7 EDITOR’S LETTER On the cover The Spring wrap, by Jody Long, features his new yarn for spring/ summer 2024: Delish: a luxurious fingering weight featuring a duet of Mulberry Silk and Extrafine Merino Wool. Jody Long is a prolific British knitwear designer encouraging a new generation of knitters with his young, fresh approach. A top selling author with over a dozen knitting titles to his name, Jody is also a senior knitwear designer for Knitting Fever and, in collaboration with the company, has launched the Jody Long Yarns which can be found in local yarn retailers across the UK & around the World. Visit: www.knittingfever.com A positive year for retail ahead Firstly, happy new year! I hope you all enjoyed the festivities and are looking forward to a bright year ahead. Word on the street is that the pandemicdriven growth of online shopping has slowed and going into 2024, the in-store experience will be even more important as people want more faceto-face interactions. Retailers are urged to give their customers every reason to shop in person, with convenience and service at the top of the agenda. As a crafting society, we all know to see and to touch is vital with the tactile products we offer. Equally vital are our wonderful trade shows. The elaborate stands, the chats, feeling the softness of that merino wool, seeing the bountiful displays of yarn balls and being inspired again and again – when you thought you’d ‘seen it all’! Nothing beats it. First on the agenda is Creativeworld, followed by Stitches and then h+h Cologne. It really is jampacked and this issue, we have plenty of show news and a Stitches preview with all the information you’ll need to plan your trip. This edition, we also welcome new trends – Pantone has released Peach Fuzz as it’s Pantone Colour of the Year and we have rounded up plenty of peachy products sure to please. We also focus on key themes such as Easter and Spring. I love this time of year, as people want to say goodbye to winter and eagerly await the fresh lemon hues and gingham prints to hit the high streets. I do hope you enjoy the issue and I can’t wait to see many of you at Stitches in Birmingham. Myself and Tracy will be on Stand C03. Happy reading, Louise Prance Editor Rachel DESIGN +44 (0)1376 535 616 artwork@craftfocus.com ACCOUNTS +44 (0)1376 535 616 accounts@craftfocus.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Sarah Ellis +44 (0)1376 535 602 sarah.ellis@craftfocus.com Craft Focus is solely owned, published and designed by KD Events & Publishing Ltd. Whilst every effort was made to ensure the information in this magazine was correct at the time of going to press, the publishers cannot accept legal responsibility for any errors or omissions, nor can they accept responsibility of the standing of advertisers nor by the editorial contributions. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Craft Focus is published six times a year. ISSN 1758-0900 @craftfocus @craftfocusmag @craftfocus Craft Focus is proud to be associated with and supporters of: ADVERTISING Account Manager Tracy Voice +44 (0)1376 538 555 tracy.voice@craftfocus.com EDITORIAL Editor Rachel Westall +44 (0)1376 514 000 editor@craftfocus.com Peach Fuzz - Pantone’s Colour of the Year Lion Brand Yarn Company
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