Berlin Welcomes First Yarn Shop

BERLIN -- People are anything but shy about A Little Bit Sheepish, according to owner Brenda Trice, who said that Berlin has been incredibly welcoming to the yarn shop since it opened in the fall.

“I do have some repeat customers already and some groups that have started coming in just to casually come and knit, which is what those areas in the front are for,” she said.

Trice, a former Spanish teacher at Stephen Decatur High School, revealed she opened Sheepish because of her desire to share her personal hobby with Berlin.

“I do knit and crochet and it’s just been a lifelong dream to open a shop,” she said.

The store serves as a bit of a hybrid between stocking room and cozy den for local enthusiasts. It features couches and a warm environment for those who want to work and hundreds of yarns and knitting supplies for take-home hobbyists. Trice’s supply runs from every end of the spectrum and back again in terms of costs and material rarity.

“I’m trying to carry local and regional yarns … I’m carrying affordable all the way to luxury yarns,” she said.

The range in yarns encompasses local suppliers from the Eastern Shore and western Maryland as well as material from foreign markets in Europe and elsewhere, according to Trice. The wide variety in regions also means that Sheepish has yarn for the cost-conscious beginner as well as the more experienced hobbyist willing to spend extra for higher quality.

Sheepish offers more than needles, yarn and a place to sit for interested beginners and veterans, Trice added.

“So we’ll be expanding in that sense already in that we’re going to start offering classes both for beginners and for the more experienced,” she said.

Classes begin in January and will start with the basics, teaching the stiches and techniques needed to get off the ground running.

“Each class adds a new skill so that by the time you’re done taking all 12 classes you’ll have enough skill to make a sweater,” promised Trice.

She admitted that getting into knitting and crochet requires an investment of time and effort, but asserted the payoff is certainly worth it for anyone in need of a hobby.

“It can be challenging at the very beginning until you begin to learn the techniques but absolutely for relaxation it’s a great thing to do. It’s very therapeutic,” she said.

While people are getting cozy in her shop, Trice said that Sheepish is equally cozy in Berlin and the Main Street location in particular. Some expansion may be in the cards one day, she continued, but with only a few months open, Sheepish seems to be perfect just the way it is.

“Certainly, in the future, if we do well I would consider expansion,” she said, “but this is good for right now. For my first venture I’m happy with the space I have now. And it’s in a perfect location.”