Little shop on Brookville Road, Alexander, offers handcrafted 'needful things'

On my Sunday drive I took a turn down Brookville Road in Alexander and started to drive past a little craft store I've passed many times, but this time, I decided to stop.

It seemed like a good place to maybe find a present for my mother.

Once inside I met Barbara Richmond, the sweet and caring proprietor (she owns the shop with her husband, Hugh).

Barbara told me all about the store, which is stocked with handmade items from artisans and crafters from throughout Western New York.

A lifelong crafter herself, Barbara got to know many other knitters, quilters and seamstresses during her many years of attending craft shows.

Two years ago, a little weary of traveling to craft shows, Barbara decided to open Simply Homespun in a little shop next to her home at 10431 Brookville Road.

"As I got older, I found I wanted to have something closer to home and many of our vendors are also getting older and they find its easier to sell in one outlet rather than travel distances to put something up for sale," Richmond said.

The little shop is stuffed with what Barbara calls "needful things" -- dish towels, pillows, blankets, pot holders, scarves and hats, for example.

"This was the way I was raised," Richmond said. "We learned to make the things we needed and the things we wanted because you couldn't always afford to buy these things."

The shop is seasonal and is currently stocked with Christmas-themed items.

Store hours March through Dec. 31 are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The phone number is 591-0470, which is important to know because if an item you want isn't in stock, perhaps Barbara can find somebody to make it for you.

"If you need a special time or something special made, we have the people and the time for you," Richmond said.

The crafters who supply Simply Homespun are all located in Western New York, from Buffalo to Rochester, and several right in Genesee County.

"The general public needs to know, too, that there are still things out there that are handmade, that are needful things, that are available," Richmond said. "You don’t need to go to another country (to have things made)."