Tell us a bit about yourself and the business.
“My name is Valerie McCann. I am the owner of Love Wool, based on Bridge Street South in Portadown. Love Wool is a haven of woolly loveliness for wool addicts everywhere. A large part of the yarn shop experience at Love Wool is offering choice.
“In our quest to spread the love of wool, we offer social classes, beginner classes, and a range of workshops designed to extend knitting, crochet, and wool craft skills. These are held in our dedicated workshop room, affectionately known as ‘The Wool Cave.’
“As well as our bricks-and-mortar shop in Portadown, we have an online web store where customers can place an order to collect free of charge from our physical shop, or we can post it to them.
“As a wool evangelist, it is my role to spread the woolly word and ensure our heritage skills survive for many years to come”.
How did the business start?
“Love Wool opened its doors on 15th September 2016, and in doing so, my lifelong obsession and passion for wool found its ultimate outlet.
“Now, it is my personal mission to spread my contagious enthusiasm for all things woolly and, in doing so, offer friendly, warm, quality service to all our customers”.
Why is shopping local so important?
“Love Wool is so much more than a yarn shop; we are a community hub for locals and also for those from all across Northern Ireland who share our passion. We connect on a personal level with our customers and provide good old-fashioned customer service. Shopping local means you are part of a community you get to know and are known by our staff. We support our customers, and in turn, they support us. It’s about building connections and strengthening our local identity.
“On another level, it provides jobs for locals and helps support other local businesses from whom we source. It keeps our town centres alive”.
What do you love most about your town?
“It’s history, it’s people and all the characters unique to its streets, the people you don’t know yet you feel you do because they are a constant around the town. I love our Bridge and tow path and the fact we have such a rich heritage in the textile industry.
“I love the fact that there are and have always been so many wonderful independent shops.
“My shop is just one of a long line of wool shops that have been in Portadown all my life and we now stock fabric purely because the last fabric shop closed and we’ve always had a fabric shop and I felt a sense of responsibility to continue to offer fabric in our town”.