Confessions of a Yarn Shop: The £1.50 Lesson and Other Spectacular Fails

Hi everyone, Roel and Aileen here.

We spend a lot of time on this blog talking about the beauty of rescued luxury yarn, perfect fibre blends, and the magic of world-renowned spinning mills. But today, we want to pull back the curtain and talk about something a little different: our spectacular failures.

In our early days, building Yarn Atelier and rescuing mill surplus was a steep, sometimes chaotic learning curve, and we definitely tripped over a few cones along the way. Recently, we were chatting in our community WhatsApp group and laughing about some of our first blunders. It inspired us to share a few of those behind-the-scenes moments with you here.

We will never forget the very first time we received a multi-strand order. We had done our practice runs in the studio and felt totally confident that we could hack it.

However, something went horribly wrong on the winding machine. If you have ever battled a tangled skein, you will know the pain, but this was on another level. Aileen and I spent two and a half hours desperately trying to untangle a stubborn knot of about 25 grams. To put that into perspective, that specific yarn retailed at £6 per 100g.

Massively frustrated, we finally stepped away from the mess and realised we had just spent 5 combined hours of labour trying to salvage about £1.50 in turnover. We had to laugh. We cut the yarn, salvaged what we could for mini samples, and carried on with life. Sometimes you just have to know when to bring out the scissors.

Then there are the operational nightmares. When we shipped our very first international order, we completely forgot to factor in volumetric weight. Let's just say that oversight caused a massive bottom-line loss that served as a very swift, very expensive lesson in global logistics!

We also initially used a courier for our international orders that gave us quite a few grey hairs before we realised we needed a better solution. We eventually swapped our international shipping over to DHL. Whilst we have occasionally had a parcel held for customs inspection, or received a request for additional information – because customs officers understandably want to know who on earth orders 7 KG of yarn to be shipped across the pond – it has thankfully been smooth sailing ever since.

And yes, out of the nearly 1,000 parcels that have left our studio, we have had those classic warehouse face-palm moments too. We have shipped the wrong colour of yarn on two separate occasions, and one time we were silly enough to put the shipping labels on the completely wrong boxes. With a mistake rate of less than 1%, we are probably doing better than Amazon, but trust us, it still stings every time it happens!

Speaking of that 1,000-parcel milestone, when we officially hit it, we will be doing a special promotion to celebrate. Here is a sneaky little secret just for our blog and email readers: when order number YA2000 rolls in (which will officially be our 1,000th shipped parcel), we are going to cover it in full with store credit!

We are only human. While we are not perfect, we are improving every single step of the way. The unpredictable nature of rescuing deadstock means occasional hiccups will inevitably happen, but if there is one thing we are truly proud of, it is how we handle them today and keep you, our community, involved.

Recently, a customer ordered a sizeable amount of yarn. However, before packing it up, we realised the yarn quality simply didn't meet our standards. I wrote to the customer immediately to let her know we couldn't send it, and offered a full refund, store credit, or a replacement.

Her response blew me away: "Hey, just pick something else for me, I appreciate the service."

That level of trust is amazing on its own. But two hours later, that same customer came back to the site and placed another sizeable order. I had to ask her why, especially considering she had not even received her first box yet. She replied that she was simply impressed with the customer service.

While we might occasionally make mistakes, we also try to make up for it by sprinkling a little extra joy wherever we can. We frequently and at random, in about one in every ten orders or so, include small surprise and delight items in your parcels. Beyond our usual stitch markers, we love to slip in things like a simple sticker, a needle stopper, occasionally a tape measure, or even a small ceramic turtle.

We do this just to add a bit of fun to your unboxing experience. Recently, a customer reached out to let us know she had been going through a particularly tough time. She told us that coming home to a parcel of good cheer and finding a tiny ceramic turtle inside gave her exactly the lift she needed, even joking that while she appreciated the turtle, the yarn was "pretty good too!"

Hearing that our small gestures can bring a smile when it is needed most reminds us exactly why we do this. Every single mistake we have made has forced us to get better, and every bit of joy we get to send out makes the chaotic moments completely worth it.

Thank you for bearing with our occasional hiccups, for trusting us to pick your replacements, and for being the most forgiving, wonderful community to rescue yarn with.

Yarn regards,

Roel & Aileen

P.S. Do you want to join in on the behind-the-scenes chats, see our beautiful new arrivals first, and share a laugh with us?  Click or tap here to join our WhatsApp Community