Well, it has been quite a week. I am beyond exhausted. I have been working 12 hour days since Thanksgiving. The store is looking good. Most of my fixtures are sold and will be picked up next week. Some are gone. Kindred Spirits Yarn Shop in Franklin got our antique magazine display stand and needle spinner. The new Natural Foods Store in Sandy Lake took one of our card displays and some shelving. The rocking chair and large antique Persian rug runner is gone. The store looks different but still looks good. I was surprised how fast the space fills in and in some ways it looks better. Less is more they say. We have a lot less yarn but we still have more to sell. I hope the snow holds off till Sunday night so the knitters can come and take away more yarn. It is a great opportunity to build up the stash for the coming winter of knitting. All prices are negotiable. Offering to buy all that is left of any yarn can really bring the price down. We have had several knitters discover this bargaining technique and walk out very happy with big bags of beautiful yarn to share with friends and family.
Folkmanis Puppets and Silver Forest Earrings and other gift items are still in good supply. The store will close at 5:00 on Sunday. This is the last official day we will be open. Next week our store hours are by chance and by appointment.
I will be packing and moving out inventory and fixtures all next week. Sorting out the UFO.s and throwing away the junk it will be a challenge. Any item not yet packed can still be sold. I will have the store open while I am there just in case someone wanders in. Most folks do not know we are closing. I did not advertise the closing anywhere other than email to my knitters list and this blog. I just felt that I did not want a whole bunch of people who did not support my store these past 20 years showing up and picking over all the beautiful yarn at bargain prices. I suppose I would have sold more but having to deal with crowds of bargain hunters did not appeal to me. It is hard enough to help my regular customer find what they need without dealing with people who are not familiar with good yarn coming in to take advantage of an advertised sale. Most of the local knitters did not support my store I could never compete with Pound of Love and Red Heart. Perhaps they would stop in to buy DP NDLS or some other odd notion but I could never convince them that they should knit with real wool. I would always try to convince them to try knitting wool mittens for a grandchild because they would keep their hands warmer. So often they would respond with, I am not paying that for yarn! The kid will just loose them mittens anyhow. I am happy to retire from fighting the Cheap Acrylic Yarn vs Natural Fiber Yarn battle.
Almost everyone that comes in looks around and says "WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH ALL THIS STUFF???? I know it look like a lot but I do not think there is all that much left to move. I have commercial spaces at two shows, one in Feb. and another one in April. I will be selling some on Ebay and if that does not work I can always donate stuff to a charity. Please stop by next week if you are in Mercer. If you are reading this you are someone who I would welcome.
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