Meet The Team Monday!
As a (very) small business, we know that many customers appreciate getting to know the people behind the company. With that in mind, we’re going to start a semi-regular series of posts to introduce ourselves. To start – Hi! My name is Keri, and I’m the owner of Twitchy Hands Creative, Inc. Let me tell you about my history with fiber arts!
I’ve been a life-long fiber enthusiast. I’m not sure how I was introduced to yarn and fabric, but some of my earliest memories are of hoarding scraps of fabric for sewing doll clothes and making elaborately braided friendship bracelets of brightly colored yarns. At 11, I taught myself how to crochet from a mid-60s era McCall’s magazine I found at my great-aunts house, and at 14, I taught myself how to knit from a late-70s era Good Housekeeping book. I just couldn’t get enough of playing with yarn!
In high school, I would sew patches on all my jackets, bookbags, and pants, and make fun skirts and shirts out of t-shirts from thrift stores. I made endless scarves and hats for friends, and finally learned how to use a floor loom, which seemed like the pinnacle of fiber arts to me at the time!
In college, as an archaeology major, I let my interest in fiber arts guide my studies of material cultures throughout human civilizations. I would read books and articles about various cloth and basket weaving traditions around the world, about the huge variety of animal and plant fibers and their particular uses, about how developing fiber technologies contributed to a society’s progress.
And finally, after college, I made a small income for myself selling hats, scarves, mitts, and other accessories at my town’s artisans’ market on weekends. I also started designing and publishing patterns. Eventually, I was put in touch with Bob and Nancy, the previous owners of the company. They needed some help running addi Needle Shop and Colorsong Yarn, and I had the perfect background for the job. Eventually, they retired and I took over the business.
These days, I don’t have as much time as I’d like to play with my ever-expanding stash, but I’m hoping that as my young kiddos get a bit older, I’ll have more opportunities to sit down with yarn and needles or hooks.
What about you – how did you get into fiber arts?