Nina Saarinen, 38, has opened Villa Wool Shop on Saville Street in North Shields, offering a modern take on the heritage craft of knitting. The shop stocks wools and yarns from Finland, Norway, and other European countries, with plans to expand its range.
From Coffee to Wool
Originally from Finnish Lapland, Saarinen has lived on Tyneside for over a decade. She left a career in speciality coffee to pursue her passion for knitting, which she learned at school around age eight. She said: "I've always been a knitter, and quite heavily for the last ten years or so. I wanted to be involved in this sphere some other way so the shop was a logical next step."
Saarinen took business classes and courses to develop her idea, which moved forward quickly. She also co-founded a knitting club in Newcastle called Yarn & Yap. The name Villa is the Finnish word for wool.
A Community Space
The former bike shop has been refurbished with help from friends and family. Saarinen hopes it will become a community focal point. "I wanted to establish a modern wool shop in the North East," she said. "If you look at places like Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and even London, there are wool shops galore. I wanted to do a more modern take, with the added element of it being a community space."
The shop aims to make knitting accessible, allowing customers to see and feel materials they might not encounter online. Saarinen plans to run workshops in the future, with start-up funding from North Tyneside Council.
Renewed Interest in Knitting
Saarinen noted that social media has helped younger generations take up knitting. "There's stuff happening with knitting now that I could have never imagined," she said. "Knitting goes far back, especially around seaside towns with their own patterns and knits. It's a heritage thing for me, not only because I'm in North Shields but because I'm from Finland, and it connects me to the past."
Villa Wool Shop is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. It officially opens on July 4, with tea and coffees available to customers.
