60 KNIT, KNOT & CREATE Melanie Shed, owner of independent creative shop Ethel & Em in Lancaster, talks to Craft Focus about her simple mission: to make creativity accessible to everyone. Tell us a bit about Ethel & Em. Ethel & Em is an independent creative shop in the heart of Lancaster. We specialise in knitting, crochet and beautiful yarns, alongside Analog Shop, our curated collection of stationery and analogue creative tools. More than anything though, we’re about helping people discover the joy of making. Whether you’re an experienced crafter or a beginner, everyone is welcome. Who opened the shop and why? I opened Ethel & Em in 2019 after spending more than 20 years working in digital and ecommerce retail. I wanted to spend less time looking at screens and more time being creative and connecting with people. After discovering crochet, I found myself searching for a shop that offered the products, atmosphere and advice I was looking for. I couldn’t find it – so I opened it myself. When did your e-commerce shop open and what was the reason for opening online? Our online shop was sort of ready before we even opened our physical shop. Originally it was intended to complement the bricks-and-mortar business, but when Covid arrived it suddenly became essential and we flipped the switch on for a not quite right site to keep the business going. Like many small businesses, we adapted quickly so we could continue supporting customers throughout the pandemic and we held virtual events (the groups continue to this day!). We’re now investing in a complete rebuild of our website to create an even better online experience. We will be introducing two more niche sites to our portfolio later this year – one in the knittisphere and the other for stationery. What’s special about your location? We’re based in Lancaster, a historic city with an incredible and thriving independent business community. Around two-thirds of the city centre businesses are independently owned, which creates a unique shopping experience. There’s a real sense of collaboration here, with businesses supporting each other rather than competing. Also, we were the latest to the party but we are one of THREE independent yarn shops in this small city – so if you like fibrecrafts – Lancaster is a great place to visit! You were recently shortlisted for The Small Awards by Small Business Britain. Tell us more! Being shortlisted was a real honour. As a small independent business, it’s easy to spend your days simply getting on with the job, so having our work recognised nationally was incredibly rewarding. It also introduced us to an inspiring community of independent businesses from across the UK who all share a passion for making a difference in their local communities. We’re a retail shop and selling ‘stuff’ is what keeps the lights on and the team fed – but ultimately we’re very focussed on our community impact and being shortlisted for the Small Awards really recognised that side of our business. Tell us a bit about what you stock. We stock a carefully curated range of knitting and crochet yarns from wellknown brands like Rowan and Rico to lesser known Hjertegarn and Rosarios4, we also stock our shop manager Ben’s indie dyed yarn – Take Two! We stock a number of high-quality needles, hooks and notions from KnitPro, Clover, Addi, CocoKnits, Re:Designed Project, and more. Our stationery very much reflects my own interests with fountain pens from Kaweco and AndHand, notebooks and journals from Vent for Change, Yop & Top and Japan’s Traveler’s Company. Letter writing is super important to me and the stock from Midori and Pigeon Posted often end up in my home office as well. We focus on quality products that inspire creativity and offer options across a wide range of price points so everyone can enjoy making and creating.
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