67 RETAILER INTERVIEW manager at West Yorkshire Spinners and do a quiz with your King Cole rep? We do find it sad that there’s no longer a more general UK craft show, with the decline of CHSI Stitches, there’s nothing. Having said that, though, we feel that a show is going to have to have a lot of useful stands and good offers if we’re to make the considerable effort to travel to it. Are you active on social media? How is this useful for the business? We do make use of social media – our inperson customers are more likely to use Facebook than any other platform, but we also have active Instagram, Threads and Pinterest accounts and we’re just building up our presence on YouTube. Do you have any plans for the future of the store? Workshops etc? We’re currently working on plans to develop our outdoor space. Currently, we have a ‘wasteland’ behind the shop and we’re hoping to turn this into a sheltered area for messy activities and social gatherings in the summer, plus a garden where we can grow herbs and dye plants to use in our classes. We’re also currently working with another local yarn shop to develop an exciting collaborative project that we hope will bring lots of visitors to our area and, thus, be good for everyone in retail in west Wales. It’s under wraps at the moment, but we’re hoping to be able to make an announcement shortly. Do you have any tips for people looking to start their own retail venture? Remember it’s a business, not a hobby. You’re going to have to do things like accounts and paying bills and dealing with energy suppliers that aren’t much fun, but that’s only part of it. If you like people, retail is a great option – listen to them, talk to them, become part of the community – it’s not just about your customers, it’s also about other local businesses. We’ve found that collaboration is hugely beneficial. Many of our customers arrive because of a recommendation – either from other customers or from one of the shops in our small town. And it’s reciprocal, so we often send people to the right place for their needs; it all makes the town stronger. What’s the one product you couldn’t live without? Neither of us could do without our Tulip crochet hooks – we both crochet A LOT to make samples for the shop and decorate the bollards outside. We were sceptical when asked to stock them, but we’re both converts, and we sell loads of them too. As a second choice, we’d have to add the mini weaving looms, which we sell, and Jan uses for our knitwear repair service. Jan Martin and Jon Sayer, Co-owners 10 College Street, Lampeter SA48 7DY
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