IN THE heart of Norwich
city centre is Norfolk
Yarn, the shop run by
Rebecca Bone. It stocks
a lovely range of British
brands, as well as artisan
yarns from around the
world. We chatted with Rebecca what it’s
like to run a high street yarn store.
How did you come to run a yarn store?
“I worked in retail until my mid thirties,
when I went to university to study cell
biology. I went on to teach science, but I
later realised that I wanted to have my own
business in craft retail. I think the pivotal
point was when I was in a serious knitting
phase, and had worked through most of
the yarns John Lewis had to offer! My mum
went on holiday and brought back a pack of
Noro Blossom in the most beautiful shades
of pink and mauve. I had never seen the
like of it before, but couldn’t find a local
supplier. I thought that if I wanted it,
maybe others did too - so Noro was one of
the first lines that I stocked when I opened
my shop in 2005, and I still carry now.
My family were very supportive, with my
mum, daughter and husband all being
dragged in to help in the business.”
What can visitors expect when they pop
into your shop?
“I like the shop to look bright, clean and
modern, to allow the colours of the wool to
shout out. From the very beginning we set
out to deal in natural fibres as much as
possible, so customers will find lots of
lovely, squishy fine wool, alpaca, silk and
cotton, and lots of strong colours. We have
a number of lines that have an element of
man-made fibres, such as sock wool,
but most are natural. I have always been
concerned about the environmental and
ethical elements of production, so I am
careful where I purchase from, and do a lot
of research before taking on new lines.”
What brands do you stock?
“My main brands of yarn are Rowan, Noro,
West Yorkshire Spinners, Fyberspates and
Erika Knight. One of my best-selling yarns
is Rowan Felted Tweed, which we use in
lots of our workshops and has the most
amazing colour range. I also stock KnitPro,
Lykke and Pony needles, and I am an agent
for Ashford spinning supplies. We sell wool
fibre for spinning and felting too, which is
very popular.”Can you tell us about the team you have
working with you?
“Most of the week it is me manning
the shop, but I do have a good friend,
Boo Marshall, who helps me out. She is
especially good at visual displays and
photography for my website. My local
crochet expert is Sue Maton, from The
Mercerie, who runs all my crochet courses
and workshops, and Sue Scheller, who
teaches my felting workshops.”What would you say are the highlights
and challenges of running a yarn shop?
“Highlights are meeting the customers,
teaching them new techniques and helping
them with their knitting. Seeing what
my customers are making with my yarns
is great fun. Challenges are related to
finances: running a high street shop
doesn’t make you rich, and I hate having
to keep on top of the book-keeping.”What is the knitting community like
in Norwich?
“We have a fantastic knitting community
here - we run a regular knit and natter
group in the shop, and many of the ladies
I consider to be good friends. A lot of my
customers are very dedicated to their
crafts, both knitting and crochet, and
love to work with nice yarns.”Do you have any plans for 2020 that you
can share with us?
“I started dyeing my own range of yarns,
Dragonfly Dyes, a year ago, and I am
planning to push this forward and really
make it feature in the shop.”http://www.norfolkyarn.co.uk
0 1603 927034Rebecca Bone’s Norwich store is a haven
of yarny delights for the city’s knitters
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1 Norfolk Yarn stocks gorgeous ranges from
Fyberspates, Rowan, Noro, Erika Knight and
others 2 Rebecca has begun hand dyeing her
own yarns 3 + 5 The bright, colourful store
is in Norwich city centre 4 Rebecca with
Boo Marshall, who helps out in the shopNorfolk Yarn
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