LYNDONVILLE - Nancy Rupp is not only the owner of Keira's Collectibles and Fabrictown but also a crafter.  She integrates her love of crafting into her shop.

Rupp has been crafting since she was a young girl, and the love has carried on. Rupp believes she was meant to run a craft shop.

"I owned a business upstairs and bought fabric here so they figured, who better to run the store?" Rupp said.

Though she has enjoyed owning Fabrictown for two years, Rupp believes it's time to move on. She is closing down the shop in Lyndonville and opening a new store called "The Knitting Gnome" in St. Johnsbury.

Rupp sells her handmade items such as funky purses, hats, scarves, and even scrubs at Keira's Collectibles. The collectibles side of her business was started fifteen years ago, and is named after her youngest daughter. Rupp also sells an item that has a special meaning - small knitted gnomes.

"We got the name for The Knitting Gnome while I was knitting little gnomes, and my husband said 'Well everyone says our house is like a gnome home' and I was knitting the gnomes, so we came up with The Knitting Gnome," Rupp explained.

Though Fabrictown is going out of business, Keira's Collectibles will not. Rupp runs the shop on Ebay, and plans to bring it with her to The Knitting Gnome.

Rupp believes the most important part of her job is to keep her customers happy and make sure they feel welcomed.

"I want them (customers) to feel like they're walking into their own home," said Rupp.

She also believes moving to the new store will help her better service those customers.

"Over in the new store, because I will be living in the store also, if there's something I don't have downstairs in the store, give me a minute and I'll run upstairs and get it for you," explained Rupp.

When asked what the best part of her experience at Keira's was, a teary-eyed Rupp instantly answered "the customers."

"Without my customers I don't have a business, and if I don't give them good customer services they're going to go elsewhere," Rupp said.

Rupp also added that some of her customers had been bringing her presents, and that moved her to tears.

Fabrictown will be closing for good on November 23^rd,  and The Knitting Gnome is set to open at the beginning of 2012.