Craft Focus - Apr/May (Issue 72)

64 Little by little Mouseloft has produced small-scale cross stitch kits for more than two decades. Roger Hart reveals the company’s tried and tested formula Tell us a little about Mouseloft – when did you start the company? We started the business in 1995, attending our first CHSI Stitches the following year. Some of our customers may remember us from that show, and they still buy from us today. Helen was a teacher and I was an electrical engineer. We both found ourselves out of work and decided to start a business manufacturing cross stitch kits, as this was Helen’s hobby at the time. We quickly realised that small pocket money items would be the easiest to sell but would also create a lot of work. However, by keeping our overheads very low and being as efficient as possible we have been able to benefit from remaining at this end of the market. My engineering background has been useful, enabling me to write software and set up systems that keep us on track. Talk us through your current collections. Stitchlets comprises small designs covering a variety of topics, with kits retailing at around £2.49. This has been such a successful price point that we have copied it several times with themed designs such as Paw Prints, In the Woods, Little Dog, Images of Britain, At the Zoo, By the Seaside and Biscuit the Cat. There’s also the smaller Tiddlers collection, retailing at £1.54, and the Occasions and Christmas ranges, the latter of which feature a card and envelope. We have always tried to produce designs that are suitable for beginners without appearing too simple. For this reason we have usually included back stitch in our designs. However, the Quicklets range, which includes a three-inch hoop for framing requires no back stitch and is even easier to complete. What is your bestselling line? Stitchlets is our most successful product, probably because of its huge variety. Paw Prints has also been popular because the dog’s faces look so realistic, despite being small and relatively easy to stitch. How often do you launch new products? Each February we release several new lines for CHSI Stitches and in summer we bring out products for Christmas. We don’t keep everything forever so inevitably some older lines disappear to make room for new ones. This way we end up with a core range of bestsellers which we add to every year.