WELCOME to the CHILLY HOLLOW NEEDLEPOINT ADVENTURE: Wendy and Daughters Go On Tour

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Wendy and Daughters Go On Tour

Labels: City Needleworks, reviews, shops

Recently my friend Wendy and her two daughters visited two shops in their area that are a little out of the way for them to visit. They don't usually go visit them, but they had a great time and will go back when they can. Wendy very kindly reported back to me on Luv 2 Stitch and City Needleworks. Her descriptions of the two shops were so interesting that I asked her permission to reprint her mini reviews here. Thanks, Wendy! We'll start with City Needlework. They are well known for their line of Chinese silk floss, by the way.
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Thought I'd describe City Needlework...of course, you know the company because of the silk threads. The shop is on a busy shopping street in downtown San Mateo. It's fairly small but packed to the gills. The shop is about 12' by 24' of retail space, but it doesn't feel cramped. When you walk in, there is an armless needle pointed easychair, main color is hello with a Oriental floral design. The owner did the needlepoint but I don't know who finished it.
http://www.cityneedlework.com

On the wall to the left are the City Needlework silk threads. On the right is a small round glass-topped bistro size table with a couple of chairs around it. This is where regulars gather to needlepoint. By the door on the right is a basket of sale canvases. I bought one canvas that was commissioned for a wedding, but was painted in the wrong color. The window display is also to the right. It's a bay window and is packed with stitched samples.

Further into the store, there is a shelving unit that sticks out about 3' and holds piles of canvases. Most of them are smaller canvases, no bigger than 14x14 or so. Opposite the shelving unit on the right is a carousel of other threads and needlework accessories. Larger canvases are pinned to the wall all the way up to the ceiling. In the back, there is a display that I can describe but don't know the name for...it's when shops have canvases pinned to a display board that's on a hinge and you can turn the boards like pages of a gigantic book.

In the back right is the cash register. The counter usually has piles of small canvases no bigger than 6x6.

The owner is Chinese and has a boy and a girl. The girl is in her late pre-teens and loves to needlepoint. She especially loves having Mommy's store as her personal stash!

What I love about the store is 1) how friendly and helpful the owner is, 2) the huge selection of canvas, 3) the huge selection of Asian-inspired canvas, more than any other place I've visited.

The owner carries the full line of her silk thread, but her other thread selection isn't as extensive. As she told me, she'd rather have an extensive collection of canvases, since she knows ere are other stores who carry more threads. As it is, the thread collection is pretty good if one wants to stick with silk and bling threads.

If you google "Yelp city needlework San Mateo" you can see a few photos of the store on the Yelp site.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/city-needlework-san-mateo?select=htemBG3iKCueSLo8ziNsCQ

Thanks, Wendy! Tomorrow we'll let Wendy take us to Luv 2 Stitch.