Store Loyalty

Do you have a favourite store that you are loyal to? I do. One day my sister and I were convinced by someone to test our loyalty to the store and the results had me questioning what constitutes a good store?

A few weeks ago my sister and I were in a bookstore in the knitting section (of course) looking at pattern books. The lady that was standing beside us brought up a conversation with us about knitting. We talked for a little while and she introduced us to Ravelry (have you gone there? I feel as though I was the last person to find out about this if you are into knitting/ crocheting you have to join this site it is fantastic!) and she also told us about Romni  which is a store on Queen St in Toronto. We traded stores with her and told her about Len's Mills which is where we go in Waterloo. She insisted that once we go to Romni we will never be able to shop anywhere else.

It just so happened that the next day we were able to go to this store. Upon first arrival we walked into a wall of yarn. Literally. This store was huge even more so in comparison the other stores that are on Queen St which are relatively small units. Romni was packed floor to ceiling with every colour, weight and material possible. I thought it was awesome because it had many styles that were hand made and even hand painted. It was all so beautiful! They also had a large selection of pattern books that were imported from Europe which I loved.

However for some reason it was not all that I expected it to be. I still thought that I would rather be in my Len's Mills Store. I think the answer for this is because Len's carries more than just yarn it also carries fabric, embroidery supplies and even baking. It really is a one stop shop for all of your possible hobbies. The problem with Len's is that it doesn't sell a lot of pattern books mostly the ones that are made by the fabric companies. (Although they do have a large selection of the free tear away patterns that yarn companies give out) Len's features all of the most popular yarns such as Red Heart, Pattons, and Bernat however the handmade yarns and hand dyed yarns found in Romni can not be found at Len's.

Which brings me to another point I love pattern books obsessed with you could go as so far to say. I really like the ones that can be found in Chapters. I like to preview them within Chapters and then buy them online and have them shipped to the house. They are always cheaper online but they don't allow you to look within the book online only the synopsis given by the editors so you really don't know the patterns you're getting hence the in store preview. Also ordering online allows me to partake in my favourite past time... Waiting for mail!

So what does make the store that you go to the most often your favourite is it because it is close to home? Does it have lower prices? Does it feature more hand made or boutique yarns? Or can that store also be seen as a convenience as it also carries a variety of things?

I think that everyone that has a hobby at one point has found that trying a new store is not the same as the one that you used to frequent. I guess we get used to the ease of access within a store that we frequent often. But nonetheless the experience of going to Romni certainly was an eye opener I have never seen hand painted wool before and the colours that occur were quite fantastic and bright. It certainly was a store for inspiration. What I especially like about both stores is that they are not major chains such as Michael's (Len's does have 9 stores but they are sort of local as Len was a man from Mississauga) or Walmart and shopping there is supporting a local business.

I think that the quest for the perfect hobby store is in order.

It never hurts to shop around right?

Happy Creating!

*** in no way am I trying to promote either store. This is merely an observation and in no way was I asked to promote one or the other. Merely the musings of a knitter. I hope you feel encouraged to go out and find your own favourite store!