Walking into the Yarn and Fiber Company in Derry is like entering a crayon factory for adults. Customers are greeted by a wall of vibrant, colorful wools in various hues of purples, oranges, yellow, reds, browns, and many more. Intermixed within the yarn and wool are handmade oversized knitting needles, crochet hooks and drop spindles. Business has been so good co-owners Jerry and Cyndi Catt purchased a 4,000 square-foot building on Main Street in 2014 with two floors and a separate classroom, where classes and workshops are held every day.
“The craft of knitting and crocheting is on the upward swing,” says Cyndi, sitting in the basement of the store in an area with huge, comfortable couches where a weekly knitting and crocheting group meets. A knitter since age six, she had always wanted to open a knitting store. “People always find money for yarn. It’s a hobby. If you spend $20 on a skein of yarn, you will get 30 hours of use out of it. That’s a good value.” The holds classes seven days a week with six to 12 people a class.
A survey by the Craft Yarn Council of 3,178 knitter and crocheters found that 28 percent of respondents were under age 44. Cyndi says she sees all ages in the store’s classes, from a six-year-old girl to a 99-year-old woman who always wanted to learn how to crochet.
When the couple opened their first 800 square foot store in Derry eight years ago, half of business was online. Their second store was 3,500 square feet, with 2,500 square feet of retail space. “Over the last five years it completely flip flopped and the online has died and the in-store has thrived,” she says.
The Catt’s, above, have four employees, all of whom feel just as enthusiastic about yarn as they do and are willing to explain the difference between craft yarn and wool yarn. Craft yarn is the most common yarn found in your average fabric and craft store. Craft yarn is commonly made with acrylic because it helps companies keeps the cost low, it can feel softer and is not derived from animals. Wool yarn comes directly from sheep.
Local sourcing is important to the Catts. The wool comes from local sheep and wool farms throughout the Northeast. They ensure they keep a close relationship with the farms so that they can get the best quality yarn and wool for their customers. They try to cut the middle man out to avoid over pricing by traveling to sheep and wool fairs. “I noticed their wool wasn’t really selling. I said I’ll buy it, wash it, dye it and resell it,” she says, adding that their own hand-dyed line of yarn and wool is their top seller along with the needles and hooks Jerry manufactures in his workshop.
A growing popularity for oversized knitting needles, hooks and spindles, which Jerry makes in his workshop, along with what she sees as a growing support Main Street movement, has led to a 30 percent increase in foot traffic in the last nine months.
Looking ahead the couple plans to feature more in-store events, expand on the spinning classes and products, feature more U.S. and local products, and inspire more people to keep the craft alive.
To learn more, visit yarnandfiber.com.
Karen DuBois of the Young Reporters Project, a partnership between Business NH Magazine and the University of NH Manchester.