Saturday, September 29, 2012

Romni Wools, 658 Queen St. West, Toronto (Canada)

I visited Romni Wools on Saturday, September 22, 2012.  I just don't even know where to begin, as I am still at a loss for words about this place.

I was so excited to be there, I didn't even take a picture of the front of the store, sorry.  I did however take an abundance of pictures of the inside.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Romni Wools, you absolutely should go!!  You won't be sorry, I promise!  Truly, go!!

Romni Wools has the best selection of yarn, notions, books and magazines of any place I have ever been to.  The place is literally stocked from floor to ceiling.  I was just in absolute awe the moment I walked in the door.  I had read about this place of course, but you really don't get the full effect unless you see it in person. OH, yes.  They even have a basement, filled to the brim with even more yarn!

About a week before my trip, I was reading reviews and there were a few that said customer service wasn't the best.  My experience was quite the opposite - more than one employee asked how I was doing and if I needed help.  I was greeted upon entering.  I asked for and received a shopping basket - I knew I would need it!   I also saw several other customers get help from the staff.  I can't say what the problem was with those who said they didn't get good service.  I received and saw great customer service at Romni Wools!

Again, I am pretty much at a loss for words.  I am just going to once again, recommend that you go if possible, and let the pictures speak for themselves.  If I can't get all of these to load on this one post, I will add a second post.

Pictures of my purchase will be in a separate post.   Click on any picture to enlarge it.
















































































The Woolly Lamb, East Aurora, New York

The Woolly Lamb, 712 Main Street, East Aurora, NY
I visited this store on September 21, 2012.  The hours listed say the store was to open at 11 AM.   Believe me, I was there on time.  However, the owner (or whoever she was) was NOT!  So I decided to sit on a bench nearby for about ten minutes, and was going to leave if the store was not open by then.

It was!

I was greeted upon entering - as I would expect, so that was nice.  Some places do not do this, by the way.

My first impression of the store was that it was a bit on the sloppy side.  There were some areas where the yarns were piled on top of each other and in boxes and bags.  Nothing wrong with having extra in the bags, but it is nice to see them stacked nicely in my opinion.  I like to see a knitting shop that is neat and organized because it makes finding what I want much easier; also if a yarn is new to me, I am much more likely to check it out if I don't have to dig underneath another bag of yarn to get to it.

The shop has an excellent selection of yarn and a pretty nice selection of notions.  The woman who was there was very friendly and helpful.  I witnessed great treatment to another customer who had come in after me.  She was looking for a certain yarn that she had purchased before, but didn't have the ball band or something like that, and the shop lady was helpful in trying to find it for her.  I also heard the customer ask what time the store opened, and the shop lady said 11 but that she was often late.

This late bit I find kind of a bad business practice, but hey.  It isn't my store.  I am sure there usually isn't a line waiting for the place to open, however if your hours are 11 to whenever, then you should be there at that time.  I was ready to leave, and she would have missed out on my purchase.

At any rate, despite the few negatives I mentioned above, I would definitely go back to this store.  Good customer service far outweighs opening a few minutes late and being a little bit messy.  If you are in the area of East Aurora NY, I recommend stopping by The Woolly Lamb.  I even got an ink pen :0)


My purchase?  I got some Sublime angora merino - it was on sale!  So absolutely soft and wonderful, I can't wait to start knitting with it.

Below are a few pictures of the store, and the yarn I got.