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On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about what it takes to run a successful brick-and-mortar fabric and yarn shop with my guests, Jaime Jennings and Amber Corcoran of Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver, Colorado, and Virginia Johnson of Gather Here in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Fancy Tiger and Gather Here have a lot in common. Both shops are located on streets with significant foot traffic, in urban neighborhoods where people interested in DIY are likely to shop (in fact they’re both located on streets named Broadway!). Both shops sell yarn and fabric, with a focus on natural fibers, and sell online as well as in person. And both shops have creative approaches to bringing in customers.

Yet, they’re different as well. Amber and Jaime at Fancy Tiger Crafts have created additional unique offerings to help grow their shop’s audience. They have several classes on Creativebug, with a new one coming soon. They’ve published a print pattern and they have their own line of yarn. Virginia continues to work as a costume designer for Hollywood movies, something she did prior to owning Gather Here and she feels continues to enrich her life and role as a shop owner. In our conversation, we talk about these additional pursuits and how they supplement the brick-and-mortar shops.

Both Fancy Tiger and Gather Here have robust social media presences on all channels. We also delve into the role that social media plays in the success of a shop today.

And, of course, I asked Amber and Jaime and Virginia to recommend great stuff they’re loving right now.

Amber recommends:

Jaime recommends:

Virginia recommends:

Visit Fancy Tiger Crafts online and keep up with them on Instagram and Facebook.

Visit Gather Here online and keep up with Virginia on Instagram and Facebook.

Listen to the show by clicking on the arrow below or download this episode from iTunes or Stitcher and listen on the go. If you enjoy the show, tell a friend about it! Thank you so much.

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