Nordic Mart

I recently returned a batch of yarn to Nordic Mart and they claim they did not receive it even though the USPS tracking number shows it was delivered. They claim I must have sent it to the wrong address even though I used the address provided by them. They quit answering my emails and there is no phone number for online sales. I will never order from them again, I will stick to reputable stores like Craftsy, who include a return mailing sticker with every purchase.

I do not recommend.
I ordered yarn from their online store 4 weeks ago and still have not received my yarn!!! I have repeatedly tried to get in contact with anyone at their store for the past few weeks through their email address, website comments form and by phone but have received no response from any of these. I have called at least 10 times on different days but nobody answers their phone and their phone message box is full. This is the worst online ordering experience I have had.

MY favorite Yarn store = Love this store!!! The yarns are amazing & the prices are as well, plus the seasonal sales are crazy… I want the whole staff as my friends! –They are sooo Happy to see you when you come in & very Knowledgeable in the art of knitting, Plus go the extra mile in helping you out — several times they have gotten out their own yarn to see what is going on with a question I had — showing me how to do it… Finally they have Many GORGEOUS sample pieces to try on which are clean & smell nice — not the ancient dusty hanging high examples I have seen thru the years at other stores — if you like to knit — I bet you will enjoy a visit!!!

I am new to the knitting world, and the staff at Nordic Mart is so friendly and helpful. They carry all the full lines of DROPS yarn — great quality at low prices. I have been delighted with all the yarn I’ve purchased there. They have a cute little shop in downtown San Luis Obispo which always looks very bright and clean. It’s a «boutique» yarn shop with «budget» prices and outstanding customer service.

I love the DROPS yarn — it’s great quality and a wonderful price. I love the store, too — but have been stymied sometimes by unexpected closures. I know I can always buy online, but sometimes that instant gratification and the need to smoosh the yarn in person is what I want.
And of course, being right next to Betty’s is slightly dangerous!!! Now I’m likely to go to both places!!! eeeek!

This new location for Nordic Mart might be great. I’ll probably never know.
They close the store early or for the entire day and don’t put that information on their website, or Instagram or any other place where their customers might see it. Just a sign taped to the door, as was the case when I recently tried to shop. I also used to walk past the old location on my way to work and I have seen taped on signs more than a few times. The store has extremely limited hours to begin with, so I find this is making it hard for me to shop here. It’s not that I could never get there when they are open, I just don’t know if the message they are sending is making me want to bother shopping with them.
I did buy lovely yarn at the old spot and the lady that helped me was friendly, but now I’m feeling totally put off by such unprofessional business practices.
Nordic Mart seems to really just be interested in being an online retailer.
I can’t decide if I would try to shop here again. If I do, I would definitely call before I came up here from 5 cities, because just because the website says they are open, there is no way to know that they actually are open unless you call.
ETA: Ok, so they post when they are closed on Facebook. I hate facebook. Your website should say it, too.

I had a terrible experience here. I was traveling and was in SLO from out of town and had a knitting problem. I went by the store for help and was told by the OWNER that I had not bought my yarn there and she could not help me — didn’t have time for non– customers. (Interesting, I had bought yarn there on another trip, but the current project I was working on was not their yarn)
I ended up not being able to knit the rest of my trip. When I got back home, I told my knitting class and no one could believe she wouldn’t spend 5 mins with me to fix it. I found on my next trip to SLO a wonderful knitting store — Yarns at the Adobe on Chorro who couldn’t have been nicer. I would highly recommend skipping Nordic Mart and going there

LOVE THIS STORE!
Their yarn is wonderful (I’ve been impressed with everything that I’ve used so far) and is HIGHLY affordable. The staff has always been friendly when I’ve visited, the selection is decent, and they have a website for e-​tailing in case you’re an out-​of-​towner who stops in at the shop whenever you visit SLO (like me!).
This store is made of epic win.

I’d been working in San Luis Obispo about 2 – 3 times a year since this store opened but had been too busy to look for yarn in the city until I finished my stint working there last trip. As a lark on a day with a lighter work load, I looked up local yarn shops and was stunned to find the FAMOUS DROPS patterns and Garnstudio yarns in the very same city where I was staying and working. For those of you that don’t know knitting and crochet very well, DROPS has free knitting and crochet patterns in several languages and available online for free. Because very few retail yarn stores carry their yarns, I had always used substitute yarns and have made several of their patterns. I was so excited to have the chance to see the actual yarn itself and when I got to the store, I was crazed. How could it be sooooooooooo good?!
First off, I must say that I’ve been crocheting since I was 6 and knitting since I was 7. I am not a beginner (although I’m not intermediate-​level at crochet, either, because I have pursued that craft less than knitting) and I don’t need my hand held in a store. I prefer to be left mostly alone until I’m ready to stockpile the yarns I’m interested in. The front desk help were helpful enough and friendly, but didn’t bother me while I browsed, which I appreciated.
Secondly, and this is the most telling detail, I order most of my yarns online now, because I know most of the brands and they’re cheaper to purchase online than from a LYS (local yarn shop). I’m setting up the context for what happened next: I looked at the yarns closely and was completely overwhelmed with euphoria. These are FANTASTIC yarns. The colors were fantastic — strong neutrals, good range of heathered yarns, and excellent jewel tones (I look best in jewel tones, but I don’t always want to stand out in a crowd that much so I often make things in neutrals, muted tones, and heathered yarns, too). The yarns are very soft and the fiber is of good quality. There is a chance that the yarns might pill, once the garment is made up, because of the extreme softness, but that is something I can live with.
THE PRICES ARE VERY REASONABLE and in the case of some yarns, shockingly-​low. I’LL BE BACK, even if my work stint ended there. I’ll be back JUST FOR THE YARN. But, if it takes a very long time to get back, I plan to order online and pay the flat rate shipping cost (currently $ 5.95).
This find comes as a welcome surprise, since my beloved Noro yarns have skyrocketed in price since the recession, then the earthquake/​tsunami tragedy and the colorways have been less-​suited to my coloring than the original colorways.
(Look for my pictures here on Unilocal). Btw, someone is totally on-​the-​ball at the shop: they just moved locations from Nipomo Avenue to Carmel Street and they already updated it here on Unilocal.Good job!

This place is pretty new, but it’s a great find. It’s across from the Children’s Museum on Nipomo, and you can park for free around the corner. The woman who owns the shop (I think her name is Felicia) is super nice and totally helpful — I was still in the shop chatting with her long after «closing time,» and she was really nice about it. She even let me use her swift and baller while we chatted and she knit a sample pattern. All the yarn in the store is available on line at
, and the prices are awesome. I’ve picked up tons of free patterns from
but I’ve felt a little hesitant to buy the yarn through the website, just because it’s difficult to get a good idea of what the yarn is really like without actually touching and seeing it.
I’m really glad that this outlet opened up. Do not expect this place to be like Yarns… at the Adobe. Anne’s shop is fantastic, but it’s expensive (as good yarn shops tend to be). Nordic Mart is operated locally, but as a branch of a European retailer, there’s barely any kind of markup on the wholesale price. The last time I was in, I picked up enough yarn to last for at least three projects, and I can’t wait to get back in there!

No hello, no help, few samples knit up and store postage stamp in size. Not a good experience.