Behind the scenes at Scheepjes
We spend a day with Scheepjes’ creative director Simy Somer, talking bloggers, rebranding, CALs and more – all the ingredients that help the brand thrive.
For 22 years, Scheepjeswol yarns mostly disappeared from public view, only returning to the international stage in 2010. “Although it probably seems like a hiatus, production did continue,” explains the company’s creative director Simy Somer. “We mainly focused on our home market within the Benelux – an area comprising Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg – but a little over five years ago we took a long hard look at the brand and how we wanted to move it forward.”
This change is reflected in Scheepjes’ new tagline: Inspiration In Every Ball of Yarn. With a freshly defined focus of targeting a new generation of crafters and inspiring a more international audience, Simy and her team rebranded from Scheepjeswol to Scheepjes, giving the brand a complete makeover.
“The yarns received new ball bands and logos, a new website and social media pages followed, then an array of new yarns, colours and qualities. The latest step has been the introduction of our biannual YARN bookazine and After
Party booklets, introducing a new style of photography and styling for the company, giving us a distinct identity.”
A key part of the process involved organising Scheepjes’ yarns into a more crafter-friendly three-tier label system. “This means we have a yarn to suit most pockets,” says Simy. “Our black label yarns are for those on a smaller budget but who are seeking quality yarns at a good price. The Kraft label yarns are for the more creative crafters who require a larger colour range. Our white labels offer more luxurious yarns, often with unusual fibres such as alpaca or silk.
“Scheepjes offers everything from cotton to silk blended yarns. We tend to work more with blends, as we think carefully about the properties of our yarns and always consider their softness and workability. Blending fibres enables us to have the look and strength of a linen yarn with the softness of a cotton yarn, for example. We do, however, have a great range of pure cotton yarns.” As crocheters, this wide range of fibres is music to our ears.
GETTING CHAT TY WITH IT
As Scheepjes expanded its range beyond yarn to include haberdashery treasures such as fabulous arrays of buttons, it also became much more proactive about engaging with customers and yarn lovers, and a vital tactic was introducing a team of creative Scheepjes crochet bloggers who are passionate about yarn. “We were keen to target a younger generation of crafters through social media, and blogging is inherent to this new generation,” says Simy. “Sharing ideas and inspiration, pictures of works-in-progress and showing off finished projects is the new crafting community. We wanted to connect with that and felt that enlisting the help of active craft bloggers was the key.”
The bloggers, who include Dedri Uys of www.lookatwhatimade.net and Nerissa Muijs of www.missneriss.com, contribute enormously to the company’s success.
“Our bloggers are a crucial part of the team,” says Simy. “They offer us insight into the mind of today’s crafters and give our products a story, life, meaning and use.”
For Simy, joining the Scheepjes work force came about as naturally as reaching for hooks and yarn. “Scheepjes is a family business, and as a member of the family I’ve always been around,” she laughs. “However, I took a more central role when we rebranded, becoming Scheepjes’ Creative Director.”
Taking on this role offered Simy a chance for a somewhat holistic approach to developing
“Our bloggers offer us insight into the minds of today ’ s crafters . ”
the brand. “I enjoy working with creative people – their energy and vision inspires me,” she explains. “This role enables me to draw from a wide range of skills, knowledge and contacts that I have within this industry, select talented designers, photographers, stylists and graphic artists, and pull them all together to best serve our brand. There’s really never a dull moment in this job!”
With some truly talented bloggers on board, CALs (or crochet-alongs), were the obvious next stage, creating a community feel everyone is welcome to join.
“One of the most satisfying things I feel is when I see a project come to fruition and be embraced by our consumers,” says Simy. “This year’s Danish-themed Hygge CAL is a prime example. I worked with the designer Kirsten Ballering for almost a year preparing this project and you never really know how popular it will be until launch day. There is always a huge sigh of relief and then an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction that comes after a project or product launch.”
The company’s CALs allow Simy’s design skills come to the forefront as well as offering her the chance to indulge in some crochet time of her own. In a blog post at www.simysstudio.com this February, while preparing for the Hygge CAL, Simy wrote: “In between all the fuss, I’ve been sneaking away for the odd half hour here and there for a little ‘Hygge Time’ of my own, to catch my breath and finish my Danish Mermaid wrap.” This is a work of art, using delicious yarn shades that offer the sense of sunshine on waves.
A D AY IN THE LIFE
An average work day for Simy is wonderfully varied. “Mostly I start work at around 8am, with a quick glance through our social media and filtering through my inbox.” The first drink of the day is “tea, always tea… preferably with a stroopwafel, a traditional treat in the Netherlands! Here in Holland we really enjoy our fruit teas – my current favourite is raspberry and pomegranate.”
Simy’s studio at the Scheepjes warehouse, is, she enthuses, “an Aladdin’s cave! There’s inspiration in every corner, whether it’s a jar of new buttons or swatches of fabric. It’s a little chaotic, but it’s organised chaos.”
There’s plenty of natural light in the studio and a friendly laidback atmosphere, “which is conducive to creativity,” says Simy. “I like to bring in things that inspire me from home and especially from my garden, such as flowers or a potted plant.”
Social media and emails checked, tea sipped and surroundings revelled in, the remainder of Simy’s work day can vary enormously. “It can include anything from overseeing a photoshoot, to project managing a pattern or meeting with customers,” says Simy. “In the morning, I might be choosing 60 colours for a new yarn we plan to introduce and in the afternoon I
“We worked for almost a year preparing this year ’ s Hygge crochet-along . ”
might be doing an interview with a magazine. The two things I do always try to fit into each day are some time to browse social media and time to connect with our bloggers. I feel that these two things are important to keeping our brand rooted with crafters, current and connected to the huge crafting community we aim to please.”
Unsurprisingly, Simy’s biggest challenge is time, or rather, the lack of it. “There’s never enough time to squeeze everything in that needs to be done,” she laments. However, this is only natural, she agrees, in a job where there is so much joy to be found, both in the devising, production and selling of wares, and in the experiences reported by Scheepjes’ countless loyal customers worldwide.
Another area of satisfaction comes from seeing the positive impact a new yarn or pattern produced by Scheepjes can bring to someone’s life. “We all have busy lives, we all have stresses either at work or home, and when a kit, a CAL or even a new yarn can distract someone and light up their faces for a short time, that’s a good feeling.”
Colour ripples throughout Simy’s work, and this is something she especially enjoys. “I work very hard on pulling together the Scheepjes colour ranges to make sure several shades from a range can work together,” she says. “I get inspiration from many places, but there’s always a little worry in the back of my mind until the sample balls arrive in the studio. When you finally see your colours as little balls of yarn it feels very satisfying, knowing that those hours and hours selecting and reselecting colours were worth it.”
Plans for the future are constantly buzzing around Simy’s head, but frustratingly she can’t yet share them. “We have lots and lots of plans for Scheepjes and Simy’s Studio, but if I told you, I’d have to shoot you,” she says, grinning. “What I can tell you is that last year we introduced the first of Simy’s Studio products (an embroidery kit) and we hope to build on that to produce a Simy’s Studio range. I’ll also be working more on the studio blog, developing my audience and reaching out to the crafting community.”
It’s clear that the Scheepjes family has no interest in sitting still. “We’re constantly reviewing our products and I can tell you that the future will be filled with colour, community and yarn, lots of yarn...” Learn more at www.scheepjes.com and find Simy blogging at www.simysstudio.com