Running a small yarn business is an adventure under the best of circumstances. Running one when your business is split between two different states? Well… let’s just say I’ve learned that yarn may be lightweight, but running a yarn company is anything but!
Celtic Yarns is currently a two-state operation. All of our beautiful Irish yarn inventory is in Pennsylvania, while I’m up here in Maine. That might not sound too complicated until you realize that I’m also the one doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work — editing videos, creating content, writing posts, answering questions, and trying to keep our social media accounts alive and interesting.
Meanwhile, the yarn is hundreds of miles away.
And let me tell you, that creates some challenges!
One of the hardest parts is making content when you don’t physically have the inventory sitting beside you. It’s much easier to make a quick video when you can simply reach over, grab a skein of Irish Aran, hold it up to the camera, and say, “Look at this gorgeous color!”
Instead, I’m often working with photos and videos that Mom has taken in Pennsylvania. I’m trying to remember which color is which, which yarn has already sold, what needs to be restocked, and what we need to show people next.
It sometimes feels like I’m running a yarn shop by remote control.
There’s also the shipping side of things. When someone places an order, the yarn isn’t sitting in a stack beside my desk in Maine waiting for me to package it. It’s in Pennsylvania, where Mom is handling the physical inventory and shipping.
So while I’m up here editing a TikTok, she might be surrounded by boxes of beautiful Irish yarn.
It definitely takes communication, patience, and a lot of messages back and forth. Probably more messages than either of us ever imagined when we decided to start this business!
But despite the challenges, I really love what we’re building with Celtic Yarns. We may be operating from two different states, but we’re still working toward the same goal: bringing beautiful Irish yarn to knitters and crocheters here in the United States.
Is it harder this way?
Absolutely.
Would it be easier if all the yarn and all the work happened in one place?
Probably.
But for now, this is our slightly chaotic, two-state yarn adventure — and somehow, we’re making it work one skein, one video, and one shipment at a time.