This year has been challenging for everyone, but could you imagine opening up a new business?

Miranda Holmes owner and operator of String Theory Yarn opened her shop in downtown Fergus two weeks ago today (Oct. 1).

The Fergus native says the Business Improvement Area (BIA) in Centre Wellington is very supportive, as well as her aunt, Debb Greer, who owns The Bookery downtown.

“The whole community has been really supportive here, and I really felt like that was what I would need to be successful during these COVID-19 times, and I wanted it to be more of a community-based place,” Holmes said.

Holmes says she would not get that in a bigger city, such as Guelph or Kitchener, because you don’t have that same connection that you would have in a smaller community like Fergus.

She says the biggest struggle with opening her business during COVID-19 is the inability to allow the community connection and to host classes.

“There is so much interest in classes right now [because] people are starving to do something new and interesting because of COVID-18," Holmes said. "So, that’s been hard because that would help bring people in and [they could] get to know me, and the space, and enjoy it.”

Holmes says the other thing that is hard is the uncertainty on whether or not she will be able to stay open.

An inside look of the String Theory Yarn shop downtown Fergus, Ont. Photo by: Kayla Kreutzberg

The reason she opened a yarn shop is because she says there’s something about getting a new skein of yarn, one that really speaks to you.

“There’s a certain joy and I guess because it’s a very tactile [experience]," Holmes said. "There’s the softness, the feel and the colour that speaks to you, and then what you could do with it, and so all that possibility in there."

Holmes says she knows the sense of happiness she gets from her own stash of yarn.

“I just felt like that was something I would like to have in my life as part of my job, is to help bring that same feeling to other people and enjoy the community connection that the fibre arts have,” she said.

She adds there’s only so much Netflix people can watch right now, so try something new and check out String Theory Yarn.

Miranda Holmes owner and operator of String Theory Yarn: