THE Woollery in Westbury, in their new home on Warminster Road, have joined independent yarn shops across UK in a promotional campaign to keep yarn shops on the high street.
Vanessa Bailey at The Woollery said, “As businesses fall victim to this difficult economic climate, it can become more and more appealing to ditch the high street altogether and move to trading online only. For me, and for other yarn shop owners, that just isn’t an option.
“Whilst we work in tandem with the internet; and must in order to survive, an independent high street yarn shop is more than just a shop. A yarn shop is: a community, a craft hub, a meeting place for customers who have become friends, a tactile experience, feeling your raw materials, understanding their journey and appreciating the methods used to create such fibres. A place for advice, and project help – often free of charge, a place of wonder for the younger generations, essential to plant an interest in crafting. A place to create, attend workshops, manage mental health issues, talk, laugh and sometimes cry. They have a heart and a soul, and they have to remain on our streets.”
The Woollery is taking part in the Keep Yarn On Our Streets initiative, a positive, exciting and fun campaign determined to get customers exploring yarn shops near them, venturing out on holidays to find other shops…and most importantly just into the shops themselves and experiencing what is so much more than a shopping experience.
42 yarn shops across the UK have signed up for the first campaign – a treasure hunt. During October, each participating shop will have 50 enamel pin badges of the “Keep Yarn On Our Streets” logo in the shop’s choice of colour with their shop name on. These will be sold for £4 each or free with a spend of over £40. There will be a prize for the first three people to collect 10 different pin badges during October. The aim is to encourage yarn lovers to hunt out other participating shops, and potentially find new favourites.
The ball is already in motion for the second campaign, with more shops excited to get on board. The campaign hopes to make this a positive, exciting and ongoing to support and promote independent yarn shops, and keep them on the high street.
All the participating shops can be found at www.keepyarnonourstreets .co.uk and they are also on Instagram with @keepyarnonourstreets, #keepyarnonourstreets
