79 RETAILER INTERVIEW Tell us a bit about what you stock? All of our fabric is true designer deadstock, sourced from designers who have it left over after they’ve finished creating or sampling their collections. Much of this fabric would be destined for landfill or incineration. It’s a more sustainable fabric option. What brands do you currently stock? Are you looking for any new products/ licenses or styles? We only sell fabric we get directly from designers and always take everything they have, we don’t pick and choose fabrics. They’re really high-end designers though and sourced from the top mills in the world, we get some seriously incredible fabrics in! What is selling particularly well at present? People are loving textured and crinkly fabrics. Everyone’s getting excited about festive party wear too so sparkles and fancy jacquards are doing well. What fabric styles or new trend are you currently excited about? We’re excited that more people are getting interested in true deadstock fabric and sustainable fabric options. Some fabric is sold as deadstock when it’s actually what we’d call ‘overstock’, i.e. fabric that has been deliberately overproduced in the knowledge that it’ll be sold. It’s exciting that customers are asking more questions about the origins of their fabrics. Do you visit any trade shows? We exhibited at The Stitch Festival in February and might be back again! Are you active on social media? How is this useful for the business? Instagram is a huge part of our business and we’ve always been very active on it, we now have nearly 60,000 followers. We love interacting with our customers through it and keeping them updated on behind the scenes in our business. How important is it to have a website? Without a website we couldn’t exist! Most of our orders still come through our website and we use it for everything. Do you have any plans for the future of the store? We already run workshops in the studio but would love to hold even more. We’ve recently started opening up for social sewing evenings on a Thursday and have plans to hold more sewing parties here too! Do you have any tips for people looking to start their own retail venture? Get started! You make lots of mistakes but that’s how you learn and grow. What is the one product you couldn’t live without? Our fabric roller machines. It counts all the rolls of fabric we get in from designers, without it our stock keeping would be a complete mess! THE NEW CRAFT HOUSE 32 Bocking Street London, E8 3FP https://thenewcrafthouse.com
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