First, the doors. I know they are a "club" at Ridgewood and that you taught one of the doors as a class for your customers. In fact, I will be teaching several other doors in the fall and winter depending on interest. Probably Christmas (again), the Patriotic Door, Autumn and Summer.
Patriotic Door
Otherwise folks get a door canvas with threads and instructions every other month? They get a canvas and instructions every other month. Since so many stitches could supply a needlepoint store with their stash, we made the thread kit optional. We also offered a choice of either six or three doors.
Hanukkah Door
Does one get a choice of a Christmas or Hanukkah door for the end of the year? Actually, we started with Christmas or Chanukah because there is such pressure to complete items for Christmas. But yes, they get a choice. Obviously, a "club member" could choose to do both Christmas and Chanukah and eliminate another door or just do all seven.
Valentine Day's Door
Is there a cutoff date for signing up? No, we can still add people; we just add them to the existing cycle I.e. new people would start with the Valentine's Door. Each door is $85 for the canvas and stitch guide.
Now, about the shop. How long has it been open? Ridgewood Needlepoint opened in April 2002. What possessed you to go into the business? I had always visited needlepoint shops when I traveled and thought that I would enjoy owning one. I have been very impressed with some in my travels. I lived in Wellesley, MA for almost two years and enjoyed going to Wellesley Needlepoint very much.
Spring Door
Was the fact that your twin sister is a designer a big influence you? Or were you the influence, getting her interested because you had the shop and needed her to do a few canvases for you? I opened the shop first and Elizabeth was a frequent visitor. She attended some shows with me and saw some designs that she thought would translate well into needlepoint.
Have you always been an entrepreneur or saw a need or did the local shop start to close and you bought it? There was no local shop but I do have a business background. I had decided that I didn't want to be in corporate America anymore. With my kids entering their teen-age years, a local business had distinct advantages.
What's the story behind your entering into selling threads and charts and canvases and the rest? It was just time to purse a lifelong dream. And because I love painted canvas, the shop deals primarily with painted canvases although we do some charted designs at Ridgewood Needlepoint. The things I stitch are usually whimsical in nature or animals. Owning a shop forced me to develop an eye for different types of canvases. And of course, for someone who loves color, what could be better than owning a needlepoint shop.
Summer Door
Do you and Elizabeth have a family history of needle arts and/or business that got you both started down this path? Although we had both dabbled in some needle arts as children, we then started needlepoint in our early 20's. I was a more consistent needlepointer. Elizabeth did some knitting and some other crafts. I was such a poor knitter that even my mother wouldn't wear the sweater I made! Although our mother didn't do any craft, our father's mother knitted.
Now that you are on the business side, what surprised you the most? I'm always amazed at how much inventory is needed! And how important it is to buy different types of canvases. There's a canvas for every taste.
What is the most fun about owning a NP store? Shopping! What plans do you have for the future? We plan to offer more classes. Right now, I'm working on a beginner's class.
Is the website going to expand, you plan more classes, you want to physically expand the shop, etc.? In the past year, I've been much more active with our blog. [Jane forgot to add a link so you could visit it so I've updated this.]
I would like to offer some canvases through the web site. I have toyed with becoming more of an internet seller, but I enjoy the personal contact with customers and teaching them. I am a firm believer that it is very important to support the brick and mortar stores. They provide the local knowledge and teaching. And for me, needlepoint is about the colors, the colors and the threads. I need to touch and feel.
Has the economic downturn brought changes to the business that you can see in your customers' behaviors? Are folks splurging on a feel-good canvas, staying at home and stitching stockings for the grandkids instead of traveling in retirement, etc.? We are seeing as much as a downturn as I expected. Stitchers always need to stitch but I've been surprised that the finishing has stayed consistent. Or can you see a difference? The major difference I see in the business versus when I started, is that people often come in wanting a specific canvas. Internet browsing has made the customer much more familiar with the canvas designers.
Is there a local bias in what your customers want in turns of designers? There are regional differences. We sell a lot more Yankee and Mets Stadiums than we do Red Sox (Fenway Park). [Jane, whose husband is the largest Red Sox fan in captivity, faints at the mention of the hated Yankees.] In the rest of the country, I believe a much higher percentage of the needlepoint is Christmas related. We almost never sell nativities.
Do you carry a lot of designs that appeal to folks in the NY/NJ metropolitan
region? We certainly carry some designs that are geared for the NY/NJ metropolitan area. For example, a big seller is "Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas [available from the Needlepoint Broad]. And another big seller for us has been the New York Midtown Stocking (we call it Rockefeller Center Stocking) by DJ Designs. We also sell lots of belts which I understand you couldn't give away in California.
Do you think your customers buy what folks in Texas, California, Florida and the Central States buy? Of course, some things have universal appeal. I bet "Good Night Moon" by Silver Needle sells all over.
http://www.silverneedlect.com/products.php?category=16
Has owning a shop made you a better stitcher? Owning a shop has definitely made me a better stitcher. In order to teach, I've taken many classes to increase my knowledge and my techniques. In addition to technique classes, I've taken classes on color and design. Owning a shop enables me to recommend stitches for far more canvases than I could every stitch. And I am also exposed to many wonderful stitchers, too. I've found that after I've finished a major project (The Doors, Summer Girl, The Paper Doll Club), my stitching bumps up a level. It's one of the great pleasures of needlepoint -- you can always continue to learn and improve.
Do you have time to do any stitching now except for store models? You are right and virtually everything I stitch goes into the store. But I do lots of stitching. I do most of my stitching at night watching TV. Right now, I'm hoping to finish my Rockefeller Center stocking. I am also taking Carole Lake's Straight Stitches (taught by an employee who took the class) and Construction Stitches by Beth Robertson and Susan Howren. I am also taking Tony Minieri's Back to Basic class on a monthly basis.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking about opening a NP store in their own home town? Although you don't need to be in the center of town, I have benefited from easy visibility from a major street. Knowledgeable and friendly employees are very important because they are the store.
Eileen, thank you so much for sending me the photos of the Doors, for answering all my questions and of course for being one of the fabulous needlepoint twins!
