The Yarnery has a specific aesthetic, and our Selby Ave shop reflects who we are: light and bright, colorful and organized (we display our yarn in a very particular color order) — modern, with a nod to the past and a respect for character.
Though we wanted more space — lots of it — we also didn't want to completely reinvent the shop. When you walk into our new shop, we want you to feel like you're somewhere you already know and love.
Our new spot has the high ceilings, wide open space, and solid construction we were after. Most recently it had been offices for a digital design firm, and had been seriously built out. Our amazing contractors have deconstructed and opened up a warren of spaces, and we have reconfigured rooms in clever ways.
From the St. Clair Ave entrance, you'll walk in and see our Making Space, an airy, window-walled space to spread out, hang out, and meet up with friends. The retail floor is more than three times our current configuration, and we can go back to displaying yarn by weight!
An existing conference room becomes a tricked out classroom, with its own restroom and kitchenette (we have future plans for it — think blocking and hand-dyeing). There are big windows and a door to the patio, which will be set up for social knitting and outdoor workshops — next spring Ted will transform it into a garden oasis. There's a small parking lot off the back, and you can always enter the shop from our accessible back entrance.
From the back door you'll pass a kitchen and staff room and two public restrooms before entering the shop by the checkout counters and help desk. There's a nerdy room we're really excited about — Jennifer has dubbed it the Op Center. It's a central spot for outgoing packages, in-store pickups and holds, printing — all the "stuff" we need to access throughout the day but don't want cluttering up the retail space.
There's almost as much space downstairs as up, and it's nicely finished. The plan includes offices for Shelly and Scott, a seriously big stockroom, shipping/receiving office and work areas, a photography studio, meeting space, and another restroom.
Do we feel spoiled? Yes, we do! It won't be the biggest yarn store around, and that's not our goal. We want a space that is wholly inspiring and comfortable. We want to carry more beautiful yarn than you can find anywhere, and have the deep back-stock so you can get that sweater quantity every time. Most of all, we hope these spaces will mean more learning, more making, and more fun.