BERLIN– Brenda Trice and her yarn store A Little Bit Sheepish are the latest success story in America’s Coolest Small Town.
After less than two years in business the shop, located at 2 South Main Street, is set to expand into the space formerly occupied by re:Fresh Media.
Opened in November 2012, Trice said opening her own business was “a lifelong desire.”
“I was a teacher in Charles County and then here in Worcester County, and I decided it was finally time to either do it or stop talking about it,” she said. Her mother taught her how to crochet, and she picked up knitting from a friend five or six years ago. Customers can find Trice’s handiwork all over the shop, from handbags and sweaters to ponchos, shawls and socks.
A Little Bit Sheepish specializes in knitting and crochet supplies, including patterns, buttons and needles, and even locally-dyed yarn. The shop also offers classes.
“I had a lady who was just in here a few minutes ago that wants to learn how to knit, so I made arrangements for a private lesson with her in the morning,” Trice said. “She’ll come in before we open and I’ll do a private lesson.”
Group lessons are held each Tuesday.
“We have different classes, with a top down sweater, a how-to-fix-your-mistakes class, a class on your first hat and a class on how to do lace knitting in May,” Trice said.
Expansion of the store will begin on May 15 with a grand reopening planned for Memorial Day weekend.
“I’ve agreed with my landlady on the lease upstairs,” Trice said. “re:Fresh is moving to West Ocean City, so we’re going to expand into the upstairs with a nice ‘sit and knit’ lounge as well as two different areas for classes, and about a third of the yard will go upstairs as well so we can better spread it out and display what we have. There’s great natural light up there for people to sit and work on projects. We’re real excited about it.”
Like many businesses owners in downtown Berlin, Trice has enjoyed a steady increase in traffic since the town was named “America’s Coolest” by Budget Travel magazine.
“We’ve seen more and more couples that have come into town and have commented that they had seen we had received that honor,” she said. “We’ve had several couples from Lititz, Pennsylvania, which was the coolest town last year, who have confirmed that it really brought a lot of tourism to them. So, we’re hopeful.”
Trice is also looking forward to participating in many of the upcoming events Berlin has scheduled during the summer, including the town’s monthly 2nd Friday art strolls.
“There used to be a gallery upstairs before re:Fresh was there and one of the artists that showed in that gallery is Randy Hofman, and you see his work is all around the shop,” she said. “So we’ve continued that tradition of trying to marry art that was already existing in the town with fiber art, which we brought to the town. With the expansion I’m hoping to draw another artist or two to come in and to display in the upstairs since it’s such a beautiful space so that we can continue to be partners with the art stroll.”
For more information call 410-641-1080 or visit www.alittlebitsheepish.com.
After less than two years in business the shop, located at 2 South Main Street, is set to expand into the space formerly occupied by re:Fresh Media.
Opened in November 2012, Trice said opening her own business was “a lifelong desire.”
“I was a teacher in Charles County and then here in Worcester County, and I decided it was finally time to either do it or stop talking about it,” she said. Her mother taught her how to crochet, and she picked up knitting from a friend five or six years ago. Customers can find Trice’s handiwork all over the shop, from handbags and sweaters to ponchos, shawls and socks.
A Little Bit Sheepish specializes in knitting and crochet supplies, including patterns, buttons and needles, and even locally-dyed yarn. The shop also offers classes.
“I had a lady who was just in here a few minutes ago that wants to learn how to knit, so I made arrangements for a private lesson with her in the morning,” Trice said. “She’ll come in before we open and I’ll do a private lesson.”
Group lessons are held each Tuesday.
“We have different classes, with a top down sweater, a how-to-fix-your-mistakes class, a class on your first hat and a class on how to do lace knitting in May,” Trice said.
Expansion of the store will begin on May 15 with a grand reopening planned for Memorial Day weekend.
“I’ve agreed with my landlady on the lease upstairs,” Trice said. “re:Fresh is moving to West Ocean City, so we’re going to expand into the upstairs with a nice ‘sit and knit’ lounge as well as two different areas for classes, and about a third of the yard will go upstairs as well so we can better spread it out and display what we have. There’s great natural light up there for people to sit and work on projects. We’re real excited about it.”
Like many businesses owners in downtown Berlin, Trice has enjoyed a steady increase in traffic since the town was named “America’s Coolest” by Budget Travel magazine.
“We’ve seen more and more couples that have come into town and have commented that they had seen we had received that honor,” she said. “We’ve had several couples from Lititz, Pennsylvania, which was the coolest town last year, who have confirmed that it really brought a lot of tourism to them. So, we’re hopeful.”
Trice is also looking forward to participating in many of the upcoming events Berlin has scheduled during the summer, including the town’s monthly 2nd Friday art strolls.
“There used to be a gallery upstairs before re:Fresh was there and one of the artists that showed in that gallery is Randy Hofman, and you see his work is all around the shop,” she said. “So we’ve continued that tradition of trying to marry art that was already existing in the town with fiber art, which we brought to the town. With the expansion I’m hoping to draw another artist or two to come in and to display in the upstairs since it’s such a beautiful space so that we can continue to be partners with the art stroll.”
For more information call 410-641-1080 or visit www.alittlebitsheepish.com.