I had the great pleasure to be invited to spend World Wide Knit in Public Day at The Make It Shop in Chorlton, Manchester. You are much more likely to find me in a dedicated wool shop than a general craft shop, but this place was a treasure trove of interesting crafting supplies to tempt all but the strongest will. Fortunately I was distracted by the knitting all day otherwise I may well have come home with a significantly lighter wallet. As it was, the only thing that I did buy was a set of pompom makers… so expect bobble hats in the future. But just look at it…
I was delighted to visit Chorlton – a thriving town within Greater Manchester. The high street has lots of local shops, and spending the day sitting outside one of them, I came to realise that it is a thriving centre. I discovered that local shops are members of a south Manchester loyalty card scheme called Tag and that there’s a very active traders’ association. All in all, a great model for supporting community.
I’ve written in the past about the importance of buying local and supporting producers and traders in your own area, but it’s worth saying again. According to the New Economics Foundation:
… every £1 spent with a local supplier is worth £1.76 to the local economy [compared to] only 36 pence if it is spent out of the area. That makes £1 spent locally worth almost 400 per cent more.
And that’s before you take into account the fact that shopping local is likely to support local artisans, producers and crafts people, you can ask the retailer questions about the product and get advice, you can often try before you buy, you are enjoying a social experience and you are being part of a local community. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and support your local retailers and producers…. and if you are in Manchester, pop into the Make It Shop and say hello…. and perhaps give in to temptation.
Now isn’t that just inviting you to go in?
The Snail of Happiness 
katythenightowl
/ June 27, 2016A real Alladin’s cave of treasures there 🙂
I used to love going into shops like this when I was young, as I never knew what treasures I’d find although, nowadays, I wouldn’t be able to resist all that yummy yarn 🙂
I’ve got a set of pompom makers here, and use them for decoration every now and then – they are fun to use 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 27, 2016I didn’t have anywhere near enough time to rummage through all the goodies… maybe next time 😉
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katythenightowl
/ June 29, 2016I don’t blame you promising yourself a next time 🙂
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thecontentedcrafter
/ June 27, 2016What a tempting looking environment – I might be tempted to just move right in…… I recently gave in a purchased a set of pompom makers. What fun – I keep looking for places to hang pompoms from now 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 27, 2016Yes, I used to hate making them, so a bobble hat was a rare commodity here, but now the whole house may end up decorated wit them!
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agogo22
/ June 27, 2016Reblogged this on msamba.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 28, 2016Thank you!
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Born To Organize
/ June 28, 2016A make it shop! I love that. It’s wonderful supporting local businesses.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 28, 2016It is… I’m just a bit jealous of the residents of Chorlton… although we do have lots of great shops here, we don’t have anything like The Make It Shop.
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Born To Organize
/ July 3, 2016It’s great fun discovering shops like that. Perhaps they will catch on and you’ll have one in our community one day, too. I’m crossing fingers and toes.
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Wild Daffodil
/ June 28, 2016Great shop! On the subject of knitting. I never did hear back from Knitted Knockers, are they still up and running?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ June 28, 2016Yes they are… it’s odd because they are usually very organised. I suggest that you try again if you are still interested.
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Wild Daffodil
/ June 29, 2016Ok, thank you, I will.
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