Moving right along

September 10, 2015

TL; DR*: We're shifting Petone into town!

There are times when I can't quite believe how far Holland Road Yarn Co has come. It started off as a daydream, a wishful thought of having a local yarn store I actually wanted to shop at, and has grown to encompass Knitsch Yarns, 2 bricks and mortar stores and a busy online shop. 

Two years ago, as I signed the lease for the town shop, I thought to myself 'let's see how this goes.

Mulling things over back when the Grand Arcade was a big empty space, waiting to be filled with yarn.

And wow, has it gone. The Grand Arcade store is busy busy busy and it is so wonderful. We see how convenient it is for those who work in town and having all the extra space means we don't feel quite so crammed in. There are plenty of things I don't like about the space - the lack of natural light, for one thing. It just isn't quite so lovely as the wooden floors and high ceilings in Petone.

As time has gone by, one thing has become quite clear: the convenience of town wins out over the loveliness of the Petone store. Now, as happens in business, we've had to take stock and look at what works best, change some things, shuffle, adjust, and make sure everything balances.

It took a long time come to the decision, and I really didn't want to. If we don't shuffle and adjust, then we risk staying in the same mindset for too long and don't move forward.

Sadly, we are going to say farewell to the Petone store.

Holland Road Yarn Co is going to be around for the long run. We want to continue providing you, our wonderful customers, with the most beautiful yarns we can find. So we shall, except in just one single brick and mortar store, in the Grand Arcade. 

Things i'm looking forward to:

  • Having all our stock in one place! Which means faster online order shipping, and greater options if you need a decent quantity of yarn
  • Freeing up some funds in our budget so we can order more and expand our range of lovely stuff 
  • Rearranging the town space so it works better
  • Not having to shift stock between stores all the time
  • Freeing Kate up on Saturdays so we can have more weekend crochet classes
  • Having Claire join us in the town shop 
  • Seeing what Craft Central are going to do with the Petone space - they're going to take over and run a pop-up shop in the lead up to Christmas!

Things i'm super sad about:

  • Losing our wonderful Saturday Sit & Knit sessions from Petone (we will hold these in town, and i'm working to see if we can organise a Hutt-based meet-up as well)
  • Knowing the move will be super inconvenient for some of our lovely regulars who have supported us from the beginning
  • Saying goodbye to the space that started it all, that has been like a second home to me over the last 4.5 years. 

As of today we have one month left in Petone. Our last day will be the 11th of October, before we close the doors and hand the keys to the excellent women behind Craft Central who will take over and delight you with a pop-up shop of handmade goodness. More on that to come. 

For now, thank you. From the very bottom of my heart: Holland Road Yarn Co wouldn't be what it is today without you. I honestly can't wait to see what this next change will bring and see what you continue to create and share with us. 

We'll keep you posted over the next month with more about the upcoming pop-up shop, and our plans for a farewell to Petone party. 

xx Tash (and Claire, Kate, Jen & Sonja)

*TL; DR - too long; didn't read. 

Comments

Lisa Wilde

Lisa Wilde said:

Ohhhhh… my bottom lip is all trembly. The Petone store is SO lovely. It’s been my happy place ever since I moved back to Wellington four and a bit years ago. But your plans for the city shop sound amazing and this incredible community of yarn-lovers you’ve built will still keep on flocking to Holland Road, wherever it may be: London, Petone, Wellington… You’re stuck with us. xox

Deryn Scott

Deryn Scott said:

I’ve really enjoyed the beauty and quirkiness of the Petone store – I’m sure you will keep that alive in the city :o)
Just a question about the last day – the 11th of October is a Sunday, but it says in the comment under opening hours that your last day is a Saturday…

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