3 Kittens Needle Arts

cash mob at 3 kittens – just a few votes away

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:14:59 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised the other day to see a post on the 3 Kittens Facebook page that Cash Mob St Paul had selected us as one of three possible locations for a Cash Mob on Saturday, May 25th. I was equally dismayed at the lack of understanding from my cohorts at the store about what a Cash Mob is and how it might help our business and community. So, I thought I’d give a go at trying to explain the concept here.

A Flash Mob +

A Little Cash

= A Cash Mob

The concept is rather simple. Get a group of people together – rounded up generally by social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, Ravelry (for knitters and crocheters). Meet at the chosen small, locally owned business on the date specified. Bring $20 to spend at the store. Introduce new people to the area and the business. Bring an influx of cash to the business and possibly surrounding businesses. Potentially gain new long-term customers.

In reality, it works like this:

Cash Mob St. Paul holds a vote to see which store in our area should be mobbed. The vote is done only on Facebook. Voting closes on Sunday, May 19th at noon.
Once the votes are all in and counted, the chosen store (3 Kittens!) will be notified and a specific time on May 25th will be selected for the cash mob.
Cash Mob St Paul will promote the cash mob on Facebook, while 3 Kittens will promote it through our own Facebook page, Ravelry, Twitter, our newsletter, etc.
On the 25th at the specified time, anyone who wants to join the cash mob will meet near 3 Kittens with $20 in hand.
The group will go en masse to 3 Kittens and spend their money

Some of the questions I’ve heard from my co-workers:

Why would we want to do this? It’s a great way to bring new people to the store. It’s free advertising! Free publicity! An influx of $$! It doesn’t cost us anything! It’s a Win-Win!
We’re such a specialty store? What will people buy? There are plenty of things in our store that even non-crafters can buy: totes and bags, Perfect Notion Cases (lots of uses), lessons, Gloves in a Bottle lotion, Soak (fine clothing and woolens detergent for hand washing), ruffle scarf yarn (so easy even non-knitters/crocheters can make a scarf), etc. Plus some of the Cash Mob participants might actually needlepoint, knit or crochet!
Won’t it make the store super crowded that day? Cash mobs generally only last for a short period of time on the chosen day (a couple of hours maybe). So we’ll be busier than usual (hopefully) for just a portion of the 25th.
Will we need to do anything special for the cash mob? While I don’t have a firm plan in mind yet, I think we should have some treats (treats are always good!) and we might have some items on special just for the time of the cash mob.

The official Cash Mob site says:

“The benefits that local businesses gain from successful cash mobs are not just a one-day influx of cash. New customers are found, old customers are reacquainted and a new appreciation for businesses that fuel a local economy is found. Every dollar spent locally has a 15 percent more positive impact on a local economy than the same amount spent in big-box retailers and businesses that are part of a corporate giant. Cash mobbers even have a little fun while saving the lifeblood of their communities, as many cash mobs gather after a shopping frenzy at a local establishment for food, drinks and fun, where old and new friends alike meet.”

So, long story short, I think it will be fun and unique to have a cash mob at 3 Kittens. But the only way to have it happen is if you vote!

Please vote today!

the great egg hunt

admin — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:00:27 +0000

Join Us for

The Great Egg Hunt

March 25 – March 30

Spend at least $25 in the store and
pick an egg
with a surprise inside!

You could win:

3K Club double points
a $25 gift card
10% off your purchase
10% off a needle case or project tote
$5 off any notion
$5 off a book or pattern
FREE pattern from our 3K stash
FREE Perfect Notion Case
FREE Lantern Moon Tape Measure
a chocolate bunny

Every Egg is a Winner!

And while you’re here, enter our door prize for drawing for Bonnie Bunny

Discounts are valid day of drawing only and may be applied to current purchase (i.e., draw before you’re rung up).

Discounts may not be combined with other discounts, including coupons, trunk shows or birthday bonuses.

Discounts apply to in-stock merchandise only.

getting ready for inventory

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:44:41 +0000

We are planning on doing a complete physical inventory of the store this summer. A daunting task as I’m sure you can imagine! We’ve got a lot of prep to do, and one of the things that we decided to do was take a thorough look at our buttons. Don’t worry, we won’t be getting rid of all of our buttons, but there are some that have been around too long and taking up valuable inventory dollars which could be better used for other things (like newer button designs).

The upshot is that we now have Button Grab Bags for sale!

Each bag weighs around half a pound and costs $5.00. Come in the store to pick out the perfect bag for you. Otherwise, you can purchase one by clicking here.

Oh, the joys of inventory!

minnesota yarn shop hop – save the date

admin — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 19:54:31 +0000

It’s almost time for the annual Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop!

For more information, follow us on the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop webpage, Facebook, Twitter and Ravelry.

yarn bombing the twins

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:33:30 +0000

Recently the 3 Minnesota Twins statues at Target Field were yarn bombed.

I played a small part – o.k. more like a pretty big part, considering I made Kent Hrbek’s hat, and his head was 28″ around and 18″ high!! At least I didn’t have to make one of the sweaters for the statues. I think they were all machine knitted, thank goodness.

It took me three evenings to make Kent’s hat on size 19 needles with two strands of Encore Chunky held together.

If you would like to see some of the news stories regarding the dressing of the statues, check out these links:

twincities.com

Kare 11

The Star Tribun e

holiday store hours

admin — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:40:17 +0000

3 Kittens will be closed on each of the following days in order to celebrate the holidays with our families:

Christmas Eve, December 24
Christmas Day, December 25
New Year’s Eve, December 31
New Year’s Day, January 1

We hope that everyone has a safe, relaxing, and joy-filled holiday season!

small business saturday

admin — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:04:13 +0000

Support your favorite small business.

This November 24th is Small Business Saturday®, a day to celebrate and
support the local small businesses that boost the economy and invigorate
neighborhoods across the country.

3 Kittens is proud to take part in Small Business Saturday, and we’re
encouraging everyone to Shop Small® here on November 24th.
Plus, we’re having a special Small Business Saturday offer! Come in on
November 24th and you’ll get a free button with your purchase.

Most importantly, get out there, Shop Small, and let’s make this November
24th the biggest day of the year for small business.

To learn more, visit ShopSmall.com.

who are you?

admin — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:42:07 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. Something to do with being laid up after knee surgery, I guess. And one of the things I’ve been thinking about is “who is our customer?” I think I have a basic idea. But it’s funny how the picture I get ends up looking a lot like … me. So, I’m hoping to get your – our customer’s – input.

Here’s my list of traits so far (in no particular order):

Likes to make things for other people (e.g., gifts)
Will pay full price, but can’t pass up a deal
Prefers to work with high quality items
Is always willing to learn a new technique
Generally has several projects going at once (one mindless – t.v. watching, one complicated, one that they really don’t want to do but feel needs to be done)
Likes to stitch/knit/crochet with other people and talk
Responds to beauty – colors, textures
Time is at a premium – there’s never enough of it!

You will probably have noticed that I didn’t put in any traditional demographic info (e.g., age, sex, income, etc). There are so many exceptions in our environment, that I’ve just avoided pigeonholing in that way.

So, what would you like to add to the list?

november 3k club perks

admin — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 20:21:41 +0000

We have a new perk pattern for the month of November. Boot cuffs seem to be everywhere this fall – in magazines, in stores, on the street. Jane has designed a quick and easy Cabled Boot Cuff that is available free to our 3K Club Members. If you’re not a member, you can purchase the pattern for only $3.00 in the store or online.

The pattern uses Plymouth Select Merino Superwash Chunky, but any smooth chunky weight yarn will do.

As always, we also have several trunk shows throughout the month, and 3K Club members have the opportunity to receive 20% off their purchases from these trunk shows. For needlepointers, we have the Jelly Bean Stock trunk show arriving soon. As always, trunk show canvases are 20% off for 3K Club members or 15% off for non-members. Here’s one of the fabulous canvases I’m hoping to see.

For knitters, we are showcasing two local designers. Cid Hanscom’s sweet little dolls from Purl: the Little Knit Girl are in the store now.

On November 4, Cid will be at the store from 1-3pm to sign this new book or any of her other patterns. All Cid patterns, including Purl: the Little Knit Girl, will be 20% for 3K Club members or 15% off for non-members.

On November 5th, Lori Ihnen’s items from her new book,Colorwork for Adventurous Knitters, will be put up on display.

Lori will sign books on Sunday, November 18, from 1-3pm. Once again, Colorwork for Adventurous Knitters will be available during the trunk show for 20% off for 3K Club members or 15% off for non-members.

rasha’s old forge baby blanket

admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 19:58:28 +0000

One day our customer Rasha came into the store seeking some help. She had seen a version of Stephen West’s Old Forge blanket which used 3 colors instead of just 2, and she loved the look, but she wanted to make a baby blanket. Old Forge uses worsted weight yarn, and it is a full sized (65” Diameter) blanket. So we discussed what to do, and I suggested she use a lighter yarn and smaller needles to size the blanket down. In the end we choose Dale of Norway’s Baby Ull because it is machine washable and comes in a ton of colors. We did some quick math and figured out that she could do the pattern as written and it should be perfect. Of course, it was hard to know how many skeins to buy, so we guessed and hoped for the best. In the end she used 1 skein of pink, 2 skeins of lavender and 5 skeins of the dark purple.

And it turned out FANTASTIC. Give it a gander:

Rasha with her fabulous blanket!

Always remember that there is more than one way to resize a pattern and that you are in charge of what you knit. You can make any pattern yours with just a few simple changes.

~ Cecilia