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The Wonderful World of Wool
Listed under: Interviews
Published: Tuesday, September 21, 2010
With wool prices soaring over the past year, businesses in the knitting sector have certainly faced their fair share of difficulties in 2010, as Debbie Orr, owner of Skein Queen, reveals
How is the category performing at the moment?
At the luxury, hand-dyed end of the market, most of my customers tend to be fairly experienced crafters so it it quite difficult to say. Having said that, our knitting group has almost tripled in size over the last few months and there always seem to be new enthusiasts coming on board, particularly younger ones.
Generally speaking, there traditionally tends to be a slowdown in the summer, followed by a huge resurgence during the autumn and winter. However, there did not appear to be any signs of a downturn at the recent Knit Nation show.
Do you think the economic climate has affected the sector?
It has been a very difficult time worldwide as wool prices have risen by 50% over the last 12 months. As such, a lot of my competitors have been forced to increase their retail prices – something I have held off doing for as long as I can, but will have to do within the next month or so.
As a consequence, many customers have generally been buying in smaller amounts. That said, although I have experienced a drop in my sales to the US, Japan, Dubai and Australia, purchases from the UK and Europe have shown considerable growth, suggesting people simply don't want to spend extra on postage and customs charges.
As an independent retailer, how have things been for you this year?
I still struggle to keep up with demand, but sales have been a little slower than they were this time last year. In other words, the hand-dyed yarn does not fly out the door within five minutes of an update any more and usually takes around a week now. However, this could have something to do with the fact that my personal circumstances have changed; I now work on the business full time and it may just be that I am able to supply more.
How do you think the knitting sector will perform over the next year?
The challenges come in whether customers are willing to pay extra for the yarn that such dramatic global price rises have enforced, and maintaining our customer base despite increased competition from the sewing world.
Over the past year or so, I have seen a lot of knitters being drawn back to their sewing machines as the desire to make their own garments has extended from knitting to this medium, however, many are still spending time on both crafts.
Knitting, sewing, spinning and weaving all complement each other and many of my customers are adept at several of these skills. Looking at Ravelry statistics and seeing the dedicated interest from consumers at shows, such as Knit Nation, I can only have a positive outlook for the industry in 2011.
Debbie Orr is the owner of hand-dyed yarn store Skein Queen. To find out more, please visit http://www.skeinqueen.co.uk
At the luxury, hand-dyed end of the market, most of my customers tend to be fairly experienced crafters so it it quite difficult to say. Having said that, our knitting group has almost tripled in size over the last few months and there always seem to be new enthusiasts coming on board, particularly younger ones.
Generally speaking, there traditionally tends to be a slowdown in the summer, followed by a huge resurgence during the autumn and winter. However, there did not appear to be any signs of a downturn at the recent Knit Nation show.
Do you think the economic climate has affected the sector?
It has been a very difficult time worldwide as wool prices have risen by 50% over the last 12 months. As such, a lot of my competitors have been forced to increase their retail prices – something I have held off doing for as long as I can, but will have to do within the next month or so.
As a consequence, many customers have generally been buying in smaller amounts. That said, although I have experienced a drop in my sales to the US, Japan, Dubai and Australia, purchases from the UK and Europe have shown considerable growth, suggesting people simply don't want to spend extra on postage and customs charges.
As an independent retailer, how have things been for you this year?
I still struggle to keep up with demand, but sales have been a little slower than they were this time last year. In other words, the hand-dyed yarn does not fly out the door within five minutes of an update any more and usually takes around a week now. However, this could have something to do with the fact that my personal circumstances have changed; I now work on the business full time and it may just be that I am able to supply more.
How do you think the knitting sector will perform over the next year?
The challenges come in whether customers are willing to pay extra for the yarn that such dramatic global price rises have enforced, and maintaining our customer base despite increased competition from the sewing world.
Over the past year or so, I have seen a lot of knitters being drawn back to their sewing machines as the desire to make their own garments has extended from knitting to this medium, however, many are still spending time on both crafts.
Knitting, sewing, spinning and weaving all complement each other and many of my customers are adept at several of these skills. Looking at Ravelry statistics and seeing the dedicated interest from consumers at shows, such as Knit Nation, I can only have a positive outlook for the industry in 2011.
Debbie Orr is the owner of hand-dyed yarn store Skein Queen. To find out more, please visit http://www.skeinqueen.co.uk
