Julia White opens Studio Yarn craft shop in Gympie region town Cooran

A local mum has found a way to turn her lifelong hobby into a business, where she hopes to inspire and unite people of all ages through an age old skill that has become ‘retro’.

Julia White has been crocheting ever since she was taught by her grandmother as a little girl and now the Tewantin-based mum has realised her lifelong dream of opening her very own craft shop.

After walking through the small town of Cooran with her fiance, Ms White said she fell in love with the friendly atmosphere and saw the empty store for lease.

“I saw the shop was for rent and thought it would be perfect and that was five weeks ago,” she said.

“My partner and I decided lets just go for it and do it so here I am.”

Studio Yarn opened its doors on September 1, 2021, selling all things craft to the local area.

Five weeks later and Ms White is all set up in her welcoming store, Studio Yarn, which is fully stocked with colourful yarns and craft supplies.

Ms White said there are plenty of crafters in the area but nowhere local for them to purchase supplies.

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“There’s nothing like this shop in the area unless you go to Gympie or Yandina,” she said.

“It’s really exciting and I think in this little community the word will get around.”

Ms White said the reaction so far has been “amazing”, with the power of Facebook helping in spreading the news.

Ms White said she will have a few pieces on sale but most are for inspiration to show the customers what they can achieve.

“I just put my first post up last night to the local community groups just to let them know I’m here and the reaction has been crazy,” she said.

“There’s been a lot of interest and with the way things are at the moment it will unite people, but craft can also be for if they need that quiet time or relaxation.”

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Ms White explained how crocheting was becoming popular again as people had more time on their hands to take up hobbies.

“People are having to find more things to do because they are not able to get out,” she said.

“It never stops though, once you get hooked that’s it.”

All the supplies are ready to be snapped up in store and will soon be available online as well.

Ms White said she will eventually have classes running during the school holidays and for people of all ages and genders to learn how to crochet and knit.

“There’s just endless possibilities to it and you don’t have to be making clothes,” she said.

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“You can crochet wherever, I sit on the beach and crochet sometimes, round a campfire even,” she said.

Ms White said she is looking forward to getting her website up and running so she can eventually do online sales and classes.