LYS Weekend
So much fun!
It isn’t often that I get to go off and do something fun. Last weekend, at the first LYS Weekend event in Charlotte, NC was so much more than fun; it was AMAZING!
Just to catch you up if hadn’t seen my posts about it, last weekend Universal Yarn teamed up with a bunch of other yarn and fiber companies to bring us the first ever LYS Weekend event. Erin and I were invited to attend, and it was not open to the public. While there, we got to meet so many wonderful people in the yarn and fiber industry, talk shop with other yarn store owners, and sample goods from various vendors. Sunday Social hour rounded out the first night, and on Monday I was able to place a couple of orders for the shop before heading back to SC.
ROAD TRIP!
As moms who feel like we rarely get to sit down, much less take time for ourselves, a simple one-night trip to NC felt like a real weekend getaway for Erin and me. We loaded the car full of snacks, picked out a bunch of great music, and made a couple of coffee stops along the way. We took our time and laughed so hard, about everything and nothing, that this trip felt like a true vacation.
Thankfully traffic worked out in our favor. There’s nothing I hate worse than sitting on the interstate, especially with all this coffee… that sometimes makes for an emergency situation! We did not take a wrong exit, and when we did want to stop for something, the places we chose were open. It was good luck all the way.
Once we got there, we discovered that the early check-in I asked for didn’t mean anything, so… even though we were there at noon, we had to wait til 4pm to get our room! Oh well, slightly unfortunate, but no big deal. We went on down to the LYS Weekend vendors area after a quick snack, and decided to go ahead with the show while we waited for our room.
So many amazing vendors
I’ll be honest; neither of us had ever been to anything like this. We didn’t really know what to expect. How many people were going to be in there? Were there going to be presentations? Wait, is this going to be super salesy, where were locked in a conference room for 4 hours like a timeshare presentation but with yarn???
When we got through with registration (and got our super awesome wooden name tags, generously made for everyone by Katrinkles!) we looked at our map and got started visiting with the vendors. We needn’t have worried about anything because we soon discovered that this was just about the most fun you could have as a LYS!
We started with Bryson Distributing, where we met the lovely ladies Julie and Tammi. They made us feel right at home, answered all of our questions, and offered us a few free gifts. These ladies were so warm and eager to get to know us. As two newcomers to the LYS world, we were grateful to them for all of their help.
From there, we visited with Yonca and Heather at Universal Yarn, then Leticia of Malabrigo. The sweet ladies at the Katrinkles table were so nice, and everyone at Tahki and Trendsetter Yarns were so knowledgeable and ready to help answer all of our questions.
But the YARN!! I mean, let’s not forget why we came, yeah? My very favorite setup was Skacel. In fact, they so impressed me that, even though I did not currently carry any of their wares, I placed an order for a whole new yarn line! All of the vendors were set up beautifully, and every single one had gift bags of freebies to give to us to thank us for coming out. We made off with a huge haul, and thanks to these amazingly wonderful yarny folks, we now have two new yarn lines on the way to shop right now. Take a look at more pics below. Click on each for the caption.
Best Trip EVER!
In case you hadn’t gathered as much, this LYS Weekend trip was positively delightful. I can’t wait for next year! Erin and I will be better prepared to make the most out of it.
If you haven’t been into the shop lately, you’ll want to come in sometime in the next week or two to check out the new yarns which are due to arrive any day now. Big plans, big growth, and a really big deal: that’s our Rows & Roses Yarn & Fiber. Swing by and see what’s happening!