Naomi invites you for a 'knit and a natter' at her Inverness wool shop
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NAOMI Whyte is encouraging Invernessians not to be to sheepish and join her for a knit and a natter in her new city centre wool shop.
The Woolly Sheep on Tomnahurich Street is a first venture into retail for Miss Whyte, who saw a gap in the market for fellow Highland crafts lovers.
"I've always been a keen crocheter, and when I moved up from Perth there was only one wool and craft shop in Inverness, Magpie Wool and Crafts in Crown," she said.
"I became good friends with Margaret Parks, who owned it, and when she said she was retiring I was like: 'Oh no! How can you do this to us!' I started wondering if I could join it all together and open a wool shop. So that's what I did!
"I'm going to be the only one in Inverness, so there is definitely a market for it and there has been a lot of support on Facebook. During lockdown knitting and crafts made a bit of a comeback because people had time to learn new things, so I think it is going to be quite exciting."
Miss Whyte also plans to offer knitting and crochet classes at the shop once lockdown restrictions ease and also set up the shop for "knit and natter" sessions for some social crafting.
"That will be a place for people to go who don't necessarily get out for other things, so they can come for a nice wee cup of tea and bring their knitting and catch up and make friends," she explained.
"There is a whole other room at the back and it's quite big, so we will be able to offer classes without any bother. I think it will be good for Inverness. I think every town needs good independent shops and I've always been a firm believer in that. Big chains don't offer the same personal touch. It will definitely be the social aspect that gets us through."
Miss Whyte is already offering goods and services such as personalises embroidery for new-born babies, through Facebook, and hopes to increase her online presence, allowing her to continue to trade in the event of another lockdown.
In the meantime, however, she is enjoying being a shopowner for the first time.
"I have had loads of good support from the businesses along Tomnahurich Street," she said.
"They have popped in and welcomed me to the street and said it is nice to see the street being brought back to life. My landlord owns the whole building and when I said I was going to be painting the shop, I asked if he wanted me to get a quote for painting the while building and he agreed to do that, so the whole place has been re-vamped and people are saying how nice it is."
The Woolly Sheep will be open every Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm.
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