Handmade crafting is making a modern-day comeback.
Despite a drop in interest for the handmade in the 1980's, a shift back to handicrafts emerged in the 21st century.
E-commerce platform Etsy, which has a focus on selling handmade and vintage items now has more than 1.9 million sellers connecting with about 33 million buyers globally.
“This year we sponsored Sydney Craft Week and it showcased a whole lot of different aspects of makers and it was just very vibrant,” says co-owner of Skein Sisters, Janine Smith.
“I think there is a real movement, probably off the back of slow living in many respects, people are really finding themselves in making.”
For owners of yarn shop Skein Sisters, Deb McDonald and Janine Smith, the movement has proven to be a timely business opportunity.
Since opening their shop in April last year, sales revenue has doubled year on year.
The concept for the store, which specialises in indie-dyed yarn, was born from the pairs’ mutual passion for knitting and a frustration for not being able to easily find the yarns they were looking for.
Skein Sisters is a yarn shop in Dulwich Hill in Sydney's inner west. Source: Supplied
“We loved all of these indie yarns, but we couldn't buy them here,” says Janine.
“We'd wake up in the middle of the night because something was going on sale and we'd be online sharing postage and doing all of this stuff.
“After a while, we were like this is nuts, why can't we do this here?”
After speaking to people from the Knitters’ Guild NSW and running focus groups as part of market research, the pair decided to take a leap of faith and open Skein Sisters.
The pair found a closed down tool shop in Sydney’s inner west and spent three months renovating it.
“We were really lucky that my husband's an architect and so he could design the space for us," explains Deb.
“On our soft opening, we were still unpacking boxes and trying to hang all of the needles, because we thought nobody would have come in.
“Our first customer was out the front a quarter of an hour before we even opened, banging on the window and it didn't stop.”
Deb and Janine drew on their backgrounds in media, textiles as well as marketing to create a crafting community around the shop.
Co-owners of Skein Sisters, Deb & Janine believe that creating a community around their store is a key to their success. Source: Supplied
“The community of makers and having people find people, seeing friendships blossom, seeing makers blossom in their craft - there's a real joy to everything that underpins what we do,” says Janine.
“Whilst running a business takes so much, it also gives back an awful lot.”
But, the pair struggled with the seasonality of the sector as well as gauging demand for products.
“This year, I got it wrong,” says Deb.
“I had my wool coming in four weeks later and missed a whole month where I didn't have the right stock.
“You think, oh, February's so hot here, but that's when people are starting to think about making.”
Deb and Janine hope to continue bringing in top international trends to their store.
“I've just been to the US meeting suppliers over there, sourcing new products, looking at what the trends are in stores and so on to bring back to us.
“There's also the opportunity to look into festivals and retreats, and possibly developing our own range.”
