This is the most serious thing I will ever post as founder and owner of the lovely Artisan Knitworks. I am compelled to write because so much disinformation is out there. So, for openers, Chelsea probably will keep Artisan Knitworks in its present location, with its present name. I probably have sold it to a wonderful woman with roots in Chelsea and Dexter. She has wanted for years to own an LYS, so now she might. I cannot say more until it’s final. Much remains to do. It could still fall through, though the odds are against it.
But let me say this. We live in difficult times. The economy since December 2024 has become unstable. People stopped spending on inessentials, because it’s a scary time, and prices are rising. In all LYSs, prices WILL go up in response to tariff policies for everything made beyond the USA or that uses materials made elsewhere, as with stock used by hand dyers. The debt accumulated by many of us during the pandemic makes it hard to confront yet another financial emergency….I have got through quite a few since 2005. No more for me. At 80, I am too damn old and tired.
But a new owner with energy and vision can take on the challenge IF THE COMMUNITY DECIDES TO HELP. I certainly need your help for the next few weeks, even with some empty yarn bins. But she will need your help and advice thereafter. She will gradually shape AK into her own space. There will be a webstore nicely stocked, but not right away. The internet in any case can hurt brick and mortar shops. As my time ends and her time begins, there will be a full staff, but…not right away.
So this is where the rubber meets the road. If you want to keep a full service wool shop in Chelsea and a continuation and evolution of the AK brand, you need to come, hang out, offer advice, buy something at full price from time to time. All sale prices consume most of the already modest profit margin. Read that sentence again. Patronize every LYS within your range…mine and others…even when there isn’t a sale. And when a new owner appears at AK, it will help her morale to see all of you in the shop, if only to buy a ten dollar ball of wool. You should offer advice. View yourself as a stockholder. Put up with the learning curve for a month or two!. Tell me, and certainly tell her when she appears, what you want. I will do everything I can do to help her flourish. I want Chelsea to have its LYS. But the rest is up to you.
I hope you will accept this challenge. If you like having a cozy place to squeeze yarn, rally around. There should never be a day with zero sales. Running a LYS is a low profit labor of love…I speak from 20 years of experience.
Keep your eye on FB now for more information, and sign up for the AK newsletter on the website. And if you patronize another LYS, the same advice applies — rally around, now and always. At AK, we have the rare gift of a new owner prepared to pay for an established brand and build on it. . But don’t count on such luck in the future!!! I send hugs all around.
If you have a FILLED rewards card, get to the shop quickly to redeem it.
My best, Sandra VanBurkleo
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