Have you ever wondered what it was like owning your own yarn shop? Sounds super fun, right? Picking out yarn all day and researching new dyers would be the best job ever! But, when you really think about Eat.Sleep.Knit., all of this is Erin’s. Every wall, skein of yarn, needle & notion, shelf, pillow, photograph, desk, tape gun…every carpet fiber is hers. What is that truly like? The excitement and fun that we have is what we love to portray because, really, we have fun here but Erin wears so many hats that she might need to clone herself. Read along as we give you a glimpse into a day in the life of a LYS owner – the defeats, the joys, the fire alarms, and the victories!

Herding Kitties 

Erin has the pleasure of trying to herd 9 kitties. Admittedly, we can be a handful. She has to make sure we are all on task, keeping things running smoothly, and, the thing that’s most important to her, making sure we are all taken care of. From day one, her main priority has been making sure all of her employees are happy which involves a lot. Salaries, health care, job security, general happiness at work are all things that Erin makes sure are covered for us. It’s rare to have a boss like that but these are the things that make us come to work every day with a smile on our faces ready to work hard for her!

Ordering

Erin places yarn orders every week – most of the time, every day. It takes a special skill to know how much to order, when to order, what new dyers to add, what new colors will sell, when to discontinue certain bases, and keeping track of it all. She has it down to a science but so much of her time is spent filling up HER cart so she can keep yours full too!

Building a Building 

As you have probably have heard, Erin is building her very own building from the ground up! From clearing the land to picking carpet, she is all hands on deck to make this an efficient-for-ESK and, frankly, super awesome yarn shop. Here are some of her regular duties: talking to the contractor at all hours of the day, dealing with delays like the construction crew bringing in a too-small crane that won’t lift the roof trusses onto the building, and making little decisions that add up to BIG decisions like picking out brick for the exterior or deciding where windows should go. Then, there are the completely unexpected surprises that arise like rain delays or a sinkhole that needs to be filled. Yes, at the end of this process we will have a perfect new building but getting there has definitely been a headache for our chief kitty.

Having a Life

Erin has a darling family that she loves spending time with. Seeing Levi and Molly grow is really what keeps her going. They are both in preschool now, walking & talking, and becoming tiny humans with feelings and needs and A LOT of adorableness. Then there’s her handsome husband, Dan, who she adores but, being a LYS owner, she might get 2 date nights per year. Family will always come first for her and building this new store so close to her home will allow for more memories to be made at the Walker house!

Behind the Scenes

There are so many things that we don’t really notice around the shop that just get…done. Who does them? Erin. She basically manages 5 departments and takes care of the important but forgotten things like: paying the bills, filling out tax forms, payroll, back-end website magic, credit card fraud, banking, stocking boxes & supplies, ordering prizes, customer service, and a million other things that keep this place running.

Firewoman

When things go wrong, we call Erin. The roof is leaking, we call Erin. The internet debacle of 2016, we called Erin. Crystal Springs didn’t deliver our water, we call Erin. We should invest in a red phone (or probably a rainbow phone since, hello, we’re ESK) so we can always have a direct connection. I’m sure when she’s snuggled in with the kids watching a movie, she would like to unplug that phone but, nonetheless, she is always there to put out the fires.

Basically, Erin does it all. At the end of the day, we are a team and we all work together to make sure everything gets done, no doubt, but we thought it would be nice to give Erin a big thank you. Thank you for sacrificing so much of your life so the kitties can have a wonderful place to work and our customers can have a favorite yarn shop. We see how much you do and appreciate it more than you know! If you’d like, leave Erin a thank you note in the comment section below!