SLO County yarn shop relies on online classes, video calls to survive coronavirus closure
It’s no secret now is a difficult time for local businesses.
With the coronavirus outbreak forcing everyone to stay at home and away from traditional shopping or dining out establishments, a number of San Luis Obispo County businesses have been forced to pivot if they hope to survive.
This is one story in an ongoing series looking at how businesses are coping.
Do you have suggestions for businesses that are doing exceptional things during the outbreak? Ones that you think should be highlighted? Let us know! Send your North Coast business suggestions to reporter Kathe Tanner at ktanner@thetribunenews.com; send suggestions for businesses elsewhere in San Luis Obispo County to Nick Wilson at nwilson@thetribunenews.com, to help The Tribune spotlight local businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Ball & Skein & More
Location: 4210 Bridge St., Cambria
Website: www.cambriayarn.com
When San Luis Obispo County issued its shelter-at-home order — asking everyone to stay at home as much as possible and limit excursions — it made a list of businesses deemed essential to everyone’s daily lives.
Yarn and knitting shops didn’t make the cut.
But that hasn’t stopped Oz Barron and Kris Gregson, owners of Ball & Skein & More in Cambria. They’ve spent the past two or so months doing everything they can to promote their business and keep it alive until they can open its doors again.
On May 11 and 16, Ball & Skein & More was among the shops featured on Vogue Knitting Live!, a series of virtual classes organized by Vogue Knitting magazine.
The first hour-long Vogue Knitting Live! Zoom call reached 100 avid and hopeful yarn crafters from all over the world, Barron said. That many participants “maxed out” the store’s Zoom capacity, he added.
The real thrill came, he said, when he and Gregson discovered that some of the overseas crafters had actually been to Ball & Skein & More.
“We’re always looking for more ways to expand,” explained Barron, a motorcycle-riding musician, actor, chamber board member and yarn spinner. And since the coronavirus-required closure of the shop, they’ve had to be innovative and stretch some existing connections.
They’ve added more emails to customers while “staying on top of Facebook,” Barron said, and plan to soon expand their presence on Instagram.
They’ve also gone to curbside pickup during the closure, are “shipping a tremendous amount” and delivering to North Coast customers, he said.
“The yarn van has been bombing around, dropping off packages,” Barron said.
“We’re doing Zoom calls every Thursday at 1 p.m., virtual versions of the ‘stitching in your slippers’ events we’ve been doing for about a decade at the store,” he said. “They’re not for formal instruction, being more social events, but people are there to help.
“Everybody shows off their latest stuff, asks questions. We’d get from 30 to 50 simultaneous logins.”
Some Zoom events include special guests who are often representatives of the more than 100 vendors that are represented at the store, Baron said.
Selected vendors have also been key to Ball & Skein & More’s survival during the COVID-19 pandemic, Barron said, and the store’s ability “to source product quickly.”
“If I don’t have something in stock, some of the vendors will drop-ship directly to the customers, a service not usually offered,” Barron said. “A small order from them to us is typically $2,000 to $3,000 worth of yarn.”
“For them to ship $100 in yarn to one of our customers is almost not worth their time, but they’re doing it” to help the shop survive the coronavirus crisis, he said.
Yes, business is down, “dramatically, painfully down one might say,” Barron acknowledged, although he didn’t give percentages.
He and Gregson had to lay off their five part-time employees, he said. “The good news is, we’ll be bringing some people back soon, very soon.”
The couple, who moved to Cambria in 2009, say they’re grateful for the support from their loyal customers and plan to open as soon as they can.
“We have no intention of going anywhere,” Barron said. “One way or the other, we’ll be here.”
