Being a person who makes her living primarily from creating or advising people on the creation of websites, and also a person who has always wanted to own a little shop, I have a lot of opinions about what small businesses should be doing with their blogs. Most independent shops don’t have a blog, of course, and not every store should. Sadly, those that do have one are generally not sure why they do, or what they should be doing with it. So the blogs either sit dormant for long stretches of time, or you witness the staff fumbling around for something to post. It breaks my little web-nerb heart. So the Fancy Tiger Crafts blog makes me doubly happy: I love it on a personal level and also applaud it on a professional level.

If you haven’t heard of it (yet), Fancy Tiger is a yarn and fabric store in Denver. I’ve never been there but, having followed their blog for a while, I’m tempted to plan a trip to see my Denver friends and relations, all so I can meet the Fancy Tiger crew and fondle their Heirloom yarn. The blog is a great and steady mix of perfectly logical stuff that makes you wonder why every yarn store isn’t doing the same — updates on new products and classes, staff picks, what they’re making, what their customers are making, and of course an original pattern here and there. (I really love the latest one, the Guillemet Hat.) All done professionally but naturally and conversationally, so that visiting the blog feels a lot like having popped into the store for a chat. Well done, Fancy ladies, well done.

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