Small Business Saturday Blog

Creating a community: What it means to be a small business

Thursday, November 14 at 23:00

Wool for Ewe is a family-run bricks and mortar yarn shop that promises “Yarns for every budget and patterns for every style”. Located in the Rosemount area of Aberdeen, they specialise in yarns and accessories for knitters and crocheters, and have just won the prestigious Best Independent Yarn Store for Scotland award for an incredible fifth time.

The shop was created in 2007 by Kathleen Fraser, who had always wanted to open a wool shop, with the dream of knitting all day. She says that after 13 years, she is still trying to catch up on her knitting!

When Kathy had the opportunity to open a shop locally, she grabbed her chance and created Wool for Ewe: a space full of creativity and inspiration for seasoned knitters and beginners alike.

Kathy has since been joined by her daughter, Faye, and together they have moved to bigger premises (still within Rosemount), won multiple awards and established one of the top wool shops to visit in the UK. They pride themselves on the level of customer service they provide to each and every one of their customers, and have earned themselves a loyal customer base as a result.

Kathy says: “We read weekly of the health benefits of wool crafts and its effect on mindfulness. Many of our customers will come in on a 'down day' because they want to be in their happy place, and that is what Wool for Ewe is for so many. We have created a welcoming space where our customers are our family. As we near our 13th year in business, we are now seeing new knitters in those that we helped dress as babies, and it really does make the struggles of owning a small business worth it.”

The mother-daughter duo are keen to promote other local small businesses where they can: for example, when launching a new range of Scottish wool recently, they chose to use Scottish produce for their event, with cheese from local cheesemonger, the Gourmet Cheese Company, and drinks from Fierce Beer Co, a local brewery specialising in craft beer. They also try to support the British wool industry and local dyers whenever possible.

Kathy says: “We are delighted to be part of the #SmallBiz100, as we are passionate about supporting local business. We have taken part in Small Business Saturday for a few years now and promoted it within our community, which is full of small specialist businesses like ours. The support of campaigns like Small Business Saturday and Yarn Shop Day allow small businesses to continue to provide excellent customer service as well as keeping communities thriving.”

The small family owned businesses in the Rosemount area work together as a group called 'Rosemount Rocks', and have organised events such as Easter Egg hunts and Hallloween trails. Their current project is organising a Rosemount Rocks hamper full of donations from local shops as a means of promoting all the businesses in the area.

Kathy says: “You already know that by shopping local you are supporting your community. If you use your high streets, they will flourish. Support small businesses so that we have the time and dedication to make our shops a place where we love to work and you love to visit.”

Wool for Ewe is taking part in American Express’ Shop Small campaign. Visit them at 83-85 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen AB25 2YE or click here to find them on the on the Shop Small Map. Click here to visit the Wool for Ewe website, and click here to find out more about the AMEX Shop Small campaign.