Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Solberg.
Hi Wendy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The Tinsmith’s Wife started 17 years ago. It had been my hope to open a needlework shop to share my passion for crafts with others and create a community of making. The shop is a family endeavor – my parents and husband have been extremely instrumental in all phases of our growth and development. In the time we have been open, we have been blessed with amazing makers who support our shop and bring a vibrancy to it.
I hope to have taken my passion for needlework and channel the love into the shop in hopes that I can share with others and allow them to grow and make as well. So rewarding to help someone find and make the perfect baby blanket – and then to see that child grow over the years.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been smooth but certainly has had hiccups.
The craft world is cyclic – so we have had a shift from a larger focus on knitting/crochet to now more focus on needlepoint and cross stitch in the time we have been open. Thank goodness we designed the shop to have multi crafts – so we have just been able to shift focus but still maintain the balance.
The other shift has been the need to compete and be present in the electronic realm… We have worked to keep a focus on our online presence as certainly more retailers in our realm are purely there versus balancing the bricks and morter.
We do recognize that being in a small town means not everyone is around the corner…. So far – we are blessed that may see us as a destination shop and will and do travel to see us and often also spend a couple of days in a “craft vacation”.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Tinsmith’s Wife?
We are a family-run needlework shop focused on needlepoint, cross stitch, knitting, and crochet. In addition to offering supplies for the various crafts, we also teach and assist others on their making journey.
Our shop is housed in a glorious building in Comfort that dates to the late 1800s and hopefully envelopes people into a homey and comfy environment. We do have multiple tables to allow our community of makers to gather and share – and the shop cats help as well. We want the store to be a destination – and we have been blessed that many of our customers feel this way.
It is hoped that we differentiate on the level of customer service and care that is provided. The business is family run – and we hope that our customers will feel part of the family when they walk through our doors.
What are your plans for the future?
We are wanting to expand our online presence – both for social media communciation as well as shopping online.
Contact Info:
- Website: tinsmithswife@gmail.com
- Instagram: tinsmithswife
- Facebook: tinsmithswife
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/solberg1652
