My LYS is closing.
I’ve known for a while, but it became official a few days
ago and this whole thing is a travesty. It’s
not that the shop is in trouble financially – as I understand it, it is running
in the black – but apparently the owner has decided it’s time to do something
else. That’s her right, but it doesn’t
make anyone who loves the shop feel any better.
There are rumors of a possible buyer and if I had a chunk of $$ sitting
around, it wouldn’t be a rumor, but as of right now, there is nothing concrete
which would cause us to rejoice.
I have hesitated to blog about this because of how hard it
is to imagine life without the shop, but yesterday I made a trip over,
ostensibly to buy some yarn at half off.
When I got there, I could do little but sit and look around at the
systematic dismantling of a place I have grown to love so much. The needlepoint room where every inch of the
walls had been covered with beautiful hand-painted canvases is now
half-bare. The yarn room where my jaw
first dropped at the sheer volume of beautiful fiber is noticeably less
striking. And the worst part was seeing
all the people who showed up for the sale.
It’s not that they’re horrid human beings, but it was like watching
vultures picking at a carcass but the carcass wasn’t just random road kill, it
was actually something you knew and loved.
I wanted to chase them all out, even though if it were anyplace else,
I’d be right there with them, lining up greedily for sale yarn without a thought to the
people who normally frequent the place and for those who work there.
Speaking of those who work there, that was even worse. Watching Lady L., Jane, Georgie, and Deanne
running around selling off bits of the place where they have spent countless
hours and touched countless lives teaching, encouraging, and spreading the joy
of crafting was torturous. And that’s
just how I felt – I can’t imagine
what they were feeling, although it
was probably a blessing that they were so busy so that they had less time to
think about what was actually happening.
Seeing Lady L. was the hardest.
She has no idea how much it has meant to me and to many, many others to
have her as a mentor/instructor/friend. Even
when I first started going to the shop and she could clearly see my skill level
(or lack thereof), she never once looked at me like I was crazy to attempt
something, no matter how beyond me it may have been. She’s the reason I’m a fearless knitter, and
I am so grateful.
Of course, we’ve talked about making a time and place to get
together and knit when the shop closes for good, and I really hope we are able
to do that, but I’m not sure any of us believe it will be the same. In the meantime, I will keep praying that
someone with the means is able to buy the shop and make this bad dream go away. After all, Christmas is the season of hope,
right?
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Oh, this is so sad. I hope that somebody does purchase the business and keep it running in some way, so those of you who love it can continue to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteYou said it perfectly. We've all cried at some point. Meeting somewhere else will not be the same. Wandering through the fibers is so much a part of the fun. I do have a tough time with people celebrating their good fortune to get such a great deal. They don't seem to realize what they are losing for this one time "deal".
ReplyDeleteYes, normally I'd be ecstatic about such a sale but it just makes me incredibly sad. I keep hoping for a reprieve.
DeleteIf the business was running in the black hopefully someone will buy it. We had a local yarn shop close two years ago, and six months later another one opened. But I remember feeling very sad when the first one closed. I hope things work out!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kristie. I wish I had a pile of gold lying around myself! Perhaps I had ought to keep my eyes open for rainbows!
DeleteThis is so sad. I really hope someone buys it out. None of my LYS's have a sense of community to them, so it's sad to hear of one who does going out of business.
ReplyDeleteYes, the sense of community at my LYS is rare and very special. I'll keep hoping!
Delete