During the recent Kansas City Yarn Crawl, I met Trish Fitzsimmons, the Owner of Yarn Social. She was gracious enough to take the time for an interview which I am happy to share with all of you.
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Please tell me about your journey into the world of yarn? How did you first get interested in knitting/crocheting? What inspired you to open a yarn shop?
“I learned to knit in my late 30s. I had moved to New York for my job and found myself with lots more free time than I did living in St. Louis where I owned a house and car and had all the responsibilities that go along with that. I was looking for a hobby and discovered that knitting made me happy. Shortly after learning to knit, I found a group of folks who met up every week to knit together in a cafe, and they became close friends and my love for knitting continued to grow.
In 2017, I quit my corporate job and moved back to Kansas City, where I grew up. I found a local knitting group to hang out with and started to get the lay of the land of the knitting scene in KC.
Opening a yarn shop had always been my answer to the question of what I would do if I won the lottery and could do anything I wanted. I realized I wasn’t interested in restarting my previous career as a lawyer and that there was an opportunity to open the yarn store of my dreams. The kinds of yarns I loved weren’t readily available in the area, and I figured other folks must be looking for the same thing. I talked to a bunch of yarny friends of mine: my old and current knitting groups, friends from knitting retreats I attended (and still attend), friends who are knitting instructions, friends who worked in yarn shops. I knew immediately what kind of shop I wanted to open, and was so lucky to find my first two staff members, Em and Gabby, both of whom were also passionate about yarn. Our opening weekend was a huge success with a packed house, tons of folks who I didn’t already know. We’ve had a loyal following from the beginning, and quickly became known for being welcoming, friendly, and helpful.“
I talked to a bunch of yarny friends of mine: my old and current knitting groups, friends from knitting retreats I attended (and still attend), friends who are knitting instructions, friends who worked in yarn shops. I knew immediately what kind of shop I wanted to open, and was so lucky to find my first two staff members, Em and Gabby, both of whom were also passionate about yarn. Our opening weekend was a huge success with a packed house, tons of folks who I didn’t already know. We’ve had a loyal following from the beginning, and quickly became known for being welcoming, friendly, and helpful.“
What was the most challenging part of starting your business? Any particular hurdles or surprises along the way?
“My biggest hurdle was finding a location. Unlike residential real estate, finding a space that would work for us was not straightforward.
I’ve never owned a business before, so figuring out everything I needed was tricky. I was lucky to connect with (thanks to the owner of the salon where I get my hair cut) an accountant who works with lots of small businesses and he had some great advice. I also enrolled in a program with UMKC sponsored by the Small Business Administration that provides coaching for people considering opening a business. They helped me crystallize my business plan, think deeply about how I wanted to run my business, and to do critical planning needed to ensure that my business had a chance to be financially successful.
Otherwise, I didn’t really face many roadblocks. Because I wasn’t working, I could devote all my time to preparing for the shop to open, which was a huge luxury that I know not all businesses have. And again, finding Em and Gabby was a huge help in getting started; I can’t imagine running a business entirely on my own.“
What can customers expect when they visit your shop? Describe the atmosphere, layout, and any special features (e.g., cozy seating area, community board).
“My shop’s name, Yarn Social, was chosen carefully. My love for yarn has always been a social thing for me, with my knitting group, with attending knitting conferences and retreats, and with online communities like Ravelry and Instagram. So, I knew I wanted my shop to have the feeling of a knitting group, a community of people passionate about making things with yarn. I also knew I wanted my business to support the community at large, both locally and broader. Creating a space where people who historically have not always felt welcome is important to me, and we are unequivocal about welcoming them in our shop.
We strive to be friendly and welcoming to everyone who comes in the door; we try to greet everyone and let them know we are here to help if they need it, while also giving them the space to shop without bothering them. We’re always happy to answer questions about the products we sell, to think critically about the project they’re working on and help our customers choose the best yarns for their project.
We host multiple weekly Social Hours where folks hang out in the part of the shop we call our living room, with comfy seating. We strive to keep the shop tidy and well-organized always. We arrange the shop with our customers in mind, grouping things in a logical manner and displaying our products in an aesthetically pleasing manner; we also encourage people not to worry about “messing up” the yarn when choosing colors. The creative process is often messy and we view it as our job to encourage that process (and are happy to tidy up behind you!).“
Do you offer any unique products or services? Please highlight any exclusive yarn lines, tools, classes, workshops.
“We LOVE an exclusive colorway at Yarn Social, and often work with dyers like Spincycle, Farmers Daughter, Kim Dyes Yarn, Goosey Fibers, Treasure Goddess and more to create custom shop colorways.
We hosted our first retreat a few years ago, and will definitely do more of that when I don’t have so much behind-the-scenes admin work.”
How do you foster a sense of community among your customers? Please tell me about events, CAL or KALs, etc.
“We have an active, engaged following on Instagram where we interact with customers. We love an event – a trunk show, a speaker, our makers market during our annual KC Yarn Crawl, our summer-long activities – that brings folks into the shop and interacting with one another. We occasionally host make-alongs.
We also love an inside joke here, and I think that bit of silliness helps build a sense of community; a good example involves corn dogs and mustard. (The somewhat short version behind this: About five years ago, a customer came to Social Hours corn dogs and mentioned they were 50 cents that day at Sonic. The next time they were 50 cents, Em brought some for us on her way in to work, much to my delight. However, she only brought ketchup, and I’m a mustard girlie. So, as one does, I posted a picture of my corndog on IG and made a joke about how Em is a monster who likes ketchup on her corndogs. This eventually turned into us conducting a highly scientific survey one night at Social Hours to see if a correlation Em discovered – that folks who prefer mustard pull their yarn from the center of a cake of yarn, while ketchup people pull from the outside – was true; it was! Eventually, we had corn dog stickers made with the shop name written in mustard or ketchup. A customer’s husband even wrote a poem for us celebrating mustard! I’ve even had custom yarn colorways dyed for us named Team Mustard!)“
Does social media play a part in your business? What platforms do you use to engage with your customers?
“Definitely! We’re most active on Instagram, where more of our customers are. We had a fairly active group on Ravelry, but that has waned after the accessibility issues with their site redesign several years ago. We have a Facebook page but it’s less active and we don’t do much there (largely because I don’t use it much myself, and I handle our social media).“
What trends are you seeing in the yarn and crafting world right now?
“Mohair/silk blends continue to be popular, particularly held along with another yarn. Non-superwash wool yarns also continue to be popular.
I also think more folks are interested in breed-specific yarns, especially breeds other than merino like Bluefaced Leicester, Rambouillet, etc.“
Do you have any tips for beginners or seasoned crafters? Advice on selecting yarn, learning techniques, or project ideas.
“Yarn substitution – using a different yarn than the one the designer used – isn’t always straightforward, and understanding all the nuance involved can be really confusing. This is one of the things Yarn Social can be really helpful with, since our staff understand the role fiber content and yarn construction can play in how a yarn performs in a project.
Understanding the mechanics of how knit and crochet stitches are made is so helpful. The more you know about the architecture of the stitches and the fabric you’re making, the better equipped you are to fix mistakes and understand how they happened in the first place. Similarly, being able to “read” your fabric – to see how a stitch pattern or texture or mistake was made – is so helpful.“
What are your future plans for the shop? Any upcoming projects or collaborations?
“We’re in the middle of a site redesign, as I mentioned earlier, so that’s my main focus. In the meantime, we continue to focus on fostering our community of makers.“
How do you envision the future of the yarn community?
“I hope folks embrace learning more about the yarn they use, where it’s sourced, how it’s made, and the materials used to make it. Local yarn shops can play a huge role in this; by choosing their yarns carefully and explaining why we carry the yarns we do.
I hope pattern writers continue striving to make their patterns accessible to all bodies and that they are able to charge a fair price that represents the effort and expertise they put into their patterns.“
(Watch the video if you’d like to see all our photos at Yarn Social from the KC Yarn Crawl!)
Thanks again, Trish, for taking time to answer my questions! Here are details on her yarn shop; if you are in the area be sure to stop and check it out, and tell her hello for me.
Yarn Social KC
1707 W 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
Thanks for spending time with me today.
~ Belle
