Popular Needlepoint Business Opens Flagship Store In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — When the team at Penny Linn set out to open a new brick and mortar retail space for their ever-growing needlepoint brand, they quickly realized they would need more room.

According to Amanda Caldwell, the company's vice president, the search for a new space began in earnest when their e-commerce business began to outgrow their current showroom in Westport.

"When we started opening the showroom to customers, the foot traffic was far bigger than we expected," Caldwell said to Patch, "so we knew we needed to find a larger space for our community."

This led founder Krista LeRay and her team on a year-long hunt for the perfect retail space.

"We looked at everything on the market in Westport and couldn't find what we needed," Caldwell said, "so we opened our search radius a little. As luck would have it, we found our perfect space in Rowayton."

Located at 161 Rowayton Avenue, the new flagship store officially opened to the public in March. It is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., as well as Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

Although the Penny Linn team had initially hoped to stay in Westport, where they had already grown their retail roots for two years, they were excited to find something that fit all their needs in the Rowayton area of the city.

"Our new space has a 3,600 square-foot open floor plan with room to grow and a basement that is ideal storage for us," Caldwell said, "so it really just felt like the perfect store from the first time we saw it."

Caldwell also noted the Westport showroom is currently closed, however they hope to sublease the space to another local entrepreneur in the future.

Needlepoint enthusiasts will find many things to love about the new Penny Linn retail space in Norwalk, chief among them a sense of community, according to Caldwell.

"[Customers] can expect familiar faces that are happy to help them and share their wealth of knowledge," Caldwell said, "and they can expect to find women and men from all different backgrounds and career paths that are passionate about needlepoint and are now working with us here at Penny Linn, either part-time or full-time."

According to Caldwell, one of LeRay's biggest goals in opening the new store was to create a strong sense of community and provide new "stitchers" a place to learn, something she felt needlepointers had been missing since she launched Penny Linn in 2020.

"We've created a space where people can come in and learn to stitch or share their love of the craft with others," Caldwell said, "and it's an added bonus if they make a purchase."

Since opening last month, the new retail space has seen more than 5,000 guests walk through their doors, Caldwell said.

In addition to retail, the store hosts a number of fun events, including stitch nights and classes, with new events added to the schedule on a weekly basis.

"We have beginner classes and stitch mornings, and we're excited to add new classes to our repertoire, including needlepoint finishing," Caldwell said. "We will also be holding pop ups with local artisans and likeminded brands, including an upcoming permanent bracelet pop-up."

The team is also hard at work developing partnerships with some popular lifestyle brands they hope to celebrate in the store, according to Caldwell.

Overall, Caldwell said LeRay and her team are really proud of the space they have built so far, and they are excited to continue welcoming new people into the store and their community.

"Our extensive calendar of events and learning opportunities will allow us to continue to bring more and bring more attention to the needlepoint world so we can continue to expand the industry and community," Caldwell said. "We are so lucky that this store in Norwalk is the place where we are bringing it all to life."