Little Girl with her Sticks About Mrs. Knits…
Mrs. Knits (Bonnie Chisum Mariconda) began knitting with Noro Yarns back in the 1990’s. Yes I am a Gen X’er but that is a discussion for another blog. Our slogan is “Curated Collections for Sophisticated Knitters” and you might, dear reader, wonder why we choose it?
In the yarn shop industry there are generally 2 formats - Brick and Mortar LYS (local yarn shops) vs. Online/Internet Shops. Some are a hybrid of the two to balance their reach. Mrs. Knits has done both including a 10 year run at eBay and 3-4 years brick and mortar.
Like many shops, there was a “spaghetti against the wall” strategy most new shop owners abide by. Our vendors objected to internet shops - especially frowning (and actually banning) sales of their products on eBay, Etsy and Amazon. Our customers were not happy with this policy but we appreciate how 20 years ago when we were figuring it all out.
About 5 years ago we built a website from scratch. Four years later we were able to move out off eBay and sell at www.mrsknits/com and design a Concept Store as they call it in retail. What is that? It means we have a narrow focus (Noro) but a wide selection of their yarns. Why? Mrs. Knits is an expert knitter who learned how to knit in Europe and Japan and loves Japanese Art especially Noro Yarns which launched around 1984 as did 13 year old Mrs. Knit’s passion for knitting.
It may be rare for someone so young to know what profession they pursue. The “girl with the sticks” references my high school classmate who teased me (nicely) about calling my well worn needles “sticks” and that private joke was very fortelling.
See Mrs. Knits has been neurodivergent since the 1970’s before society realized that we are not “bad”. “mental cases” or just “poorly behaved/anti-social. I was born with severe anxiety and knitting was a comfort and a place where I could be alone in my craft.
Fast forward to now. I want to be more personal in this blog while still focused on the yarn and craft indsutry vs complaining incessantly. I can do that with my therapist no problem. Just wanted to share the “behind the scenes” story of Mrs. Knits
Thank you for reading this and Happy Knitting!
Mrs. Knits
