Loop’s 1st Anniversary:

Well, it has been some year for Loop! Opening it’s doors for the 1st time just a year ago( 16 July 2005) it really has grown from strength to strength. The reception that we got has been pretty great and all the incredibly hard work that running a shop entails is well worth it when a new person comes in to the shop and is as happy as a kid in a candy shop!

In the first 6 months of being open it has been voted by Elle Decoration as being one of the hottest new shops in the UK as well as by Time Out magazine as one of the top 100 shops in all of London.

 I can’t tell you how much this has meant to us and how incredibly proud we are of this. It really is a tribute to all the people that are involved in the shop- the great and supportive people that work at loop as well as the part time teachers (we have a huge extensive list of workshops on offer throughout the year now fro beginners, fairisle and socks to experimental knitting, felting with Juju Vail and creature worskshops with Julie Arkell). It’s also a reflection of the people that supply Loop with their beautiful yarns and haberdashery.

 I never stop searching for gorgeous knitting supplies as well as quirky designer homeware, toys and haberdashery. It really means a lot to me to be able to showcase new and young designer-makers who might otherwise not have their work get the exposure it deserves.

The press coverage that Loop has generated has taken us by surprise! The shop has been featured in many magazines around the world as well as

on television in its' first year (BBC 1's Inside Out, a Channel 4 news feature and German television) I think that this is great for knitting in general and everyone that’s involved with it as it shows knitting in a great light and generates interest and hopefully, inspires more people to take an interest-either as new knitters or people returning to the craft after many years.

In May 2006 we launched Loop's online shop (www.loop.gb.com) so that the rest of the UK and elsewhere could shop at Loop. This was a huge endeavor which I couldn’t have done without the huge help of my husband Steven. What a year!

Loop, 41 Cross Street, Islington, London N1 2BB

Tel: 020 7288 1160

Click here for Loop's website

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