High street retailers may be hitting the rocks but one enterprising duo have got their new business all sewn up. Claire Jarvis and Leslie Wildman opened The Fibreworks in Middle Row, Chipping Norton, selling knitting and crochet materials as well as haberdashery and have never looked back.

Ms Jarvis said: “It has been much busier than we expected or projected when we first planned the business. It has become apparent that there is a big community not only of people knitting and crocheting but also starting to do things for themselves.”

She agrees the gloomy economy is a factor but not, as you may expect, because it is cheaper to make your own clothes.

It may be more economical to buy off-the-shelf at discount stores such as Primark and Matalan, but Ms Jarvis believes people are staying at home more and looking for constructive activities to fill their time.

“The satisfaction of being able to make something with your hands is enormous. And it can also be cheaper to make your own gifts such as covers for mobile telephones and iPads which was happening over Christmas.

“It is about attention to detail and thought about the person to whom you are giving the gift.”

As well as the retail side, The Fibreworks offers classes in including weekly knitting and crochet groups which are also proving popular along with craft courses covering areas such as jewellery making and felting. Workshops will also run at this year’s Wilderness Festival at Cornbury Park, near Charlbury.

“The teaching side has been really busy and we have people coming in of all ages and abilities.”

Ms Jarvis previously worked in public relations and marketing at Sunbeam Knitting Wools and prior to the shop opening, ran knitting classes in Chipping Norton.

Ms Wildman is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and had helped set up two shops in the local area before starting The Fibreworks.

Wool from an alpaca farm in Great Tew is stocked along with locally spun yarn as well as major names such as Debbie Bliss, Rico Design and Artesano from as far afield as Japan and South America.

Together they realised there was an opportunity to take advantage of the revival of interest in knitting and crafts and they are certainly making the most of it.

Ms Jarvis said: “We feel we have a good business model and so far it is going better than we anticipated.”

* Contact: The Fibreworks, 01608 645970 Web: www.thefibreworks.co.uk