Grace Robinson & Company

Don’t try and shop on a snowy day or 10 minutes before they close, no one will be there. If you shop on a sunny day between 10AM and 4:50PM, you’ll see that the sales staff are wonderful. The selection is more high-​end so you won’t find economical options. I love the wall of needles and hooks; they always have what I need — when they are open…

Previously the least friendly yarn store east of the Mississippi, they are now a totally different shop. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Helpful in person and by phone, they know their product backwards and forwards. Great friendliness and no pressure. Will definitely be back!

Nice variety. Inspirational samples. The staff was very nice and helpful.

Bad vibe from the get-​go. The staff immediately asked if they could help but in an abrupt way. I think they were trying to be friendly but it just didn’t come out right.
The store is large and there is a lot of yarn, but it is all spread out in diagonal-​ish rows of small individual display cases. It’s hard to browse and so weird to spend so much real estate on the spacing. They didn’t have any place to sit and knit, which is too bad because there is a lot of square-​footage in that store. And would be quite easy to rearrange to be cozy. There is no attempt to be inviting and have you stay.
I was very disappointed that they won’t sell most books or patterns unless you purchase the yarn for the project. These policies make me feel they care more about sales than about actually helping customers get what they would like.

The focus at Grace Robinson & Company is clearly more on knitting than needlepoint. The canvases are clumped together on hangers and a trunk show which would have easily filled up two 8′ banquet tables was plopped out onto a small card table. The threads are behind the counter so you can’t pick your own and have to wait for one of the sales people to help you. It’s not a needlepoint-​friendly environment but I was determined. After purchasing an ornament and one skein of thread (because I couldn’t find the other colors in the limited selection offered) I went to pay. When I asked for a needle, I was shocked to hear that they don’t give you ONE needle with your purchase. Even the salesperson apologized about this. Seriously? I just plunked $ 80+ for a small ornament and one skein of thread. Every other shop I’ve been to provides a needle and some even a needle threader.
There are very few LNS and with internet sales booming, it’s so important for small businesses to cater to their customers and thank them for their business. There’s no reason to give my business to a small local business if they don’t appreciate the customer.