81 RETAILER INTERVIEW majority of our suppliers are based in or around Manchester, which is great for us as this is only 20 to 30 minutes down the road. What brands do you currently stock? Are you looking for any new products/ licenses or styles? We stock lots of fabric brands, for example Timeless Treasures, Rose & Hubble – two of our most popular. In regard to yarn, we stock Stylecraft. What’s selling particularly well at present? Quilting cottons are selling really well at the moment – especially Timeless Treasures. Kits are a big hit, matched with projects from our Knit & Stitch Club. Do you have any plans for the future of the store? We already have quite a few subscription services: Our Stitchi Sewing Project Box, which is a monthly box filled with fabrics and all of the essentials to make our monthly sewing project – subscribers receive a video link to keep forever – this is our most popular subscription. Secondly, our Knit & Stitch Club, which is our online craft club, filled with over 200+ video tutorials including crochet and knitting – but mainly sewing. All of these tutorials are filmed in house by our talented tutors. The great benefit to this subscription is; should customers get stuck or struggle with a certain part of a project – they can give us a call and speak directly to the tutor who filmed the tutorial. Plus, our Interfacing Club, which is our interfacing service, providing interfacing (used in a lot of crafting projects) to our subscribers bi-monthly. Does the company participate in any charity work? We do yes. We support our local Lancashire Project Linus. Which is a brilliant organisation providing blankets to children in hospital. We’re a drop-off point for anyone who would like to drop off their blankets – sewn or knitted. Do you have any tips for people looking to start their own retail venture? Grow with the times – be innovative and don’t expect business to come to you. Work hard, research and be different. Inspiring people is really important, especially in the crafting world. It’s easy to lose your ‘sewjo’! What’s the one product you couldn’t live without? When it comes to sewing – it’s got to be a sewing machine! Always Knitting & Sewing sales@alwaysknittingandsewing.co.uk www.alwaysknittingandsewing.co.uk
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=