This month we’re celebrating our Sixth Loopy Anniversary! We officially opened our virtual doors on August 1, 2006. We’ve shared a few of these photos before, but celebrations are all about pulling out the scrapbooks and fondly reminiscing, right? Here is a peek at our Loopy (virtual) scrapbook.
The shop started in a tiny corner of our basement, not much bigger than what you can see in this photo – about 90 sq. feet. This was our first group of in-store shoppers. This corner worked well for the first couple of months, and then someone (that might be me …) just kept ordering more yarn and we needed more space.
We decided “who needs a basement?” and expanded from the little corner, into the rest of the finished area that we had.
We had to stack boxes on our front porch and in our front hallway, waiting for the mailman each day. Some days, there were a lot of boxes!
After a year at home, we made the move to office/retail space a few blocks away, and that was our Loopy home for the next 4+ years. After our first year there, we doubled the space by knocking down the walls and taking the offices next door. That was fun, although it made for a bit of an interesting (weird) floor layout.
Last December, we put everything on two large moving trucks, and moved to our current location here in Fort Collins, CO, about an hour north of Denver.
With 4500 sq. ft. here, I’m hoping we will have enough room to put off any other moves for the time being. You all need to come visit so that you can walk in here and look around that corner. It goes down a long way, and every bit of it is filled with yarn! (Here’s a peek down one of our four long aisles.)
Of course none of this would be here without YOU and your incredible support. We love hearing from you, we love pulling and packing orders for you, and we love seeing what you have made when you finish your projects. So often, our yarn companies and indie artisans tell us, “You guys have the BEST customers!” and we totally agree. You are the best. We sure appreciate you.
In celebration of our six years, we will be doing a few different blog contests this month, in addition to a couple of other things. This week’s blog contest question is: How long have you been with us at The Loopy Ewe? I know we have six year Loopy veterans who ordered that very first week, and one day Loopy newbies, who discovered us today when they saw the sign on the building and popped up to see us, hoping “The Loopy Ewe” had something to do with yarn. Leave your answer in the comments below, and we’ll do a random drawing next week for some Wollmeise Lace, that I saved just for our anniversary contests. 🙂
Sheri thinkingLoopymightneedtowearapartyhatthismonth
I am pretty sure that I’ve been following you since day one, and have ordered several times since then – can’t remember the exact date, but I’m sure that *you* can!!
Happy Anniversary from another Leo –
Gee, time flies when one gets more “mature: but perhaps 4 to 5 years ago?
I think about 3 years now! I’m a Loopy Groupie & proud of it!
My best guess would be 3 years, In any event, my knitting and confindence and enthusiasm changed when I linked up with Loopy Ewe-for the better!
Happy Anniversary, and here’s to many more!!! I think I’ve only ordered for a couple of years now. I have been following you for awhile. You have the best ever customer service.
Your handy order history page says that I first purchased from you in November, 2006. My original idea was to buy a skein from every new dyer you added but after awhile that was obviously not going to be a good idea! In my closet full of sock and laceweight yarn, I still have many, many skeins that came to me in a bag with a handwritten note from you. Visiting the Loopy Ewe in St. Louis twice was awesome and I hope to see your new home at some point. Congratulations on your success!
I think 3+ years….at least my husband has quite asking “what’s The Loopy Ewe”! Haha
Congratulations on your 6th Anniversary! I’ve been a follower for about 5-1/2 years of your 6 years. Take care! 🙂
5 years. Loopy Ewe is the best- you’ve got such an amazing variety of the most beautiful yarns anywhere!
All the way back to April 2007! Not all of your history, but a good bit!…congratulations!
I read about your shop not too long after it opened on Wendy’s blog. Not sure how long it took me to shop – but most likely in the first year. I remember being impressed with the beautiful way that you packaged the yarn. Then and now I was impressed with your customer service and always feel like you value me as a customer. Congratulations on growing such a successful business.
Wow! I believe 2007! Time flies… I went through a separation/divorce that affected my knitting, but am back again, thanks the Lord!
I’m thinking about 4-5 years. I remember being new to your site and seeing some yarn I loved and then looking a couple of days later, wondering why I couldn’t find that same yarn. I thought maybe I was loosing my mind, or my taste had changed, or I was simply inept at using the computer to find yarn! I finally realized that you would sell out………
January 25th 2008 was my first order and the rest is history! Congratulations Sheri on 6 wonderful years! You are the BEST!
I’m not even sure how long – several years, long enough to be a Loopy Groupie! First read about you on Wendy’s blog!
My first purchase from you was Sept 6 2010 when some very good friends bought me a GC for my birthday.
wow… it’s been 5 years that I’ve been shopping with you.. and sending all of my knit friends to y’all too.. Hope y’all have a Happy Anniversary!! 🙂
I think it has been about three years now. Once I found the Loopy Ewe, I never looked back at those other yarn stores…
3 years this month! Thanks for all the awesomeness!
Hmmmm… I’m going to guess four years?
Four wonderful years. I love your store!
Laura R
My first order was in May 2008, so a bit over 4 years and I’ve enjoyed all of them. Congrats on another anniversary.
Lynn
Hi Sheri,
I’m a relative newbie-I think it’s been about 1 year since I first purchased something. I kept hearing about your store and excellent service from Wendy Johnson and some Ravelers. I was SO happy to find such a great variety of lines with so much yarn in stock. I knew I was in the right place! And I just became a Groupie, too! Yippee!! I’m really grateful for all the extra effort that your staff makes. I know that is a culture created and supported from the top down. Please keep it coming.
Betsy in the overcast Seattle suburbs
Just discovered TLE this past year, hearing about it with such enthusiasm from my knitting group. They were so right!. Wonderful selection, fantastic service, and an exemplary business model. Wishing all at TLE a very happy anniversary–with many more to follow!
It seems like I first ordered this Spring and have indulged in a real Madeline Tosh frenzy for some time now. Your yarn is so tempting!
Laura
I first heard of you from an audio podcast called “Socks in the City.” She talked about her packages and becomming a Loopy Groupie. I decided to check you out and have been a loyal customer ever since. I know that was several years ago.
Keep up the good job!! Congrats.
Penny
I think it’s over 5 years! Yikes! I’d have to go through my credit card statements to be sure, but actually I don’t think I want to dig up documentation of how much yarn I’ve bought in the last 5 years, so we’ll just go with a guess! I believe my darling daughter got me hooked (I mean that in the very nicest way!)!!!
I have been shopping at the Loopy Ewe for three years now.
I’ve been with the Loopy Ewe since October 26, 2009, and I became a Groupie the very next month! Happy Anniversary! Many, many Happy Returns for many, many happy years to come!
I checked – first order in November 2009 – Cherry Tree Hill and Colinette sock yarn, all of which is still in my stash! But 25 orders later, my Hadley Loopy Tumbler beside me filled with pencils, pens, crochet hooks and tools, and my Loopy messenger bag holding my WIPs when I go to my knitting group, the Loopy Ewe is definitely part of my knitting universe. Happy Anniversary!
Been here since 2008!!! Love being a loopy groupie!
January of 2008. And I’m happy to report that I’ve used all the yarn from that first order. (We won’t discuss all the other orders…)
Happy Anniversary! I remember asking for a gift certificate for Christmas about five years ago, so that means I probably placed my first order on about 12/26/07!
I went and looked.
July 2009! I bought 2 skeins of DIC Smooshy and a CookieA sock pattern. 🙂
I just discovered your site last year and have ordered a number of times. Love it – happy anniverary and many, many more.
I’ve been following the blog for years unfortunately I don’t get to do much more then window shop. But next spring I will be making the trip to Colorado to shop in person
August 2010 after hearing about it on the Lime & Violet podcast. Happy Anniversary
My first order was in Feb 2007. Wow! Happy anniversary!
Had to go check, first order was placed on September 6, 2007. Wow, I didn’t realize it had been that long, time flies when you’re knitting with great yarn!
My first order was July 2007, after I heard about the shop on Ravelry. It’s been hard to stop buying here every month since!
Congrats on six years! I have been a happy customer for two years now. I always enjoy your store!
I checked my previous orders and I have ordered from Loopy Ewe since October 2006. I heard about the shop from the “Lime and Violet” podcast. How time flies. Happy Anniversary!
I love you guys! I have placed at least one order every month since 9/7/2007. My first experience was in the Mystery Shawl KAL when TLE was recommended as a good place to find lace yarn.
Happy Anniversary!!!
I’m relatively new to the newsletter having heard about the Loopy Ewe on The Knit Girllls videocast. Love your yarn features and it’s only a matter of time before I make my first purchase. Happy anniversary!
My niece Samantha introduced me to TLE about 3 or 4 years ago. The first thing I bought was a skein of Sanguine Gryphon in the colorway Mortal Marriage. As it turned out I ended up making the Clapotis larger and came back for a second skein. The thing that impressed me most was your awsome customer service and attention to detail with each and every order whether it be a single skein or a blankets worth of yarn or a complete set of needles. You have been there to help with describing colors and offering advice as to which fiber would work best on a given pattern when asked. Who could ask for more. I just wish you were around the corner so I could stop by to sit and knit with you and the elves, as though you had time. Thank you for all you do to make my knitting a joy and I wish you many many more years of success.
Almost forgot, I really love the Summer Camp. Couldn’t participate this summer, waiting for next summer to come.
I have been a customer for 4.5 years. Love your yarn and your fantastic customer service.
Happy 6th Anniversary!
I’ve been placing orders for almost a year!! The Loopy Ewe is my favorite place to order yarn!! Thank you!!!:)
I’ve been ordering since May 2010. The Loopy Ewe is my go to website when I want indie dyer yarn. Your service is superb and your store is a feast for any knitter’s eyes.
Cheers to you on your Sixth anniversary!
Wow, I wasn’t sure, so I went back and checked. I made my first order in February of 2007, after hearing about you at wendyknits.com. I think I’d been making fantasy orders for several months before I made the first real one! But I had no idea you’d only been open a few months at that point. I thought I was late to the party! 😉
Happy anniversary! I miss you being in St. Louis, but it’s nice to be “tax free.”
Happy anniversary! I love your blog posts
Happy 6th anniversary. It will be my 1 year anniversary w/TLE next January. ‘been following your blog ‘since I found out you were coming to FC. We are so lucky to have you here in FC!