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Category: Craft / Small Business / Rural Women / Regional / Social Media

Crafting a regional business one yarn at a time

Wednesday, 30 Mar 2016 13:31:20

The Dubbo yarn shop's social media presence is generating interest in crochet and knitting. (Facebook: Yummy Yarn and co)

There are plenty of challenges for any small business, but imagine setting up a boutique craft shop in a regional location where the customer base is not exactly thriving.

That is what crafters Mandy O'Sullivan and Robyn Hicks did after discovering their mutual love of crochet and passion for yarn.

The friends have opened a craft business in Dubbo and are using their strong social media presence to drive interest in their products.

Our lives are so busy and we're so used to getting things so quickly — there's something really special about getting handmade, and people are starting to appreciate that again.

Mandy O'Sullivan

Ms Hicks said the idea to open the shop started after the pair found it increasingly difficult, in a regional location, to find the types of yarn they wanted to use.

"You can buy online but when you're a creative type, you like to have a touch and a feel and smell," she said.

"In my case, yarn has an organic smell, and we thought, being where we are, to be able to buy it locally, for people who love yarn like we do, is just the bee's knees."

They started an online business selling yarn to get their feet wet while planning the bricks and mortar site in Dubbo.

But it was the pair's social media presence which really helped to drive word of mouth and start growing a customer base.

"We have a very big online presence on Instagram and even though there's a lot of overseas followers among that group, there's a lot of locals as well and as soon as they'd seen that we're opening a shop, there was a bit of buzz," Ms O'Sullivan said.

"I think all the closet knitters are starting to come out of the closet now that we're here."

International interest in Dubbo business

Their social media strategy has worked, with followers of their pages travelling from hundreds of kilometres away to visit the shop.

Mandy O'Sullivan (left) and Robyn Hicks stand in their yarn business. Photo: Mandy O'Sullivan (left) and Robyn Hicks are using social media to promote craft ideas. (ABC Western Plains: Robyn Herron)

It has also led to enquiries about classes, which could soon be a new element of the women's business.

Ms O'Sullivan and Ms Hicks have also shared their interest in using craft as a way of dealing with stress by setting up a #craftastherapy hash tag and handle on Instagram and thousands of followers from all over the world are sharing their projects and joining the movement.

The women think the revival of skills like knitting, crochet and sewing has come about as people try to get back to the basics of life.

"I think we're coming back to this idea of slow living," Ms O'Sullivan said.

"Our lives are so busy and we're so used to getting things so quickly — there's something really special about getting handmade, and people are starting to appreciate that again."

Ms Hicks said she did not believe it would be a short-lived fad either.

"It's not a granny pursuit any more — young people want to learn a skill and it is a skill for life, whether it's knitting or crochet," she said.

Colourful crochet squares Photo: These little crochet granny squares are not beyond reach for crafters. (Facebook: Yummy Yarn and co)

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