needs to know that there are people out there crazy enough to take on the challenges of my patterns. The teacher in me revels in the ability to pass on any knowledge I have gleaned that I deem helpful. And the yarn hoarder in me is ecstatic that there are enough people out there that share my taste in yarn that I can buy stock for me the store and know it will be appreciated.

written by Lori, happy TCL owner, who is enduring a lot of late nights making sure to get this show on the road (literally) as soon as the weather permits.