Bohemia Village Voice  Bohemia Village Voice

For bohemians everywhere

Karinas Wool Shop is one of last two in Hastings

Brenda Garnett - pleased with success of her shop.

Brenda Garnett - pleased with success of her shop.

The life of the average trader in Bohemia is sometimes not an easy one, so it always gives us great pleasure to report a thriving local business. Karina’s Wool Shop has been part of the landscape of Bohemia Road for almost thirty years, but the last few years have also seen a boom in trade that shop owner Brenda Garnett puts down to the changing world of fashion.
 Brenda opened her first shop in 1978 at 102 Bohemia Road. ‘I was just selling babywear and children’s wear,’ she says. ‘Then in 1980 we moved up to 131.’
 Over the years Brenda has had to adapt to survive, as the big supermarkets gradually extended their reach into all areas of retailing. ‘When Tesco’s started doing kids’ clothes, I couldn’t compete. I couldn’t even buy them in at the prices they were selling them at. So I gradually changed over to wool, and at first it was a reasonable living. At one point I had 12 knitters making things to order, though I no longer have anyone doing that.’
 The 1990s saw a fall in trade as knitwear fell out of fashion. ‘The sweatshirts and designer labels came in, and that knocked knitting a lot. It seemed very old-fashioned, and a generation whose mothers and grandmothers had knitted had no interest in doing it themselves. A lot of the knitting shops closed. Twenty-five years ago, there were more than a dozen in Hastings and St Leonards – now there’re just two.’
 Brenda admits that her business might also have disappeared if she hadn’t owned the shop, but she is now profiting from a new passion for knitting, with famous film stars declaring their love for the craft. ‘In the last two years business has boomed. Russell Crowe and Julia Roberts are both knitters. They say it’s stress-busting. And now there are all these specialist wools on the market for the fashion-conscious. As well as locals, I have customers who come from as far away as Seaford or Tunbridge Wells. And I’ve sold more kiddies’ knitting needles in the last two years than the previous twenty-five.’
 The wool shop is named after her daughter, and Brenda is particularly heartened to see young people taking up knitting. ‘There are a lot more younger customers since the fancy wools started. Some of them came in originally with their mothers, and now they’re bringing their own children. That’s very satisfying.’

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