Finalist Q&A: Spirit Work knitting & designs, Inc.

Spirit Works is a Retail yarn and lesson company, with a 300 sq ft storefront and an online business.

How did you come up with the idea for your business, and what, or who, is your main source of motivation?

I was looking to leave a corporate VP role and saw the resurgence in knitting. I saw some gaps in terms of service levels, etc and believed we could do something a bit better leveraging technology and what we know about women, knitting and leisure time. My motivation is getting it right. I have an idea as to how we can truly make a difference. That idea keeps me moving.

What is a unique feature of your business?

Traditional retail yarn shops invest heavily in inventory and work with distributors stocking patterns and the latest samples from yarn companies. We focus on the fact that our customers do not have alot of leisure time, they like to start new projects often and they are typically looking for inspiration, but projects that involve a smaller time commitment. We focus on a few yarn lines, work up many projects based on those lines, make patterns free and make the projects small in terms of scope.

We also focus heavily on the atmosphere and look of our store. We have a store designer who takes a lot of care on eye catching displays. We are very visual.

What are your thoughts on the connection between small business and the local community?

We build ties a number of different ways within our community. We feel it is our best advertising and it is important to be committed to the people and the area that supports your business. AS a result, we donate to local food cupboards, hold raffles to help with donations. We adopt families at the holiday time. We also work with a local nursing home to provide gifts during the holiday season.

Why should the Idea Cafe regulars vote for you?

We have been in business almost 6 years. We have learned many lessons. Some quite painful. We have been able to whether this economy but it has been tough. We are now taking all the lessons learned and re-positioning our business. A grant of any size will be instrumental in helping us move forward.