My YARN SHOP DAY at THREADS in Dunbarton

Let me tell you about last Saturday. As part of YSD I was at  THREADS WOOL SHOP in Dunbarton.  (143 Glasgow road, Dunbarton, G82 1RQ ).

Dumbarton is a town on the north bank of the River Clyde about half an hour from Glasgow.

I got an amazing welcome from the owner Linda, her daughter Lorna, Nancy, the knitting expert, and Prince, Nancy’s dog, and official shop mascot.

Treads is not dissimilar to Aladin’s cave, it is full to the brim with yarn, buttons, ribbons, knitting and crochet accessories…also Linda sells lovely handmade garments and baby sets too.

Linda’s team had invested a lot of time, care and attention to the day, she had organized radio adverts on the local station, social media updates, goodie bags, for all the customers, raffle prizes and special discounts on the day and a lot of bargain wool too. I was really chuffed that they asked me and my blankets to be part of such a special day.

I was so busy chatting to Linda’s customers, that I only managed to take a couple of quick snapshots between visitors so I can show you how lovely the shop is.

I met a lot of lovely ladies of all ages, and  I chatted all day about yarn, crochet, blankets, colors, you name it. I got A LOT of compliments about my blankets and I was so overwhelmed by the kindness of the ladies I met, a special mention goes to Linda’s crochet and knitting club members, they all came to say hello. I met some regular customers and some new one that came for the event thanks to the adverts and social media.

In the flurry of activity,  I realized,   that I did not have a real grasp of how important local shops are and how important it is to support local businesses as it means you support local events that connect people together and that was to me the most obvious and special part of the day.

An old lady came in, she got a warm welcome bought one ball of yarn and she pulled out from her bag some pictures of what she had made for her relatives, she was so proud of her achievements and she loved the care and attention that Linda and her team gave her. The shop was really busy but she got the same care and attention that other customers that bought much more got.

I thought that was very special, and it embodies the spirit of Treads and of many of those small independent yarn shops. They do not only sell yarn, buttons ribbons, and accessories, they also  have a vital role in the community, they are places where people not only buy yarn but also can go for a chat, some exchange ideas, they’re an invaluable source of knitting and crochet advice and news, and are great for discussing your WIPs and next projects.

Linda’s host’s classes virtually every day of the week, where you can learn to crochet or knitting. She also has crochet and knitting clubs where people can spend a few hours, every week, knitting and crochet together.

And if you think that local shop do not offer the same bargains that the big online retailers do, you are mistaken, most shop like Threads, have custom’loyalty schemes’, they  use their discretion to reward regular customers, which means  you get discounts  on the items you actually want to buy, rather than being tempted by multi-buy offers online,  you get a warm welcome and you have a chance to feel the yarn you buy and get a true sense of the colour too which is very difficult to do online.

So remember your local Yarn Shop is VITAL to your community. Especially now, with independent traders closing down every day do you really want the next one to be your local Aladdin’s cave full of squidgy beautiful yarn????

I don’t think so!

I came back home with a big smile on my face, I had a wonderful day, I got some bargains too! I bought some lovely yarn to take home with me and also a present too…Linda gave me a lovely candle and I was so touched look…

FIG TREE… how thoughtful!

thank you again to Linda and all the ladies of Dunbarton to make my first YSD an AMAZING ONE!!

Nice cakes which I HAD to try IMMEDIATELY!!!  LOL

love,

Lucia xx