Midweek Mugging: The Loop
Posted Jul 19, 2018 03:44:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
This week’s Midweek Mugging recipient is Mimi Fautley, owner of The Loop.
The Loop, located at 1557 Barrington St., is home to a wide selection of brightly-coloured yarns, along with patterns and tools for crochet, felting and knitting.
Fautley initially opened the store with two other business partners before becoming the sole owner.
“I was really into knitting, and I think sometimes when people say follow your passion, it’s a very hard thing to make concrete,” Fautley said. “There’s a lot of technical knowledge around knitting…but it turns out by trial and error, I discovered I’m that way with knitting, where I learn something and I remember it.”
When stocking the store, Fautley said she aims to work with Canadian suppliers whenever possible. Her products vary throughout the year depending on demand.
“During tourist season we bring in more local, more Canadian, more indie kind of stuff, because those people are looking for something unique, something they can’t get at home,” she said. “And in the other half of the year, we have a little bit less of that and more sort of bread and butter stock, because people are making sweaters and big projects.”
The Loop also offers workshops on knitting, crochet, needle felting, weaving, and yarn-spinning, taught by Fautley and guest instructors.
“Our most popular classes and most frequent classes are our knitting classes, and we do a broader range of those from absolute beginner, never knitted before, to socks and…mittens, sometimes,” Fautley said.
Since the workshops are hands-on, “it’s really important that we’re able to see what everyone is doing,” she said. For this reason, class sizes are kept small. Registration is available in store or by phone.
Fautley said her favourite thing about running the store is the everyday interactions she has with customers that leave her feeling good.
“We have regular customers who we have these ongoing relationships with…it’s just really amazing to be a part of that, and really an honour that people choose to be so loyal to this store,” she said.
She emphasized that The Loop is welcoming to knitters of all skill-level, and that’s she’s always happy to answer any questions people have.
“You can buy yarn online, but you can’t feel it, you can’t see the actual colour, you can’t ask the person whether they think this yarn is more suited to your project than that one,” she said. “You don’t get the same interaction, and a really big part of what we do is helping.”
