Namaste Inc.

I had the chance to interview Kathy Elkins, one of the owners of WEBS, who is also a long time Namaste retailer.  Married duo Steve & Kathy Elkins own WEBS together and the couple are as charming as they are dynamic.  I personally found getting to know Kathy and WEBS to be educational, super fun and interesting…. enjoy

Namaste (Kelly):  When did you open the doors for your store?

Kathy:  WEBS – America’s Yarn Store was founded in 1974 by Barbara Elkins (Steve’s mom) & a partner in the basement of Barbara’s home.

Namaste:  What did you all previously do before opening the store?

Kathy:  Before owning WEBS, Barbara was a stay -at-home Mom and has a degree in Library Science.  Steve & I took over from Barbara & Steve’s dad Art in 2002.  Prior to that Steve was Director of On-Premise Sales for Pepsi and Kathy was Director of Marketing for Tommy Hilfiger Footwear.

Namaste:  What inspired you and Steve to take the company over?  How did it all come about?

Kathy:  Steve’s parents had asked us a couple of times in the late 90’s if we were interested in joining the business but we were living in Boston, had both just gotten our MBA’s and had jobs we loved.  We couldn’t imagine leaving Boston and moving to Western Mass (which is rural-ish).  In Fall of 2001 Steve’s parents told us they had an interested buyer for the business and they were going to sell, unless we had any interest in taking it over.  At this point, we were living in CT, I was at home with our 2 sons who were just babies and Steve was working a million hours for Pepsi.  Suddenly, owning a yarn store in Western Mass sounded like a great idea.  I was convinced pretty easily, Steve took a little work but in early 2002 we made the move and have never looked back.  I would also say that on a more subconscious  level, both Steve & believe that the events of 9/11 also influenced our decision.

Namaste:  Can you tell us a bit about what made you start your own business, and what your business is all about, in general?

Kathy:  Barbara is a life-long weaver and fibercrafter.  She founded WEBS to feed her need for yarn.  WEBS started out focused on weaving.  Barbara & her partner taught students how to weave and allowed them to rent their looms and take them home.  After a few years, the Elkins’ wanted their basement back, Barbara’s partner had moved on and she found a small, below-street-level space in downtown Amherst, MA.  That space was quickly outgrown and Barbara & Art bought a Victorian House in downtown Amherst and moved the business there.  By this time they had added knitting yarns to the mix, had been aggressively buying mill end weaving yarns, began sourcing their own weaving yarns and started mail order.  In 1992, they moved the business to Northampton to the location we are currently in.

Namaste:  What is your favorite thing about your store?

Kathy:  Our favorite thing about our store is definitely out customers.  We are so lucky to have a wonderful community of knitters, crocheters, weavers and spinners.  Many live locally but many travel to us – sometimes several times per year, others might just make a single pilgrimage.

Namaste:  That’s neat!  Where do some of your customers travel from?

Kathy:  They come from all over the country & Canada.  We have customers from Europe visit too. My favorite is the flight attendant based in Detroit, who used her miles to fly herself & her mom to Hartford (our closest airport) to shop for the day and then flew home!

Another time we had a woman from out in the Midwest visit with her “show” cat.  They were suppose to fly to either Switzerland or Sweden for some big competition but the cat’s papers weren’t in order and they weren’t able to go, so she and the cat came to WEBS!  The cat was gorgeous!

Namaste:  What is your favorite Namaste piece?

Kathy:  The Monroe Bag.  I have 3!

Namaste:  That’s quite a collection!  Which colors do you have and what makes this your favorite Namaste bag?

Kathy:  I own it in Lime Green, Black & Red.  I love the shape, I love the pockets and overall functionality, I love how nicely it sits on my shoulder.  I love the length to height ratio for traveling (fits nicely under the seat in front of me).  It’s perfect for knitting but I often use it as my briefcase for work – I carried the Lime Green one all summer.

Namaste:  Why were you attracted to the Namaste line?

Kathy:  The Namaste line has a wonderful fashion sense but is still functional.  The products are very well constructed but they are also very affordable.

Namaste:  How does the Namaste product line fit in overall with WEBS products?

Kathy:  Namaste is a perfect fit for our store.  We carry other higher end bags which are also lovely, but Namaste is one of our most popular brands.

Namaste:  Who are most of your customers?

Kathy:  We have a very broad customer based though it’s predominantly female.  Our customers are passionate about their fiber pursuits whether they are novices or experts.

Namaste:  What would you say is the key to the success of WEBS?

Kathy:  We offer a great selection of products, we provide exceptional customer service and we value each of customers.

Namaste:  If you have a motto, what is it?

Kathy:  It’s all about the customer!

Namaste:  Good motto- and one to stick by!  Can you tell me about some “lessons learned” from an experienced businesswoman such as yourself?

Kathy:

• Pay attention to your customers and listen to them.  Casual conversations can often yield info about things you are doing well and not well, without the customer really realizing they are giving you such valuable feedback.
• Surround yourself with the best people – no matter how good you are, you can’t know everything or do everything yourself.  Get the best people possible, empower them to do what they do best.
• Mistakes are going to happen – what sets the good companies apart from the rest is how they deal with and correct the mistakes.
• And personally for me – reminding myself that life is about balance. Fortunately,  our two boys help keep me in check in that department.  This becomes more and more important to me with each passing year.  I love what I do but I’ll miss a deadline rather than miss a hockey game, baseball game, band concert or play that one of the boys is participating in.

Namaste:  What are the roles that you and Steve play in the company?

Kathy:  Steve is the Ops/Finance guy – he oversees shipping, receiving, physical plant and the finances.  I oversee the shop, Valley Yarns & design and all of the marketing & advertising.  I also handle HR but only because I lost the coin toss on that one!

Namaste:  Can you tell us more about the WEBS team and what a day at WEBS is like?

Kathy:  We have an awesome, eclectic group that works here.  A combination of full & part-time folks, a good mix of females & males, 60% or so are fiberartists of one form or another and most are very overeducated due to the fact we have 5 colleges/universities within a 20 minute radius of the shop.  We have students working part-time, college grads in their first real job, stay at home moms back in the workforce and retirees looking for a few hours a week to do something and be able to buy yarn!

Most days here are pretty frenetic – the store is almost always busy and the shipping & customer service departments are as well.  There’s always some show and tell of projects each morning before we open.  At least once a month on Fridays we have a special “themed” lunch or Free Lunch Friday.  We’ve had chili cook-offs, pie contests, etc.  We love food and we’re a competitive group!

Namaste:  Fun sounds like it’s part of your recipe- something we believe strongly in at Namaste.  Love it!

Kathy:  We do like to have fun!  Our Office Manager has instituted a yearly “Field Day” each fall.  This is her baby and if you don’t attend, you must deal with her wrath!  We do all the silly games but with a yarn twist when possible – this year rather than the egg race (egg on a spoon) we used beads from our Bead Store.  We do a “yarn-put” toss using a huge cone of yarn.  It’s silly and fun – a big cook-out afterwards.

Lessons learned by Kathy are some inspiring words and certainly ones to remember.  It’s my opinion that Kathy should write a book with this title!  There you go Kathy, as if you haven’t got enough on your plate .  It was really great to get to know Kathy and the team at WEBS.  Next time you’re in their neck of the woods, stop by, you won’t be disappointed!

Namaste…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.