Confession time: I can lose hours pottering around in fabric and yarn shops, feeling materials and balls of wool, day-dreaming about what I can make. A few months ago, staring at a roll of fabric, I found myself wondering “Could I really make a coat out of this fabric?” – the label I was starting at was providing me hints to possible uses for the fabric and it was encouraging my imagination.

When selling components, ingredients or elements that people use to create new things, sparking a sense of creativity can influence the purchase.

For instance, food products do this by showing “serving suggestion” photos and recipes for cakes and gravies on cornflour boxes so you can feel some benefit to buying a 250g packet when all you need is a tablespoon full. The function of Ikea products may be obvious, but their stores also encourage creativity by providing a pathway through their warehouses to see the same products used in different settings and combinations that might not be immediately apparent.

So I’ve been taking pictures on my recent shopping trips to demonstrate some of the good and not-so-good examples for informing customers and sparking creativity when it comes to encouraging the purchase of fabric and yarn.

(and no, I’ve yet to make a coat but I’m definitely thinking about trying it out one day soon!)