Adam and I, we try to be cultured people. We went to the I.M Pei-designed art museum and appreciated the landscape:
The view, it looks like a Brueghel, no? Oh, so much culture. Everybody, pinkies out!
Okay, pinkies down. I enjoy a museum, but there’s nothing better I like during a vacation in a new place than (a) going to the supermarket and (b) going to the mall. Very soothing.
Fiber store numbero 2, was in a mall:
Triphammer Mall. One of the saddest malls we’ve ever seen. Most of the stores were closed and the thing was basically falling apart. But, its yarn store was actually very busy and hopping:
Triphammer Mall
2255 N. Triphammer Rd
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 277-1164
If I went to business school, I think it would be interesting to do a case study about what makes a yarn store successful.
Homespun had location (the Commons, located in central Ithaca), a nice and knowledgable owner, a better selection of yarn, and a cozier store, but Knitting Etc. was packed with people, despite being located in the Mall of Doom. I would have had to visit both more regularly to figure out if this was an abberation, or a reflection of their normal clientele numbers. I’m not really sure why Knitting Etc. was so hopping (though it did have a class going on), but it’s worth contemplating.
Knitting Etc. does have a great website, as well as a regular newletter with some nice patterns that you can download off their website. And the store itself was quite big, with a great selection of books, and knowledgeable sales staff. I think that Homespun had a better yarn selection though.