New LNS coming soon

"1. What do you like most about your LNS? The owner's willingness to try new things. She has a range of designers and products that appeal to her, but will bring in new things from time to time to see how they work out. So the place has a definite flavour reflecting her taste--I know I will find samplers and I won't find cutesy--but is not so much her thing that you won't find surprises. Now that she has been in business for a couple of years, she really buys and orders with her customers' tastes in mind--she has taken the time to pay attention to what her regular customers like, and picks up things she knows a particular person will love. 2. In an ideal world, what would be included in a perfect LNS? I like a good system for sorting and labelling charts, so I can find my favourite themes or designers easily. Another simple thing I like--my LNS puts brand new things in a couple of boxes on a front counter, so you can see what's new any time you go in. Threads out where you can compare, carry them around, lay them on fabric or whatever. A regular email newsletter is pretty useful. Willingness to special order, to try and get things I've seen on the net--and willingness to let you know in a reasonable time whether or not this is working (I once had a store let a special order of mine sit on the books until the chart was OOP, even though I asked frequently. As I result I missed the chance to buy it elsewhere) Just some thoughts to start this rolling...... Dawne

A better question might be what I *don't* like.

My LNS is part of a framing shop, so it's not completely devoted to needlework. They do carry a pretty good selection of threads (with the caveat that they may be low and probably don't have the WDW or GAST that I am looking for LOL).

The charts there almost all reflect the owner's taste - very flowery, traditional stuff, with the required Lizzie*Kate. I would like to see more choices outside of her comfort range - fantasy, a few more children's selections, something other than XS. At least a few kits that aren't LK.

Also - material by the yard (or so I can buy the size I need). The linen she carries is precut.

I would love to give her more business, but her tastes and mine don't coincide, so I usually buy thread.

I think what's tricky is that different locations will have different clientele, and the trick is knowing your clientele. I think everyone wants a great selection of supplies to do the kind of needlework they like to do. Problem is, we don't all like the same stuff ;-) So, maybe you can have a rather diverse selection and try to appeal to a wide variety of stitchers, but that might mean that you don't have a good selection of anything, and maybe your local customers tend towards a particular sort of needlework. Or maybe there are shops already established in your area that cater to particular niches and you'd be better off catering to something different rather than trying to compete with them on "their" turf. For myself, I want a great selection of fibers and fabrics and designs and counted and embroidery techniques. But maybe that won't fly in your area. I do think most folks like good hours, good customer service, folks who can answer questions (nicely), folk who'll do special orders, and at least connections for finishing, but those are all pretty much no brainers, I suspect ;-)

Best wishes, Ericka

I really can't add anything to the others - but PLEASE email me at

nalee1964insightbbcom (replace the spelled out punctuation in with their actual symbols)

when you wopen and where you will be located - I'm in Bloomington, IN, too!

Venture forth beyond counted stitch. See if you can get supplies in for surface embroidery, including some fabric, if that's within your budget. If not, think about it for the future. By fabric, I don't mean a quilt store. Some wholesalers will do things in ten-yard increments, so things like Ricamo linen (closely woven 40-ct used for curtains, table linens, etc), fine lawn or organdy (shadow work). There's also a market for pre-stamped pieces. Most of those come from Europe, but I'll bet you could find a source.

With an LNS, you already have the varied threads. Now you just need to expand on your grounds. Maybe consider silk ribbon. I realize that's another can of worms. Or rayon threads (for raised embroidery). And see if you can get the kits.

Think of becoming a distributor for "Inspirations" or "Australian Cross Stitch & Embroidery" and selling some of the kits that come with their publication. I know a retailer who has done this in Washington.

Stock needles besides tapestry. Needles are cheap to inventory.

I get telephone calls. People are begging for it . . . but alas, there's few places to go.

Dianne

liz wrote:

- Customer service and knowledge of your products, as well as products you might be able to special order (as much as possible).

- Equal treatment of all customers. If someone comes in, "May I help you?" No favoritism.

- Hours that are useful to the working person. There's an LNS 30 min. from me, but I've only been able to go there twice. Her hours are all between 9-5 except for 3 hours on Saturday morning, and I often have so many Saturday commitments it's too hard to get up there on time on even a semi-regular basis. It would be nice if I had at least one M-F evening option. A local stamp/scrapbook store also had only 10:30-6 hours. If I didn't work in town, I'd have never been able to give her any business. It's often 5:30 by the time I am able to leave, then driving time, I get there like 5 min. before she locks the doors. No time to shop. Again I'm out of town a lot on the weekends, so Sat. hours only carry me so far. I know y'all have your own lives, but at least one evening until 7 or 7:30 during the week is a must if you want working men/women as solid customers.

- Framing services are nice.

- Something besides floss, fabric and patterns. What else is there? Well, some of us get tired of framing everything but have very limited sewing skills to finish our own work. Good quality wood boxes that are suitable for framing work in the lid (I can get boxes for photos but there isn't enough space for something as thick as needlework). Pillow shams, prefinished, with aida (2 sides of aida panel are sewn to sham, the other 2 are left unsewn so you can stitch, then you tack the rest down). I'd love to see towels that weren't the cheap Charlescraft, ie. fuzzy on both sides and good quality, but with the aida (or other xs-able even weave) strip. Bulletin boards with frames on the top for stitched work. Back in the 80s when I started xs, we had an LNS that had all sorts of this type of prefinished stuff for xs, and really good quality, too. I don't buy many more patterns than I can stitch up, so unless you have some of the extra goodies like this, you'll not make much off of stitchers like me who don't complete the big projects very quickly. Little stitchy gift stuff, though, I'd buy a lot of. Even the plastic ornament frames can be hard to find nowadays!

- A web site will be a must, even if it only has directions to the store and contact info. If I'm looking for an LNS in an area (xs or quilting or scrapping, whatever), the web is my first stop these days.

--Barbara

Hi Liz! Best of luck in your new endeavor. My answers:

1. What I like best about my LNS is the fact that they are very diverse and prolific in the patterns that they stock and the pieces that they display. I think that the ladies try very hard to stitch a little something from lots of different designers, and the way they group them together gives me decorating ideas for my home.

1. The perfect LNS would of course be stocked with every possible pattern, linen, floss, and frame in the known universe. It would also have the gadgets and the froo froo stuff everyone needs (scissor candy, ott lites, q snaps, that sort of thing). It would have TONS of stitched display pieces done in many different and creative new ways. It would have a very friendly and knowledgable staff that would happily show you the newest techniques and designs. It would have a cozy corner with some nice over stuffed chairs where you could sit down and peruse the patterns that you have purchased, or maybe pass some time stitching your latest project while chit chatting with the staff and fellow customers. It would also have a large "teaching" room in the back where classes coudl be held on how to do some trickier stitches, how to finish your pieces, etc.

Hope this helps!

Chris Howard

What Dawne said!!! My LNS is exactly what she said. Friendly wonderful service. They also display framed pieces of different designers done by customers - I've often bought the pattern after seeing the *done* piece. Good luck - we all need our very own LNS.

Sharon

I like being able to fondle the fabric! :)

*FRIENDLY*, helpful staff. My very-well-known, not-so-local LNS has the most unfriendly staff on site but their phone staff is *wonderful*!

Joan (wishing you were starting one a little closer to me in ND!)

A nice customer restroom - my LNSs are all at least an hour's drive!

Alison

This is why I'm glad Elegant Stitch is not my LNS. The staff are very friendly, and they have every sampler ever designed, but not an MLI or spool of Kreinik in the place. I'm not a sampler person. I like sparkly stuff.

I won't say I walked out of there empty-handed, but I definitely didn't think it was worth a repeat trip.

We have a LNS near us. It is just too full of stuff. They do X-stitch, counted needlepoint, painted canvases, Brazilian embroidery, etc. They carry dozens of thread varieties, all colors of canvas in different counts, material in flats from which they will cut your piece, lamps, mag-eyes, display work of finished pieces, beads from different manufacturers, etc. They also have knitting supplies and had to open a second floor room to house the knitting stuff. Just be sure there is room to move around. Too much stuff all over is too confusing and dangerous. They do have a nice round table up front for stitching and gabbing. They run classes, getting in special people to teach. The charts are put in "milk" crates with a sign on it for "Flowers", "Animals", "Samplers", and designers, like Laura Perin, etc. It is nice to check for your favorite designer and be able to go right to her crate.

My biggest grip is that when they say they will order something for you it doesn't get done speedily, only when they are putting in a general order. I have been waiting for some thread since November. I ended up ordering it from Nordic Needle and had it within a week.

A cheerful and knowlegeable staff is a real plus.

Good luck with your LNS. I hope you can make a go of it.

Clarice in AZ

Hear, hear!

I understand that there are minimum order requirements, but they should have a list of basics that they can always use to pad out an order. E.g., Safeway will sometimes deliver free if you order $150. There's only one of me, so I am not going to eat $150 of food any time soon, but I can always toss in some dish or laundry soap, which doesn't go bad; paper products, which don't go bad; kitty litter, which doesn't go bad...

If they generally only order from a supplier every six months, they should tell you that, and not say "oh, we'll be happy to order that for you" and then let your special-order languish for half a year.

Liz - Congrats on your new shop. Very exciting venture!!

It's been said before, but I will reiterate it: FRIENDLY staff. I shopped an LNS in VA for FIVE years and no one there ever knew my name. The second time I walked into my new LNS in Bellevue, WA, Pat knew my name. Now that she's my NSLNS (I've moved to SoCal), she's still the first place I think of for stash when I need/want something. I spent a week this summer in the VA town and did not step foot into that store.

Classes Evening hours Stitching group Somewhat contained children's corner with videos

Fabric: Even if you can't stock everything, a nice-sized sample of everything would be great. This facilitates floss-tossing and then the customer can happily order fabric new to him/her with some confidence. Of course, bolts of the most common fabs is a good idea.

Fibers: Perhaps something similar with the less-common fibers. Seriously, if there's a JoAnn's in town, I wouldn't bother stocking DMC floss; do stock the perles.

Variety of completed projects on the walls; not just framed.

Alternative finishing accessories.

Mags other than JCS and The Cross Stitcher.

Just some thoughts, most reiterations of what others have said. Consider it a straw poll.

Helen

"Sharon" wrote..

I've picked up some interesting possibilities for colour, fiber or fabric changes from framed work by other customers at my LNS too. Dawne

Having read everyone's posts, I really have little to add. BUT - something I would love to see is samples of different fabrics - counts, types (Laguna, Dublin, Congress, Jazlynn, etc) - the pieces don't need to be large, maybe

4x4 inches so I can make decisions about using what is recommended versus striking out on my own. Even if all the samples were white, it would be worth while. Pictures on the net only go so far.

Cheryl

Things I like about my almost-LNS: the friendly *helpful* staff who always say "yes, we can get that for you" and phone or e-mail when they do; the wonderful variety of charts and fibres; their large collection of stitched pieces (I've also bought charts on seeing the stitched item); their collection of tools and buttons!

Things I would like in my perfect LNS: I would like them to have a good selection of needlework frames and stands to check out. It's a real drag to buy something and find it doesn't work for you. I'd also like to second the ideas of more fabric swatches to look at and a bathroom.

emerald

A great idea, but let's take it a little further: maybe have a 3-ring binder with 8x11 sheets of all the different fabrics and colors. I'm currently stitching Fairy Grandmother and there's no way I'd be able to

*see* a 4x4 piece of fabric (sorry, Cheryl!) underneath all the colors that are in this pattern (and I've seen patterns with more). That would also limit the fondling to the samples and not the fabric on the bolts! :)

One other thing....check the stores around you and offer patterns they

*don't* carry. All the stores in town here (JoAnn's, Hancock, Michael's and Ben Franklin) carry pretty much only Leisure Arts patterns and Dimensions/Sunset kits. What's the sense in that???? No wonder there's no interest in embroidery when those that don't have internet and RCTN access (with all our enablers!) see the same patterns over and over...they think (as I used to) that that's all that's "out there".

Oh, and maybe a big sign advertising RCTN to further enable!!!! ;)

Hm. Just had another thought I don't think I've seen mentioned: books, as in "how to", stitch "bibles", that sort of thing.

Good luck!

Joan