A year ago, we reported in this magazine that Kate was planning to retire from running the Needlecraft Haberdashery in Town Green. Happily we can now share that new owner Karen Elfarsi is well settled and enjoying life on our high street.

Karen had been running her own curtain making business in Rutland for many years before Needlecraft came up for sale. Her son, Kieran Bullen, has been landlord of The White Hart since 2019. He pointed out the opportunity for her to expand her business and come live closer to him and his wife Kayleigh.

Together Karen and Kieran submitted the winning bid to take over Needlecraft, and since getting the keys they’ve been refreshing the interiors and taking stock of customers' preferences. The shop is well stocked with everything from fabrics and wool to scissors, hooks, needles and elastics. Soon Karen will be off to a trade show in Birmingham to pick out exciting new products for crafting, sewing, crocheting and knitting.

You might think the shop only caters to an older demographic, but Karen tells me there is also a lot of interest from young kids. “We’ve had some as young as 7 doing crochet which is really good. We have special patterns with 25g balls of chenille for making little animals which they love.”

Karen also explained how her customers find benefits to their mental health through these pursuits: “It just makes you feel better doesn’t it? When you’ve made something good from nothing or recycled something old into something new. People love coming in and showing us what they’ve made, we’ve seen some of the most amazing things.”

In addition to her handmade curtain making service, the shop continues to offer mending and alteration services as well as sewing machine repairs. A variety of workshops are planned in the coming months so make sure and pop in to see what’s new.