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Nice work if you can get it
Thi Miller opened Knitty Couture, a knit and yarn shop at 6148 Delmar Blvd., in November 2007. The store is located in the up-and-coming section of the Delmar Loop located on the western edge of the city of St. Louis in a property owned by Loop landlord and property-owner Joe Edwards. Edwards has been, Miller acknowledged, extremely supportive of her efforts.
Miller and her husband, Eric, looked for entrepreneurial opportunities for about a year. Miller was a graduate student in psychology but realized that her calling was not in that field.
She enjoys knitting and noticed a trend in the fashion industry toward garments that feature the hand skills of sewing, spinning, weaving and knitting. She was also aware that St. Louis has a large knitting community — something that is evident from the amount of online activity in this area.
“There are lots of knitting blogs and forums online,” Miller said. “Young kids are picking up knitting and men seem to like it, too.” In fact, one of Miller’s employees is a young man who knits.
There is always anxiety about whether a new business will succeed. In Miller’s case, she knew that St. Louis already had several yarn shops and worried about the need for hers and whether it would be adequately supported.
Miller was surprised to find 20 people waiting on the sidewalk the day of Knitty Couture’s grand opening. Members of “the knitting community organized themselves,” she said. “They waited on the sidewalk for hours.”
Knitty Couture features a seating area that resembles a small living room for knitting enthusiasts to practice their craft and chat. In keeping with the spirit of community that is important to her, the shop has begun to sponsor “Knit for Newborns,” a project which provides knitted garments and blankets for babies in need. This is done in partnership with “Nurses for Newborns Foundations.”
“We had a specific vision for our shop,” Miller said. “We wanted a venue for knitters and non-knitters, a place where people could hang out.” In fact, in the four months since the shop has opened, “we’ve developed quite a little community,” Miller added, almost as if she is as surprised as anyone.
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