Studio S

While on vacation in Lake Geneva, I took a detour to Delavan and found this cute shop. The owner was friendly and helpful. Great little shop!

May have been a great shop, but couldn’t get past the intense smell of cigarette smoke. Really? In a fiber shop?

I was hesitant to like the «new» Studio S because they cleaned up the old place so aggressively that you could now see the floors, light actually came in the windows and the whole shopping experience had become more bright, airy and boutique’y. That may sound good to you, but I’d always enjoyed the twilight-​scavenger-​hunt aspect of the old shop and found the new look just a little too precious. Also, the prices are mostly high-​end, but like it says right over the check out counter: Life is too short not to use good yarn.
Over time I’ve come to appreciate being able to SEE the yarns (needle vs haystack /​tree vs forest). Also I love the generous selection of discounted and remaindered yarns, and that the people are kind, knowledgeable, and customer-​oriented.
For instance, I was looking for the perfect baby sweater yarn. Had to be natural fiber to meet California sensibilities, and had to be soft-​ish, warm-​ish, machine washable, and something I’d enjoy working with (which in my book rules out cotton). A couple of yarns seemed promising, but no swatches had been knit and I didn’t want to end up with $ 40 or more worth of not-​quite-​right yarn. When I explained my dilemma, I was GIVEN both skeins to take home and experiment with! Yesterday I mentioned that the yarn I’d waited 2 months for (a very gradual gradient from charcoal to white) had had a knot in the middle of the skein which totally screwed up the subtlety of the color changes. They immediately took out another skein, rewound it to make sure there were no knots, and then GAVE it to me and apologized for my trouble in having knit an item that wasn’t what I’d expected! Another time I mentioned not being a fan of pot pourri (or any enforced scent); I noticed on subsequent visits that the smell was gone.
So, the thrill of wondering whether you’ll sprain your ankle or break your neck while rummaging in cartons stacked from floor to ceiling and blocking every ray of natural sunlight has been replaced by well-​displayed beautiful yarns, good light, and lovely people.
I’m adjusting.
Thank you, Studio S.