I guess online yarn shops are somewhat taboo in the LYS industry. I knew that, but I'm still plunging forward with the Midwest Yarn project. I keep telling myself, "You're not WEBS, not Yarn Market, you're Midwest Yarn. You're online to raise capital for the brick-and-mortar shop." I'm hoping that this mantra will help me through the Grand Opening jitters. This is a HUGE investment and I don't want to fail. Small business profits go to feeding families, not paying for undeserved bonuses or padding the bank account.
I'll still be knitting, I'll still be designing, and at some point, maybe I'll be able to hire an assistant or bring on a business partner to allow me to be more involved in the industry. My mission is to promote the longevity of needlecrafts like ours. I don't want to step on any toes, I want to bring people my age and younger on board.
When at the indoor playground with Peanut, I was asked by one little boy, "WHAT are you doing?!" Of course, he saw me working on a bright pink pair of knit merino pants. Another mom, who looked to be about my age, said she admired people who could knit and crochet and wished she had the time to learn. C'MON knitters, let's do it! Let's get my generation and the next into the mix!
In the meantime, I'll be promoting the heck out of Midwest Yarn's products (*wink* NORO) and website (*wink* Juniper Moon Farm). You can also check out Midwest Yarn's blog for updates and if you follow the blog, the Ravelry group, Facebook page or Twitter (@midwestyarn), you'll get a discount. We're still set to open within the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
