Shop owner Lynne harnesses the spirit of make-do-and-mend

12 May 2011

Picture Caption: Lynne Seymour of Calon Yarns

Shop owner Lynne harnesses the spirit of make-do-and-mend

Actor Lynne Seymour, 40, loves pottering around art and crafts shops so much, she opened her own shop, Calon Yarns, in Canton, Cardiff

Q: Where did the idea for Calon Yarns come from?

A: I have always enjoyed popping into amazing local yarn shops and inspirational craft workshops when on tour. I always yearned for something like it in Cardiff. I found I was always having to travel many miles to find funky, interesting, one-day workshops or short courses. Lots of people I spoke to about it felt the same, and being quite an impatient person, rather than wait for someone else to do it, I decided to do it myself!

Q: Have you always been interested in arts and crafts?

A: Yes, I guess I have. My mum was (and now is again) a big knitter, always having something on the needles, and my grandmother made clothes for herself and us so I come from a handicraft family. I have always enjoyed making things, even from a young age. The joy of colouring in and cutting out has never really left me!

Q: How did you go from having the idea to opening your new shop?

A: It took about four years of planning and trying to organise my thoughts and ideas into something tangible. I went to a careers fair at the Millennium Stadium last year and had a chat with the people at Venture Wales, who were very encouraging. I then had a meeting with David ap John-Williams, one of their advisors, who was fabulous and managed to focus all the ideas into a viable business plan. Then it was bank meetings and searching for premises … and finally we’re in and open!

Q: Why did you choose the name Calon Yarns?

A: I always wanted to have a Welsh name for the business. When your presence in the industry relies so much on the internet, I wanted our customers to know that we had Welsh roots even before they looked at the address so Calon Yarns seemed to sum it up!

Q: What sort of classes and activities do you offer at the shop?

A: We run weekend one-day workshops for adults and also six-week courses, and daytime and evening sessions are available. The timetable changes every six weeks, but at the moment we have knitting, sewing, crochet, spinning, bead embroidery, patchwork and quilting on offer. An after-school club also runs in six-week blocks and we explore things like making felt flowers and pictures, making bags out of recycled clothes, papier mache structures and also the more traditional skills of knitting, sewing and crochet.

We have two areas where classes and workshops take place. One is our cosy, comfy sofa area, which is like a home from home, while the workshop at the front of the shop is a more practical space.

One-day workshops start from £35 and children’s craft clubs are £5.50.

Q: What has been the most exciting part of setting up your own business?

A: I can honestly say it’s all been exciting, from forming the idea, to finding the premises, sourcing suppliers and tutors, even doing six coats of white paint through the whole shop! But I think the most exciting thing has been my brother Jon joining me in this venture. The joy we both get from having satisfied customers and people enthusing about the space and what we have on offer is fantastic. I never thought we’d have so much in common – or spend so much time together – and I love it.

Q: Are you finding that more and more people are turning to crafts as a way of saving money?

A: Yes, this whole make do and mend spirit is certainly here to stay. People can often save money by repairing clothes, making gifts and spending an evening creating something rather than going out for a meal/cinema etc, but materials are not cheap and very often it can be more expensive to make than to buy. However, I do think that people are getting back to basics and want to learn these home crafts.

A: A big influence on the market is the desire to know that things are produced ethically; we can’t go on living in a throwaway culture and so people are looking for alternatives.

Q: What are your hopes for the future?

A: I hope that the business grows and becomes successful and I hope that we will create many more crafters and encourage people to have confidence in their skills and confidence in trying something new.

To find out more about Calon Yarns, which is on Cowbridge Road East, Canton, visit www.calonyarns.co.uk