Welcome back to the Chagrin Falls Merchant Association Podcast where we’re talking all things Chagrin Falls and the businesses who reside here.
Tiffany Perry joined us in studio this week to share not only her business story but also more on the art of knitting.
This episode was produced by Megan Moran at Mompreneur Co. Studio.
Did you know there’s a beautiful meeting space and podcast studio right here in the Falls? Take a virtual tour to see for yourself.
Thank you for having me. My name is Tiffany Perry. I am the owner of The Artful Yarn. I purchased the business about a year and a half ago from the previous owner, Kathy Hogan.
I love to knit, but I also love to bring that love to other people. So I love to teach somebody and see them walk away and feeling like they've accomplished something.
I have an art degree and I worked as a photographer.
So I've done all of these very artsy things.
And so I love to, when somebody is looking to make something, to maybe introduce them to color combinations they haven't seen before, or show them how they might put that together in a way that they hadn't thought about.
When your passion gets to be your life’s work too
Megan: Don't you love how in business and in life, there's a lot of breadcrumbs?
It's like different pieces of our life come together that make you realize: Oh, that's why I'm doing the thing. Right? Here's how we got here.
Because I think it's so interesting that you have an art degree and that eye, which you now get to apply in a new way with color combinations and so many artful aspects in the knitting and store owner space.
And I love that you started with a love of knitting.
Tiffany: My problem is that I love new projects. I say I have knitting ADD now that I own the shop. Clients or new patterns will come into the store and I’m like: “I must make that!“
And then I'll get about a third of the way through it, and a new idea comes across my path.
Sometimes a yarn will sell better if you have a sample of it worked up. Or, I'll get an idea and I'll need to design my own pattern, which I do a little bit of.
Megan: That's so cool. I love that you get to do what you love. And not only that, it's like, sorry, I've gotta do this pattern- it's for the shop, right? I have to do this for display because it helps sell the product.
What you can find in The Artful Yarn
Megan: I want to hear more about this pattern making and your classes.
I think it's so cool that it's not only a love for you, but then you want to share it with others and teach others too.
Tiffany: A lot of times, if you're looking for something specific, I try to find a pattern that is already written. My pattern writing knowledge is not varied enough to be able to create something extensive or intricate. I can put a colorwork motif into an existing hat or sweater. But otherwise I’ll help you find something that exists that might fit what you're looking for.
There are a couple of websites: Etsy + Ravelry that have knitting and crocheting patterns. You can filter your project, size etc. and then shop what you’re looking for.
At the shop we try to have it feel very welcoming because I think that feeling of “you're welcome in this space” is important.
Inventory-wise, I try to keep:
Some patterns.
Lots of color of yarn and lots of different weights.
Yarn related things.
We have a little bit of embroidery stuff.
We've got these new things coming in where you can adhere it to your clothing and then embroider it and then it washes off so that you can embroider your kicky little jean jacket.
We have tote bags.
And some candles.
And some other little gifty items as well.
It's all part of that experience.
Megan: You're really thinking about that person because you are that person who's sitting down to knit and have a whole experience. So the candle or the thing to carry all of your stuff in, you're really thinking about that holistic picture.
Tiffany: Yeah and sometimes you just need some more yarn, so that's always a good place to start. But we also try to have extra support at the shop Wednesday, Friday, Sunday to help you where you might be stuck in a project.
Sometimes you don't understand what an instruction means and maybe you just need someone else to read through the pattern for you.
Sometimes you need to learn a whole new technique or something you've never done before.
Or you're trying to size a sweater and it's not working out.
And then sometimes maybe you dropped a stitch and you need help picking it back up.
Or you've made a small mistake.
There are a lot of things.
We have somebody in the shop Tuesday through Sunday to give you a hand with it.
Megan: I think that's so special because it's more than just the project. It's the skill, you're helping them with. So they can then go apply that skill to other projects.
Getting Started with a New Hobby
So you come from the art world and you had a photography background and job there. So knitting was just a hobby to start then?
Tiffany: Yes- I went to college in Hiram and that's where I met my husband. After we graduated a whole bunch of our friends also lived in the area, so we’d get together with our friends before kids. Our husbands were playing video games and one friend was knitting because her mom had taught her and her sister how to knit. I was like I need to know how to do this.
She taught me and I just ran with it.
I wanted to be able to be doing something with my hands because I needed a break from computers.
I was working at the photography studio, doing all of our digital retouching, and my husband plays video games so he could do his thing and I could be sitting right next to him doing mine.
Passing down a learned skill
Megan: I think there's something interesting too about how some people have had this skill of knitting passed down to them, and then there's new life also brought in from people who never had it and who are interested in a different modality. A different form of creativity. And I would guess, it's also a bit of meditation as well.
Tiffany: Yes, once you get used to it and know what you're doing, it's a lot of meditation. I can sit there and just lose myself for a long time in it.
Megan: And so then your clientele who's coming in, where do they fall? Has this been passed down to them? Are the beginners? Knitter or do they crochet?
Tiffany: A lot of people come from where they've started.
Crochet is experiencing kind of a comeback in the last couple of years.
So it's going from your grandma's orange and brown granny square blankets to flowers and it's still got that crochet look to it, but designers are getting really creative with how to make it a little more elevated.
Because a lot of people see, you know, crochet has been thought of as kind of more crafty. Where knitting gets sold as being more finished look. But people are really upping their crochet game and making it a much more finished look. And people are loving the little amigurumi animals too.
Megan: You mentioned embroidery too, which is interesting because I've seen a lot of embroidery lately in the fashion world. Is that another trend you're seeing?
Tiffany: I think so. Yeah, it all ebbs and flows, but I wonder how much of it comes with the moving away from disposable clothing. I feel like the younger generation are tired of the stuff that's been coming out.
And as we think about the footprint we're leaving here and how can I sustainably do things and make this piece of clothing my own, I see this all making a difference.
Megan: I totally feel that. I mean, my previous business was in fast fashion and seeing that evolution to where I am now talking about slow living and just thinking a lot about that slow movement.
I see it seeping into everything, right? Into slow fashion, slow food- the whole thing. So I can totally see the upswing in interest.
Have you seen an uptick in younger clientele?
Tiffany: I think I have. The younger generation is more used to learning online so they’re picking it up themselves.
Upcoming Events at The Artful Yarn
Megan: You had mentioned some classes and things like that. Can you future cast for us? What's happening in the shop? What can people expect to see?
Tiffany: We do all kinds of classes, knitting and crocheting. And what I have found is, people who want to knit the really hard things, they probably know how to do it.
So I try to stick to things that newer knitters want to learn.
We also have a couple of days a week where people just come into The Loop. There's some couches back there and, people just come and just sit and work on their projects.
Talking about whatever is happening, and asking each other, you know, what do you think of these colors together? What are you making? I have a question about this.
It's crowdsourcing your knitting or you're crocheting.
Megan: It's so cool, because it's we all want community in the things that we're interested in. And I think that's so special that you have a space to foster that.
Tiffany: Yeah. And we're doing more to foster community.
We’re calling it the Winter Adventure Collection.
It’s a gift set with:
Little gifts from stores in Chagrin Falls.
12 mini skeins of all natural, hand dyed yarn by a local hand dyer here who lives in Bainbridge.
And knitting and crocheting items.
We are doing that for the second year and we have only 75 available.
Megan: I think it's so great to find a new, tactile hobby and to do something that’s meditative and great for yourself.
Tiffany: And then you get to wear it. It's just a win win all around.
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