Needlecraft Haberdashery in Wymondham is up for sale

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.”