Focus On... EWE & PLY
These sister yarn shops in Shropshire offer unique local yarns as well as special ranges from around the world
TERI EVANS and Becca Tansley are the women behind Ewe & Ply, the twin yarn shops based in Oswestry and Shrewsbury in Shropshire. As well as stocking a wide choice of gorgeous yarns, they produce their very own yarn range, Shropshire Ply, which is spun from the fleeces of their own flock and other local sheep. We chatted with Becca and Teri about their yarny life.
How did you come to run Ewe & Ply? “We both come from families with a strong make-do-and-mend ethic - lots of making at home, lots of self-sufficiency. Later on, after careers centring on caring (Teri as a medical herbalist, and Becca as a mental health nurse) we needed new jobs that gave us something back. We decided to go with the stuff that makes us both happy: wool.”
What brands of yarns, needles and notions do you stock? “For such small shops, we think we have an impressive range. From the UK we stock West Yorkshire Spinners, New Lanark, Jamieson & Smith, Jamieson’s of Shetland, Frangipani, Merchant and Mills, Textile Garden, Crowood Press, Search Press, the Shetland Wool Adventures Journal, The Mulberry Dyer, Emma Ball, Kate Davies Designs, Fyberspates, and JC Rennie.
“From further afield we have KnitPro, Opal, Schoppel, Hjertegarn, Onion, Nurturing Fibres, Pascuali di Filati, Maison Sajou, Laine, and CaMaRose. We even have an impressive range of goods from local producers, such as hand-turned wooden darning mushrooms and needle cases, ceramic buttons and yarn bowls, fabric needle cases, mugs - and of course, our very own and very lovely Shropshire Ply, spun from local fleeces.
“Customers can expect to be greeted warmly and to be offered assistance. We work hard to make sure that anyone who loves to knit, hook, stitch or play with wool can find something lovely within the budget that they have.”
Can you tell us about the team you have working with you? “Team Ewe & Ply outwardly appears to consist of two full-time members (Becca and Teri) and one part-time (Amanda). This of course is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes are some very keen volunteers, a bunch of friends who have been known to help out in all sorts of ways (best of these are KnitClub, who have the responsibility of naming all our LegEnds sock yarn colourways), and of course Romy Designs who does our printing and design work and helps make us look good.”
