The Ram Wools blog team is proud to present

RAM WOOLS MYTHBUSTERS

Episode 1

Myth: Ram Wools Yarn Co-op is run by a large team consisting of dozens of staff members and lots of robots.

Status: BUSTED.

Here's the Ram Wools team:

We're five yarn-lovin' people on a mission to spread the yarny love. Courtney, Jason, Lori and Melissa are co-op members, and Lorna (who is, apparently, unphotographable) is our sole and extremely valuable staff member. That's it. Between the five of us, we do everything, whether it's helping a customer, publishing a catalogue, filling a mail order, mopping the floor, writing a pattern, or editing code in our website or software. When you call the store, you'll always be speaking to one of us, not a call centre on the other side of the globe. Promise.

Myth: Ram Wools Yarn Co-op LOVES open source.

Status: CONFIRMED.

Did you know that all Ram Wools computers run on Linux (specifically, Ubuntu and Red Hat), a free, open-source operating system? Open source means that the code (the letters and numbers in seemingly random order that make computer programs work) of a computer program is freely available at no cost for anyone to view, edit, improve, and distribute. This is in contrast to proprietary forms of software that you often pay big bucks to use (e.g., Microsoft Office), the codes of which are not viewable or editable by the public.

Ram Wools is a strong supporter of open source software! Our website, telephone system, internet server, point of sale system, and just about every other technological part of our business is all run on open source software. We also apply the open source philosophy to all of our patterns, which is why we're able to have so many awesome free patterns available on our website and in our store. All of our patterns are licensed under a Creative Commons license, which means everyone is free to adapt, distribute, edit, or generally go crazy with our patterns. We believe in the free sharing of knowledge of all kinds!

Myth: Ram Wools maintains a warehouse of yarn.

Status: BUSTED.

Ram Wools, all of it, even the website store, all fits into our one sunny shop on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba. All purchases come right off the shelves, even website purchases - we don't maintain separate stock for website and in-store purchases. We do have a small back area and basement for extra stock that can't fit on the shelves (which I lovingly refer to as Yarnia), but that's it. No magical warehouse-o-yarn. Sadly.

Myth: You need a membership to shop at Ram Wools.

Status: BUSTED.

When it comes to retail co-operatives, there are two main categories: the consumer-owned co-op, and the worker-owned co-op. In a consumer-owned co-op, consumers, i.e., customers, purchase a membership share that enables them to shop at the store. In most cases, purchasing a membership also confers voting rights and other benefits. A good example of this, for our Canadian readers anyway, is Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC). You pay a $5 lifetime membership fee which allows you to shop at the store, rent gear, and gives you a vote in how the co-op is run.

The other category of co-op is a worker-owned co-op. In this model, the people who work at the co-op are the members and owners of the business. Only workers pay a membership share and only they have a vote in how the co-op is run. To the public, shopping at a worker-owned co-op is no different than shopping at any other retail store. Ram Wools falls under this category. The long story short: No, you don't need a membership to shop here, and any time you're here, you'll be served by a co-op member/store owner.

Myth: Melissa loves Tanis Hand-dyed Yarn.

Status: PLAUSIBLE.

Last time we saw her, she was standing by a box of Tanis yarn wielding a pair of scissors, scaring customers and co-op members alike and looking rather dangerous. We're assuming she really likes it, but we can't get close enough to ask.