80 Crafting with the community Lucy Wood, Manager of Always Knitting & Sewing talks to Craft Focus about their familyrun haberdashery business with a focus on bringing care and craft into the community Tell us a bit about Always Knitting and Sewing, when did it open and by who? Always Knitting & Sewing is a femalefounded, family-run haberdashery business established in 2011 by Andrea Wood. After working within the NHS for over 25 years - ultimately as a practice nurse within a GP surgery - Andrea came across a lot of lonely people struggling with their mental health and vowed to make a difference somehow. In April 2011, she set up Always Knitting & Sewing (AKAS) - an online sewing and haberdashery company recognising that sewing, knitting and crochet (and crafting in general) can have a massive impact on mental health. It was her vision, not only to employ people (her room in the surgery overlooked a job centre where she could see people lining up looking for work) but to build a community of crafters who could come together and help each other through a shared interest. Fast forward to today and I think she’s achieved her ambition. I see first-hand what a difference she’s made to so many people especially during and since Covid. She has built a thriving online community with over 50,000 members across social media channels. We teach people how to knit, sew and crochet through our online tutorials and also have a monthly sewing subscription box with a unique project to make. Every day I receive calls saying what a difference AKAS has made to their lives, how learning a new skill has helped them through mental health issues, loneliness, bereavement and the general stresses of everyday life. We offer a voice at the end of a phone who is always happy to help and talk - many of our customers just ring for a chat as they’ve not spoken to anyone else that week. We’re a tiny shop here in Chorley, Lancashire but I personally think that Andrea has created something so original it should be celebrated - especially during such difficult times and when there can be so much negativity in the world. Tell us a bit about your location. We’re based in Chorley, Lancashire. Our shop is online only; however, we offer telephone support for those who would prefer to order over the phone – there are lots of customers who enjoy speaking to an actual human. How has business been over the last 12 months? Business has been a little bit of a rollercoaster over the last 12 months, but we pride ourselves on being an innovative company, and work really hard to keep up with the times - creating new subscriptions and opportunities for our customers. Have you seen a boom in the craft industry recently/ a new type of customer? We’re always welcoming on board new customers; however, I’ve noticed a difference in our target audience. There are a lot more younger customers purchasing and making our projects, which is great to see as myself, Lucy and younger sister, Chloe are in our 20’s. We both run the business alongside Andrea. Tell us a bit about what you stock? We stock a wide range of fabrics – mainly crafting and quilting cottons, but also polycotton fabrics, yarn and all of the essentials needed to start sewing, knitting or crochet as a hobby. Our main focus is crafting; bag making, pouches, aprons, gift making etc. Rose & Hubble Cotton Poplins are a staple product for us – we’ve stocked these fabrics from the very beginning. The Founder Andrea Wood
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