The young lady who runs the yarn shop in Much Wenlock took the business on in her early twenties, now seven years on we catch up with to find out more about here and her gorgeous little shop: Ippikin.
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00:00Mollie Laycock, how are you? I'm good thank you. So we're here in Much Wenlock and this is your little shop?
00:09It is yeah, I've had it nearly seven years now. Now it's called Ipikin? Yes. Where's that name come from?
00:14So we've got a lot of like local myths and legends here and Ipikin Rock is one of our local hills,
00:20but there was a story of a highway bandit who used to obviously put all of his jewels and belongings into one of the caves
00:27and now it's a local myth that if you go on the walks you'll find the hidden cave of jewels on Ipikin Rock.
00:32And everyone always comes in here and says it's a cave of colour, so like Aladdin's cave, but it's our local version.
00:38Ipikin's cave. So you started here as a Saturday girl, is that right?
00:43Yes, so I worked for Lesley and Paul as a Saturday girl when I was probably about 14, 15 and ended up coming back and buying it and having my own shop.
00:54That's mad isn't it? You know, if you had a flashback to when you were 14, 15 and said this will be yours one day, you'd have been, what?
01:01It's done, yeah. I can't believe it really, but it's worked out for the best and I have a job that I love.
01:07So how old were you when you took it on for yourself? It was my 23rd birthday the day I bought the shop.
01:12I mean, you know, at 23 I think I was still going out at Wolverhampton, no big ties or commitments, you know, responsibilities.
01:19That's a lot to take on as a young lady.
01:21Yeah, but I've learned so much through it and I've also met wonderful people.
01:25Like a lot of my really good friends I've met through the shop.
01:28It's a bit of a community and a social hub and I think that's what I love about it.
01:32Yeah. Now I was saying, oh, if you had a bit more space, I suppose you could get a few in.
01:36But how young I was, this counter top, like a transformer, a bigger top goes on it.
01:42You have knit and knatter sessions and you've even had up to how many people in here?
01:47I think the most we had was 25 at a knit and knatter group.
01:50That was full, so we do not have as many as that now.
01:53But normally we get about 15 to 16 people come to our knit and knatter groups.
01:57Yeah. So go on, fill us in then.
01:59So you sell everything and anything for the world of knitting?
02:04And crochet.
02:05And crochet. And then just fill us in about some of those extra side things then.
02:08So knit and knatter, that's where people come in with their own projects and stuff?
02:12Yeah, it's more of a social group.
02:13So you can bring whatever project you're working on, whether it's knitting, crochet, some people could bring embroidery, sewing.
02:19But it's just a social really.
02:21And obviously I'm here to help if people do need a bit of a hand with their projects.
02:24We also do a lot of workshops.
02:26So we do evening ones, Sunday and Saturday ones.
02:30And they can range from learning to knit, learning to crochet, to like advanced techniques.
02:34So knitting your own jumper, colour work, like we do this jumper as a three part, knit along, all sorts really.
02:41Yeah. And you've had a one to one session this morning, didn't you?
02:45So you were at the back table there doing a bit of work.
02:48That jumper there, you said that's one you've made, isn't it?
02:51That's one I've recently finished.
02:53It's our most popular course at the moment.
02:56Fantastic.
02:57So how did you get it?
02:59Was it just for a Saturday job and you hadn't had anything to do with knitting when you were younger?
03:04Or was your mum knitting at home?
03:06So my mum is a really, really, really good knitter.
03:10So she taught me to knit really.
03:12And when I was, I'd say like 13, we went on a family holiday with another family.
03:17And I just decided I was going to knit everybody a hat.
03:20Wow.
03:21So I gave myself three weeks and I think I knitted probably about 12 hats.
03:25And everyone, we all had the same hat but different colours.
03:28And then I studied textiles and just sort of my love continued really.
03:33And working here when I was a teenager, I just loved.
03:36And it just really grew from there.
03:39Yeah, it's a lovely place, much went look, isn't it?
03:41You get kind of, you know, just as I was walking down the street, there was one lady,
03:44hello Mrs Jones and all, you know, that kind of.
03:46Everyone knows everyone.
03:47Yeah.
03:48It's a really small tight knit community.
03:49Yeah.
03:50Tight knit.
03:51Exactly.
03:52Q to put.
03:53So you're open when?
03:54When are your opening times?
03:56We're open Monday to Saturday, 10 till 5.
03:59Yeah.
04:00On Wednesdays, it's half day because we tend to have workshops.
04:02So we close at three and then tend to have workshops up into the evening.
04:06Yeah.
04:07And then we have evening courses.
04:08And obviously our Knitter Natter, they tend to be 5 till 7 or 5.30 till 7.30.
04:13So I'm just trying to figure in, so where's your days off then?
04:16My day off is a Sunday.
04:18And then I'll have a random day off in the week where Maddy or Moira will work those days.
04:23Yeah.
04:24Yeah.
04:25So it's quite full on, isn't it?
04:26Yeah.
04:27As far as you have time to knit anything yourself.
04:29Well, I mean, you've got to fit it in.
04:31Yeah.
04:32Yeah.
04:33Well, thank you for inviting us down.
04:34It's a beautiful little shop and good luck in business.
04:37Thank you very much.