The owner of haberdashery Darn It & Stitch is celebrating four years of running the Triangle business - but revealed that it hasn’t always been a smooth journey.
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Corinne Paddock, pictured, took over Darn It & Stitch at Bitterne Park Triangle in October 2020, and describes the area as a “nice little community”.
But she said running the business hasn’t always been plain sailing.
“It was really hard at first because obviously we opened in 2020, right in the middle of lockdown.
“When we were here, we weren’t allowed to open the door. So we had a whole shop of stock, and we couldn’t sell it to anyone.
“And then the cost of living [crisis] hit, so it’s been a rocky four years.
“But we’re still here. We’re still going strong,” she said.
Corinne also revealed that her main customers may not be who you might expect.
“Most people assume it’s an older crowd, but I would say [it’s] the uni students. Crochet is huge. Absolutely huge.”
She added that Americans visiting on cruise liners visit the shop too.
“They bring a taxi over, get loads of fabric, because they’re massive for quilting, aren’t they, in America. So they come here, buy loads of cotton, put it in their suitcase, and off they go on their cruises.”
She said that rather than buying online, people like to visit in person to see the exact colours and feel the quality of fabrics for themselves.