TED and NENA - a knitting and yarn paradigm

A Paradigm change!

Ever heard of TED TALKS? I am always intellectually charged from these. Here's one for Store Stories - a story for anyone involved in Sales and certainly applicable to Yarn selling and knitting stores. AS Yarnies, we might feel our market is "hand made" "crafters" and creative people. We know there is more to it. This talk by Joseph Pine will open your eyes to a new approach to marketing and presenting your wares. My focus in watching it is the yarn business - it fits beautifully as Joseph moves through history explaining what it is that constitutes trade and selling from the agrarian society to today. Actually knitting still goes from the aggrarian and today - all at the same time. We are wonderully unique. Briefly, Mr Pine will take you through the paradigm of viewing your "product" as a commodity such as "yarn" to the actual "experience" that playing with yarn can bring you. When you think of selling an "experience" you are selling the therapy aspects, the connectedness to other knitters, the joy of completion, the spirit of creativity using your own adaptation, the joy of working with your hands... it goes on and on. Your challenge is to sell this experience in the most affective way to YOUR market. I encourage you to follow this through for 17 minutes. Have a cup of tea and pick up your simplest knitting project, relax and enjoy.

I encourage you to, then, reflect and write about your own personal take-away and share that in the comments below.



A practical application to the TED talk is NENA (New England Needleworks Association) - the experience of a trade show in your fields of expertise. What is the Experience YOU wish to take from NENA which is coming next weekend? As Shop owners from New England, I plan to share the excitement of new products and the "buzz" that is encouraging knitters around the world. I will have freebies to hand out, product samples to try. I will have my Victoria Spinning Wheel for you to "experience". I will also have show specials so you can take some of these experiences back to your customers in a timely and economic manner.


As a Manufacturer's sales rep in the industry, this is a great opportunity for me to network in the industry. I can have all my samples, color cards, swatches, patterns etc , all out in the open for you to view altogether. I have been planning for months and working with my vendors to give you the best experience that I can. I will have more "show and tell" than I could possibly fit in my car! Seriously, look at that car! (The picture above is what I look like unloading for a hotel show... with Gracie)


The Paradigm of Joseph Pine has helped me look at the sales cycle in an different way. I believe there is a lot of merit to it as we apply it to the knitting industry today.

I would love to hear your comments, don't be shy!