Ethel & Em

23/05/2026

On Thursday Ben and I took a train down to that London for which is part of (Small Business Britain). This celebration of small businesses here in the UK was nothing short of phenomenal. The support they give small businesses all year round is amazing and I can’t believe it took me so long to discover and tap in to this resource. Anyhow… I digress.

The winner of the Bricks & Clicks category was London based and it was impossible not to be pleased for them. An ethical and sustainable business that makes me and Benny’s fave bevvie. The clicks bit means that we will be ordering some coffee to try shortly 🤩 I digress again…

Table 13 had no winners to walk up to the stage, but that was ok. We were all pleased as punch to have made the shortlist. And we made some great new connections that night.

Some of the smalls on our radar are now and the very cool CIC on the same table as and also keen to explore who were a table away.

The overall winner for small business of the year was .m.pasties which is a commercial enterprise with a charitable arm that supports ex-offenders all centred around pies. What’s not to love? Super shout out to them! 🥳🤩🥰

Another TL;DR post from me. Thanks for reading if you got this far. Please keep supporting so we can continue to support you 🫶🏽

14/05/2026

you really did start summat. And we are committing to the grid 💥

loving the participation… join in the silliness 😝

28/04/2026

Lots to do on our lovely little city!

28/04/2026

So… we went and did a thing. As a number of you now know, after a truly challenging year, both professionally and personally, we’ve managed to be shortlisted for The Small Awards Bricks & Clicks Award.

These milestones are possible because of the incredible team in the shoppe and our lovely customers near and far. The business community in Lancaster can be wonderfully supportive and my fellow LYS owners continue to be amazing rocks. Who knows if we’ll win - the competition is stiff - but we will have fun celebrating getting this far. Our first national award shortlist.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. And for being here, a part of this community.

Welcoming Ethel & Em to our 2026 ‘Bricks & Clicks’ shortlist!

Ethel & Em is a true destination yarn and stationery shop in the heart of Lancaster, championing analogue creativity in a digital world.

From beautifully curated yarns to thoughtfully selected stationery, every product has been chosen with care – creating a shop that feels inspiring, inclusive and full of possibility.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned maker, there’s something here for every skill level, style and budget.

Ethel & Em are committed to accessibility and community, and they are not just selling products – they are opening the door for more people to get involved in creativity, removing barriers and making crafting something everyone can enjoy.

Image description: Ethel & Em founder Melanie McKay smiling while knitting with colourful yarn outside the yarn shop.

26/04/2026

We are on the 7th and final day and today’s prompt is WHY shop independent?

This is a topic I am pretty passionate about. Even growing up in the Big Apple, I lived in a neighbourhood where independent retailers were at the heart of the community. My first retail job was at an independent bookseller, indie shops helped shape my shopping habits. There is a place for large multiples - but the experience of shopping independently is next level.

When you shop independently you are supporting an ecosystem that feeds back into your local community. You are fostering relationships too. Some of my closest friends these days are people I met through Ethel & Em and Analog, and I may not have met them any other way. I gave up “work friends” when I opened a small independent shop and discovered “custafriends.” I also have a network of shopkeeper friends both near and far which is again, something I never expected

I think when you shop independently you are supporting a community rather than just a business. Sometimes you pay more than you might do from an online retail giant - but you are likely paying a very fair price - small shops are not out to gouge customers - they are trying to price things so they can pay their rent, wages, taxes, utilities, and of course - stock!

You, get the joy of the physical proximity of the items you are buying - you can touch them, pick them up and see the quality; you are buying support and expertise, sometimes you need help - that Bezos fella doesn’t offer that.

You’re also buying passion - independent shop keepers sell things they are passionate about - they love the products as much as you do - that my friends, is priceless!

Thanks again to the awesome tour de force that is the fabulous Sarah for the prompts and for lifting up other small businesses and celebrating them.

Pictured in my post are three awesome local shopkeepers Tiff (and Toto) from Anna from and Rachael from followed by busman’s holidays recently to and

When you you are investing in people and your community 🫶🏽

25/04/2026

Day 6 of the prompt series from the fabulous Sarah and we are doing Saturday Small Talk… we don’t really do that here - small talk… nah

We do BIG talk, and this Saturday’s BIG talk is ! This is deffo more of a US phenomenon, but my American born ass gets behind it every year. Designers like do special FREE patterns and brands like participate too! If you come instore or buy online today - Saturday you may be eligible for the free patterns we are highlighting in stories today. Patterns are by code and can be redeemed on Ravelry by close of play on Sunday, 26 April.

Lancaster is a crafty city, so we always have lots of crafty and yarny things to talk about! BIG projects, BIG talk - you know, the good stuff! Hope to see you later, it's a glorious day to come out, enjoy the market and the vibrant little city we live in!

And for our stationery fans... There's still a pretty decent selection of Lamy SALE in store and some lovely new pens, stickers and pencils from Troika, Emma Ball, Mark's and more ✏️✒️👀

24/04/2026

Day 5 of the prompt series from the fabulous Sarah pencilmeinshop

Today’s prompt is Neighbourhood… Lancaster is the smallest city I have ever lived in and feels a lot more like a town. Even though you can walk the city centre well inside an hour - you can eke a whole damn day out of it with the amount of fabulous things to do!

For Coffee you have Atkinsons with three sites in the city - including one by the castle - yes, there is an actual castle 5 minutes from the shop (I was born in Manhattan and never imagined I would have a castle on my doorstep).

For food we have Lewis’s Cafe over the road with the tastiest cottage pie, Holm Coffee a scandi inspired cafe, fika house and shop in shop with Scandi treats as well as an outpost for northerndelightslancaster. And last on the food list but FAR from least is our neighbours miogelatomore They co-host crafty student nights with us a couple of times per term - they also keep us fed with homemade gelato goodness and watered with coffee - winning!

For Fashionistas there is the award winning boutique, Renes which is one of the most established businesses in town having traded over SEVEN decades! Around the corner amazing Anna has the fab dress agency exchangelancaster If you’re a cool dude like our Ben, head to northerndyehouse for all your quirky 😎 needs.

Jess pennystreetcollectables and Linda expressions_lancaster will sort you out with a fab selection of gifts. And this is just a small reason why to visit - more on our independents on Sunday!

Lancaster has museums, some smaller galleries, more coffee shops and bars than I can list… generally there’s loads to do here. And Morecambe is just down t’road! Well worth a visit!

We are 5 minutes from the train, 2 minutes from the bus station, car parks across the city, disabled parking on our doorstep.

Pics are: Expressions, Penny Street Collectables, Northern Dye House, Lewis’s Cafe, Holm, Mio Gelato, and Renes (we will share some of the people behind these business soon!)

23/04/2026

Wowza! A day late but that’s ok. Ben did the video and Mel attempted captions and music 🤡 She (I) tried 🤡

Anyhoo… Day 3 (on Day 4) - Shop Tour…

Have a quick squizz 👀 at our shop and “shop in shop” located in the centre of Lancaster, UK. A carefully curated selection of stationery and yarny things and some of the most welcoming shop folk you’ll ever meet.

As a BIPOC woman owned, and q***r managed shop, making folks feel welcome is at the heart of what we do. We know how it feels to walk into spaces where the vibe ain’t welcoming and we do everything in our power to make sure that’s not our shoppe. Really hoping that welcome vibe translates digitally. We really are here for you. All. Year. Round. Yarn Shoppes and Stationers are for life, not just for Christmas 😘

Stop in and say hi if you’re nearby. We’re open Tuesday - Saturday 10-5.

Thanks for the fab prompts 🫶🏽