Making Crafting FUN Again!
Here's to the New Look!
Well, as I am sure most of you can tell, there have been a lot of changes at The Pattern Hutch. I have been trying to get on as many patterns as I can over the past few months but have only put a small dent in the actual patterns we have in the store. I think I get myself a little overwhelmed (like many of you do) when I walk in the store and see all of the patterns left to be added. I am really hoping that this year we can get a lot of fresh stuff on. So far it has been a great turn out. We have had so many nice comments about the store and site it has been wonderful. The store has been open for over 12 years now and really it was time for a new concept... or a fresh take on an old concept.
We started out as gift shop with a small section of patterns, in comparison to today. I remember very well before mom opened the store visiting The Pine Cone Gift Shoppe on many occasions. Mom just loved the store and we would go and look through all of the patterns and of course I don't remember leaving there without at least one new pattern. That was usually before we would drive through her neighborhood she now lives in, sneaking in a milkshake and fries before going home... but that is another story. My mother has always been into crafts (for as long as I can remember) and I remember when she started doing the doll patterns she would buy from The Pine Cone Gift Shoppe. I still have a couple of those, she laughs at them but to me they are memories so I don't mind seeing my kids dragging around a frog from the early 90s and asking me about it. I even remember fussing with her to keep one because she called it one of her "ugly" dolls she had made.
Times have changed... fast forward a few years and I can remember the excitement when she was ready to buy The Pine Cone Gift Shoppe. She was so excited but didn't quite know where to start I think. Slowly it started going from a gift shoppe to a craft shop. More patterns and less glass birds. Every seemed to take the change well because coming from a "crafting community" there was really a lack of supplier stores in the area. More stuff came in than you could imagine if you never visited us in the "little store". There was all sorts of items hanging and crowding up the store and you could barely get around. We moved over a few stores down into our current location. She still had tons of things hanging and barely any room to move but that is okay. Everyone loved it for the most part anyway. We have had many looks to the store, it is usually changed at least once a year to give the customers something to look forward to when they visited.
This year we have discovered we had lost touch with what we wanted to accomplish. The trade show events were taking all of moms time and the store was starting to suffer because of it. We had many issues with items not being in stock or when mom was gone on a show she would have to take many things that caused us to have to ship things to our customers and they couldn't leave the store with it. It is quite annoying when you want to get into a new project and have to wait for it to come in! I apologize to anyone who may have had any issues in the past. We regret that this had ever happened. We had to take time and evaluate where we went wrong to correct the issues. She is no longer doing the shows and is always at the store now (Which was the first big step in returning to our roots). I think some people missed her charming personality when she was gone :-) The store has been completely remodeled and you can actually walk through the isles and see our stuff. (another huge plus!) The pattern selection has been great this year with having almost all of our patterns in stock on any given day. I was so excited the other day when I had an order come in for 10 patterns and it got mailed that same day!(words cannot describe) We have added a couple of new ladies to the staff that have been excellent! They have been able to pick up on everything and have been a great help to mom with the new changes. It doesn't hurt that they are freakishly organized and the fact that you can find anything it the back room is a bit disturbing LOL.
So, needless to say, there have been a LOT of big changes this year. So far all of them are for the better we hope. And I really hope that you guys have enjoyed everything we are doing. I am really hoping that Talking Crafty is going to continue grow and we get our crafters from just lurking on the internet to being a big part of who we are by jumping in and sharing their tips and tricks. Communication is key! There is always something to talk about when crafters are around! So here is to the new changes! I hope you guys enjoy!
We started out as gift shop with a small section of patterns, in comparison to today. I remember very well before mom opened the store visiting The Pine Cone Gift Shoppe on many occasions. Mom just loved the store and we would go and look through all of the patterns and of course I don't remember leaving there without at least one new pattern. That was usually before we would drive through her neighborhood she now lives in, sneaking in a milkshake and fries before going home... but that is another story. My mother has always been into crafts (for as long as I can remember) and I remember when she started doing the doll patterns she would buy from The Pine Cone Gift Shoppe. I still have a couple of those, she laughs at them but to me they are memories so I don't mind seeing my kids dragging around a frog from the early 90s and asking me about it. I even remember fussing with her to keep one because she called it one of her "ugly" dolls she had made.
Times have changed... fast forward a few years and I can remember the excitement when she was ready to buy The Pine Cone Gift Shoppe. She was so excited but didn't quite know where to start I think. Slowly it started going from a gift shoppe to a craft shop. More patterns and less glass birds. Every seemed to take the change well because coming from a "crafting community" there was really a lack of supplier stores in the area. More stuff came in than you could imagine if you never visited us in the "little store". There was all sorts of items hanging and crowding up the store and you could barely get around. We moved over a few stores down into our current location. She still had tons of things hanging and barely any room to move but that is okay. Everyone loved it for the most part anyway. We have had many looks to the store, it is usually changed at least once a year to give the customers something to look forward to when they visited.
This year we have discovered we had lost touch with what we wanted to accomplish. The trade show events were taking all of moms time and the store was starting to suffer because of it. We had many issues with items not being in stock or when mom was gone on a show she would have to take many things that caused us to have to ship things to our customers and they couldn't leave the store with it. It is quite annoying when you want to get into a new project and have to wait for it to come in! I apologize to anyone who may have had any issues in the past. We regret that this had ever happened. We had to take time and evaluate where we went wrong to correct the issues. She is no longer doing the shows and is always at the store now (Which was the first big step in returning to our roots). I think some people missed her charming personality when she was gone :-) The store has been completely remodeled and you can actually walk through the isles and see our stuff. (another huge plus!) The pattern selection has been great this year with having almost all of our patterns in stock on any given day. I was so excited the other day when I had an order come in for 10 patterns and it got mailed that same day!(words cannot describe) We have added a couple of new ladies to the staff that have been excellent! They have been able to pick up on everything and have been a great help to mom with the new changes. It doesn't hurt that they are freakishly organized and the fact that you can find anything it the back room is a bit disturbing LOL.
So, needless to say, there have been a LOT of big changes this year. So far all of them are for the better we hope. And I really hope that you guys have enjoyed everything we are doing. I am really hoping that Talking Crafty is going to continue grow and we get our crafters from just lurking on the internet to being a big part of who we are by jumping in and sharing their tips and tricks. Communication is key! There is always something to talk about when crafters are around! So here is to the new changes! I hope you guys enjoy!
Comment
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Comment by Betty L. Stone on August 16, 2009 at 1:50pm - It's been a few years since I was there but can't wait to come back. SOOOOOOOOOOOO I hope.
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Comment by Cindy on August 3, 2009 at 10:59pm - It is so good to be back! I really have missed everyone! It has been such a blessing seeing everyone this year and I look forward everyday to go to work! Happy customers on vacation, people asking questions about crafting (things I know) gets me all excited! I LOVE MY JOB! When you love something like this it's not a job its FUN! Thanks everybody for welcoming me back and the nice comets about the shop.
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Comment by Michelle Aten on August 3, 2009 at 3:17pm - I am here to tell you I was so excited when we walked into the new store in June. I was so much more excited to actually see Cindy there and greated with lots of smiles. The store is so bright and cheerful and so are the girls. That is a great improvement. I can hardly wait to plan the next trip down. I have just sent some appliqued items down for display that Cindy had me do up. Can't wait to get some more to get started on. It is probably a good thing I don't live closer cause I would always be broke. Love the new website too. Keep up the good job.
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Comment by Carolyn (Carol) Garner on August 2, 2009 at 5:25pm
- will be in Tenn. Sept. 11th thru the 14th...the first stop for my daughter and me will be your store ..it has been a facvorite place of mine for many years and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks now as to how it was then..I know I'm gonna love it....see you soon, Carol Garner
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