The owners of a haberdashery shop that’s been open for more than 50 years are looking for someone to take over the business.
The Needlecraft, on Town Green in Wymondham, is up for sale, after current owners, Beth and Kate Bankes-Jones, announced they planned on stepping down.
The Needlecraft, on Town Green in Wymondham, is up for sale, after current owners, Beth and Kate Bankes-Jones, announced they planned on stepping down (Image: Submitted)
The mother-daughter team took over the shop in January 2020, and said that while it had been “a dream come true” running the historic business, it was time for a new adventure.
Kate, who is set to retire once new owners are found, bought the shop after working as a sales assistant there for five years.
She said the pair had always wanted to run a store together, so when the former owner asked if she would be interested in taking on the business, they jumped at the chance.
Beth added: “We both love sewing and I think we would have always regretted not giving it a go.”
Needlecraft Haberdashery in the early 1990s (Image: Submitted)
Although the timing was challenging - with the duo moving into the shop just weeks before the Covid lockdown - she said the pandemic ended up giving the business an unexpected boost.
“The lockdown was obviously awful, but after that there was a massive boom in people taking up new crafts.
“We saw a lot of younger people wanting to learn skills like sewing and knitting, and luckily that never really dropped off.”
Before it became Needlecraft Haberdashery, the shop was a chemist. Photo taken around 1912 (Image: Submitted)
And while most other areas of retail struggle to compete with online shopping, Beth said the haberdashery falls into a unique niche which seems immune to changing trends.
She said: “With things like fabric people prefer to shop in person, because you can’t get a true feel for things like weight and colour online.
“They want to know what it’s going to feel like, and that’s exactly what a place like this offers.”
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