Space Age Sensibilities
This is a really fun little store in Alexandria, VA. I love the allusion to 1950’s decor inside, though to be honest, I spent more time deliberating on what wool to buy and less on critiquing the store’s chosen decor. Though a 50’s theme goes well with the idea of “space”. It’s a well-thought out design approach.
Getting there from my house was surprisingly easy. I was on one road most of the way and it didn’t take too long until I got into downtown Alexandria. Then traffic was a little bad. Also, parking. I had to park a couple blocks away, but that wasn’t what made it bad. It was all parallel parking. I spent an absurdly long time trying to get it right. I thought I was okay at parallel parking, but evidently, I can’t do it for crap. Maybe it was the van I was in... hopefully? I am sure that there was someone watching my efforts and laughing at me. I would have.
Upon entering the store, I was immediately asked if I needed help, which was nice, but for me unnecessary. I knew what I wanted (comb top or roving) and I found it easily enough in the small space. Had I needed yarn for a project I would have availed myself of the offer.
The yarn selection is good and their fiber section is nicely developed for a yarn store. It’s about a 6X6 section of cubbies with painted comb top and some bags of carded roving. I would have been happy to see a bit more, but I did spend too much on the selection available. I shudder to think what I would have spent had there been an even greater selection.
There was a fun ambiance (read: knitting group gossip) and the workers were very nice. I waited for about a minute to purchase because people were in the back room, but that’s forgivable given the low-key atmosphere and small business approach.
Their classes have a fun rating system with words like “Hip” for the uninitiated and “funky” for basic skills. They also provide children’s classes! Sadly they only offer spinning classes one day of the week on Sunday.
A note about their bags... They are very cute. I like the Zombie apocalypse vibe from some of the project bags and the knitting knickknacks were fun. And I spent enough money to get a fibre space bag (if you read through their website, you'll realize the mininum I had to have spent.) I love it. It’s a drawstring tote and quite cute.
