Yarn Store Visit: Lion Brand Yarn Studio, New York City

During my recent trip to New York City, I had the opportunity to visit the Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Located at 34 W. 15th Street, this beautiful retail establishment really lives up to its name as a working "Studio" for fiber artists. The studio is not only a shop, but a comfortable, open space that showcases the wide selection of yarns that Lion Brand offers, including its delicious LB Luxury Fibers. It also has a large worktable where knitters and crocheters learn and gather.

The staff was friendly and helpful, not only to me, but others as well, as I overheard the kind and sincere manner with which one of the staff took with another customer who had a multitude of questions about choosing the right yarn for her project. Patience is certainly a virtue, and those at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio are great examples of this.

Upon entering the store, I was greeted with this beautiful display of fisherman's wool in a myriad of natural hues surrounded by beautiful finished objects completed in the various wools offered. Two particular color combinations of a darker brown/tan caught my eye, as did the sale sign! (Four skeins in the shopping basket!)

Seeing the beautiful scarves and cabled sweaters made me wish I lived in the northeast where the weather warrants wearing knitwear for a longer period throughout the year. I'm sure those who endure 5 months of Winter would disagree, but I was truly inspired by the beautiful projects displayed next to their woolen source fibers.

Another extremely cool feature of this one-of-a-kind shop is their Sampling Wall. Large spindles of different weight Lion Brand yarn are available (as you can see in the photo). Here you can trim off a small length of yarn and at a nearby table, pick-up an available knitting needle or crochet hook to see how the yarn you may be interested in would look when knit or crocheted.

This is one of the features that really made this feel like a working artists studio - its hands-on approach to yarn selection made shopping here truly a unique and enjoyable experience.

Of course, the opposite wall to the displays pictured here features nothing but a wide array of beautiful yarn of various weights that represent the full expanse of the Lion Brand portfolio. From cotton to cashmere, Lion Brand has something for everyone...and in addition to the four skeins of fisherman's wool I purchased here, I also found 2 additional skeins of Lion Brand cotton - one in Denim, one in Salt & Pepper, that I know will make beautiful dishcloths!

The best part of the experience was, as I was checking out at the register, the gentleman working there (Will, I think, was his name) graciously shared information about upcoming classes and also noted there was a monthly Men's Knitting Night offered at the Studio! It was at this moment I truly wished I lived nearby, as a Men's Knitting Night is offered nowhere near where I reside.

After about 45 minutes of exquisite wandering and shopping in this metropolitan fiber oasis, I took my 6 skeins of yarn and a couple of pattern books and reluctantly exited the Studio.

Walking down the street, I took one last look back at this wonderful place, and thought to myself, "I shall return."