Inspire 2 Knit in Plymouth, NH

Happy One Year Anniversay! Inspire 2 Knit and Tea is growing strong after only one year. Attracting locals and visitors, this store presents quality fibers for the discerning buyer. It is the place to be in Plymouth NH to gather with knitters and fiber folks. Sharing inspiration and respect for fibers, Ursula's store is a riot of color, fibers and inspiration. It can be found at 12 Yeaton Road, B5, Plymouth, NH 03264 - 603-536-KNIT (5648). Visit her website at www.inspire2knit.com.



The shop is welcoming a new customer coming in for the first time as well as those who are familiar with the setting. Fibers are easy to find and suggested usages abound in models throughout the store.

Quality yarns and incredible patterns exemplify the Bergere de France line of fibers and is a great fit for Inspire 2 knit and tea. Bergere de France is a French fiber company that has been in business over 50 years in France. Like Inspire 2 Knit, it is a newcomer on the fiber scene in the USA. It's patterns and fibers have achieved great recognition and acceptance in French and throughout Europe. A natural next move was to introduct them to the States.

Ursula chose to introduce The Bergerine fiber, a cotton wool blend, perfect for the cool summer evenings in New England. The Bergerine pattern below is an incredibly beautiful and unique sweater that was created by the clever designers of Bergere.This sweater flatters many body shapes and sizes and gets positive comments wherever it is worn. It isn't for the beginner as it uses short rows to make the gracefully curved cable, but is well worth the effort.





The fiber is so wonderful to work with, another customer created her own design from the Bergerine, giving great credance to the adaptability of this fiber. Again - this cardigan is perfect for a cool summer evening.


Ursula, the owner herself, is showing off this creation. Make sure you get a chance to visit with her when you go to the store. Below is a detail of the pattern.



This is truly a versatile fiber whose advantages can be seen at Inspire 2 knit and tea. The soft color pallet is flattering to all complexions.




Classes and individualized assistance are ongoing at Inspire 2 Knit. Add this to you travels for a great New England Yarn Crawl. And don't miss the great views of the surrounding mountains - maybe even go for a picnic hike. Take your knitting for an excuse to rest!

Happy trails.

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!

Yarn Yarns and Store Stories

Coming soon, stories of yarn stores and yarns that relate mostly in the New England States. In my job as a Manufacturers rep for yarn suppliers and knitting paraphenalia, I get to experience and share with many different shops and yarnies, including spinning and weaving. It is my intention to present stories from these knitting stores, samples of some of the wonderful projects they are successfully offering their customers, as well as information about some of the events that they are host(ess)ing. All this is to increase enthusiasm and interest in knitting, spinning, weaving and general fiber awareness that is occurring across the country (world).



The experience of Fiber is multifaceted, the more we know, the richer our experience. Combining my experience with certain Yarn lines and suppliers to the world of knitting with the associations I have in the field with the yarn stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island, I plan to offer a travelogue of information and diversity in the fiber business.



If you are interested in being featured in this blog, let me know and we will begin work on it. I intend to include only features and stores with the approval of the owner. I believe this will enhance the knitting experience and that Yarn solutions we can bring to our busy lives.



This is a busy season of trade shows and new offerings from the suppliers end. It is also a busy season for knitters to switch hats for the gardening season. As such I will be gathering data and information and intend to begin these "yarns" mid to end of May. Meanwhile, I await comments and suggestions from readers and potential readers.



Thanks for stopping by



Jan