Barbara Selesnick is a knitting designer and distributes her ‘Keep It Simple Designs’ patterns nationally through Bryson Distributing. She teaches classes such as Intro to Cables, Mystery of Gauge, MultiDirectional Scarf and more.
Several of my staff and I also teach classes at the shop. We offer a Block a Month, Sock Knitting, Double Knitting, Felting, Moebius, Lace, Top Down Sweaters to name a few.
With our large classroom space we are able to draw some of the larger names in the industry. We can have as many as 24 students in a class (with some rearranging). We have been lucky to have Sally Melville, Chris Bylsma and Therese Chynoweth (of Dale of Norway) come to teach at our shop.
How many people work in the shop?
I currently have 4 part-time employees. All know how to knit proficiently, most also know how to crochet and some are also spinners and weavers. (We are now carrying some spinning products). I get a lot of good feedback from customers about how helpful my staff is. Customer service is very important to me, I want to make sure every customer is greeted when they come through the door, and that all their knitting needs are met.
Being located in California, do you typically sell more summer-weight yarn?
Nope, we still sell mostly wools; most knitting seems to be done in the winter. Also, we are on the coast, and we get chilly nights (and days). We may not need a bulky wool sweater under our jacket, but we can certainly use a sweater in the evening.
Do you see a trend for the type of projects your customers are working on right now?
My customer seems to be challenging themselves more. Most of the scarf knitters (“I only want to knit”) seem to have come and gone, the ones that remain want a little more challenge. Hats, socks, lace shawls, sweaters - it’s all being done.
What's the most rewarding part of owning a shop?
The most rewarding part about running this shop is watching new friends meet and watching their friendships grow, right before my very eyes. When folks ask me to describe the shop, I usually explain that it’s a big kids teen center or candy store, a place to meet new people and old friends, to stimulate your senses and mind. This is a place where customers leave their troubles at the door and enter a whole new world for a little while. When I opened the shop three and a half years ago, I never envisioned that it would become a place that was so special to so many people. However, I only opened the doors - it is those people that come through the door that truly make it the special place that it is, and for that I am very grateful.
What's the most challenging?
Inventory Management, knowing what to have when and how much of it. Picking the winners of the new yarns that come out each season, promoting the yarns, and providing samples that sell the yarn. I think the fact that yarn doesn’t necessarily sell itself sets this business apart from most others where you put a product on a shelf and people come in and buy it. Here, customers have to like the colors and the feel, they need to see it knit up and they have to like the style. There is much more work in selling yarn than many other products.
Can you share a favorite tip with our readers?
Measure your work. If you are knitting a sweater or anything else that needs to fit, don’t wait until it is complete to know it is too big or small. This sounds rudimentary, but I have taught sweater classes where everyone works on a gauge swatch and figures out which needles to use and size to make, they start knitting and their gauge changes. They’ll come to class and I can see it’s way too big or small, so I ask if they have measured the actual sweater. Many times “no” is the answer, they say they are too afraid, they don’t want to find out it’s too big or small. I think the sooner you know the piece won’t fit, the better.
Another tip is times when you don’t know if you have enough yarn to complete a project. Weigh your yarn, weigh your project. Are you half way through the project? Then the amount of yarn you have should be equal to the weight of the project so far. A postal scale works great for this. We use this tip a lot in the shop, people always think we are so smart for thinking of it.
What's on your needles now? A sweater for my husband, finally! This will be my first sweater for him. Although we’ve been together for many years, we just got married a year ago and as Judith Durant says, “Never knit your man a sweater unless you’ve got the ring." Well I guess I took that to heart.
What's your favorite Knit One, Crochet Too yarn?
Ty-Dy. It comes in such beautiful colors and really knits up beautifully. (This month's free pattern, designed by Lois Varga, is a darling crochet bag featuring Ty-Dy.)
