78 Creating the trend Jeffrey J Denecke Jr, Chief Operating Officer of Knitting Fever INC talks to Craft Focus about their worldwide distribution, spreading knitting joy wherever they go! Tell us a little bit about the company. Where are you based? When did the company start? Knitting Fever Inc. (KFI) had its humble beginnings in 1974 when Sion Elalouf opened his first needlepoint and knitting store in Great Neck, New York. He was inspired by the beautiful and exotic nature of European and Japanese yarns and by the talented textile artists he met. In the early ’80s KFI gave up the retail business to focus on bringing these specialty yarns and fabulous designers to retailers across the USA. Over the past four decades KFI has supplied the nation with the highest quality yarn lines supported by the greatest designers the industry has seen to date. As a company, we now employ lessons learned as a retailer in service to our customers. This insight allows us to provide top quality and value in the most beautiful and interesting yarn and designs available today. With the growing influence of the internet bringing the world closer together than ever before, Knitting Fever has expanded to become an international distributor. Starting in Canada, we’ve since expanded to service many countries across the continents. Please visit our store locator to find a shop near you that stocks our products - or ask your favourite local yarn shop to open an account with us today! Post pandemic, what changes have you seen? The pandemic forced our industry, which was a fairly traditional one for a long time, to finally adapt. Many had to innovate and find new ways to reach their customers and to continue to do business. Retailers learned about using social media to livestream and maintain a sense of community, shops discovered the power of e-commerce, and some even began to provide services like order delivery or curbside order pick up. I think also, now that the pandemic is over, we’ve come to appreciate and value human connection. The consumer missed their knitting circle and being able to experience their craft while connecting with other human beings across a table. The yarn shops are busy and full now as we all want to be together after missing one another for nearly three years. What’s currently your most popular item? We have over a dozen brands, so it’s difficult to pick. Noro yarns and Lykke needles are our two fastest growing and most popular brands worldwide. Noro features colourful handspun wools like Kureyon, Silk Garden, & Ito - each knit from Noro yarns is a piece of art. Lykke (happiness) needles are tastefully designed tools that ‘Make Happy’ - including our popular Driftwood & Blush birch wood needles.
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