The pandemic has all of us staying home more, hopefully knitting more and definitely worrying. Everything as we know it has been turned upside down. Kids are home, businesses are closing their doors temporarily, restaurants also out of the picture in many areas. As lots of you know, I live in Washington state where some of the first cases appeared. Things here have been getting steadily worse, as we all are looking for answers and are worried of the outcome.
I thought it may be interesting to do a blog blitz with stories of yarn shops across the nation and how they are dealing with it. My first story comes out of Cheyenne, Wyoming with a store called Ewe Count. How apropos….Ewe Count!
The owner Penny said when I asked how is Covid19 affecting your business…. “I am open. I have cancelled my knit night for the next couple of weeks. We only have 5 cases in the entire state and none in our area. I sent out an email this morning stating that I hoped people stayed safe, but continued to keep me in business. I do not have an online shopping cart but do offer shipping. I had 4 orders to be shipped and 2 gift certificates purchased! I have offered to do curbside service. I am wiping down doorknobs & counters after every customer & asking them to use hand sanitizer when they come in the shop.
I don’t know about Cheyenne, but where I live hand sanitizer, Lysol spray and disinfectant wipes are nowhere to be found. These are different times to be sure. I am 61 years old and I have never experienced anything like this before. We’ve had scary outbreaks, but the reaction wasn’t like this. I am going to try to share with you, often, various shops around the country during these times. New spring yarns are arriving and people are self quarantining.
We want you all to stay safe, but we also care about all of our small businesses and how this will affect them, and ultimately our communities.