As a frequent visitor to Arkansas over the years, Lorri Helberg fell in love with the beauty of the state. Then Lorri and her husband moved to Malvern in 2015. After making Malvern her “forever home,” she wanted to find a way to share the beauty of Arkansas with the world.
Lorri’s passion for knitting and the community of support it provided presented the perfect opportunity, and Arkansas Yarn Co. was born.
Yarn and fabric is a $31.5 billion industry and creates 112,300 jobs in the U.S., according to the National Council of Textile Organizations.
“Yarn is a big business, and I want to help make Arkansas an even bigger part of that global community,” Lorri said.
Arkansas Yarn Co. launched online and has grown rapidly in the two years since. Platforms such as Ravelry and Instagram enable “yarners” from across the globe to connect and share inspiration. In fact, Lorri’s first sale was to Australia.
Lorri has developed a strong following on social media, and she prides herself on having a one-to-one relationship with every customer and follower.
As word continued to spread online about the quality and uniqueness of the Arkansas Yarn Co. experience, it was only a matter of time before the business would need to establish roots and create a brick-and-mortar brand home. And that’s where Hallberg’s partnership with the Henderson State University ASBTDC began.
After she attended the center’s Small Business Startup Summit in February 2019, the HSU team assisted her with a business plan and financial projections. She purchased and began renovating the building she wanted to become her local storefront and professional dyeing workspace in downtown Malvern.
Once renovations were underway, ASBTDC helped Lorri develop a marketing plan and supporting materials for her grand opening.
She worked closely with Ellen Stiffler, ASBTDC’s business consultant specializing in marketing, in the weeks leading up to June 8, 2019.
From event planning to media outreach to social media to community engagement, the ASBTDC provided advice to make sure Lorri would have customers coming through her doors on her first day.
“Choosing to work with ASBTDC was the best business decision I’ve made! When you make the decision to open your business, it’s a great big world out there, and when you start to feel out of sorts, the ASBTDC is like your big brother, coming along to help you,” said Helberg. “I am so grateful for the guidance in preparing my business plan, assisting in my marketing plan and the continued follow-up to make sure that my business is successful. This has been such a pleasurable experience and I love to tell everyone that Arkansas Yarn Company is powered by ASBTDC!”
Both the grand opening and the Malvern Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting were well attended and led to a strong start in sales for the brick-and-mortar business. Arkansas Yarn Co. was named Best New Business in the Malvern Daily Record‘s 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards.
“I want this beautiful, historic building on Main Street in Malvern to become a destination where people can come together to create heirloom gifts and experience something wonderful,” she said. “Even if knitting is something you’ve never tried before, I hope our community and area visitors will feel welcome to come by to enjoy a cup of tea and spend time in our store to learn more about the art of yarn dyeing and check out our other unique gift items. Knitting has brought an overwhelming sense of community into my life, and I want to be able to share that type of bonding and encouragement with others.”