Inspiration: What Crocheters Want in a Yarn Shop

 Source: Crochet Inspiration by Sasha Kagan, a stitch compendium.  Check out this review!

Last year, a new LYS opened less than a mile away from my house.  Count me among the lucky.  FiberSpace is an attractive little yarn shop tucked away in a little corner of Alexandria, focusing on moderate priced yarns (almost the entire line of Berroco), as well as some higher end fiber. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, the store just this side of funky. I mean, what else can you say about a store that successfully pulls off a retro outerspace theme. But, what I think makes this shop so special is that it carries several yarns that help to sustain womens' cooperatives in developing countries.  Their social consciousness extends even further -- last weekend, they donated 20% of its yarn sales to OxFam to help with disaster support in Haiti. From two days of sales, this little store is sending almost $1800!

What I also love about this shop is that it does not eschew, or shun, crochet.  Nothing irks me more than walking into a yarn store to spend my hard-earned money and being made to feel like I am some hick from the mountains.  Okay, so I grew up in the Intermountain West but I am far from a hick.  Although far from being crochet-centric, FibreSpace wants to encourage more crocheters to see them as a resource.  Recently, the owner asked, what do crocheters want in a yarn shop?  I mentioned a few things:

• Crocheted project samples -- inspire us by showing how your beautiful yarn looks crocheted into a little garmet
  
• Crocheted yarn swatches -- it helps to see how a yarn will work up
• Good, attractive crochet books -- there are so many new ones out there
  
• Adequate crochet notions -- such as crochet hooks you can't find in Michael's or AC Moore
  

Bottom line, think about what attracts knitters and other fiber artists to your shop, your yarn, your classes, and then do the same for crocheters.  Inspiration is our muse too.

So this is the question I pose to you crocheters out there:  What do you want in a Yarn Shop?  Inquiring minds want to know.