Craft Focus - December 2020/January 2021 (Issue 82)

12 Selected Yarns acquires Erika Knight yarns German company Selected Yarns has taken over Erika Knight yarns, we talk exclusively to Britta Kremke, owner of Selected Yarns to find out more. How did you and Erika meet? I met Erika in spring 2015 when a befriended colleague in the yarn industry mentioned that the British yarn brand Erika Knight was looking for a distribution partner for continental Europe. At that time my husband and I were visiting friends in Cambridge and spontaneously decided to travel to London to meet Erika and her partner and daughter Arabella. I recall very well when we met in a café near Victoria Station and within only a few minutes it was clear that we wanted to cooperate and soon the big wooden table was covered with yarns, designs, shade cards, books and we were already in the middle of discussing the perfect marketing strategy for her unique yarns. Since then we distributed her yarns in most EU countries, mainly in Germany and Austria. This spring, we learnt that the yarn brand Erika Knight was looking for a new home. So, we placed an offer and were so grateful to actually be the ones to take this project forward. In the meantime, all stock has been reallocated to our warehouse in northern Germany from where we supply to retailers all over the world. Erika Knight has completed our family of yarn brands which are: BC Garn – a Danish born company that we acquired from the retiring owners in 2018; and Kemke Soul Wool, the brand we founded in 2016. What appeals to you about the company Erika Knight yarns are all one of a kind and have the clear profile of Erika Knights’ ‘handwriting’. The fibres she had chosen, some of them original British Wool fibres, the special colour palette that flatters every woman and mixes well together and not to forget her wearable yet innovative designs. This is what yarn lovers and ourselves love about the brand. We’re already adding new colours and yarns to the range and we’ll always try to keep the same kind of British style profile. We’re very grateful and pleased that Erika and Arabella have agreed to continue supporting us in yarn and design development and we’re already working on some new design collections. What product do you think will sell very well? The most original yarn in the Erika Knight range is Maxi Wool, a very bulky rustic yarn with 80m/100g. The colours can be found here: https://www.erikaknight.co.uk/article.php?id=maxi-wool-100g. I do see a trend towards really bulky yarns this winter. More young knitters are entering our industry and they want to achieve nice results fast by working with bulky yarns. Maxi Wool fits this trend perfectly. How can interested retailers stock the products? All Erika Knight yarns can be obtained from Selected Yarns, the German-based family business managed by myself and the team. Interested retailers may open an account on the website www.selected-yarns.com or get in touch by email to kremke@selected-yarns.com