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few weeks ago I announced on Facebook that I was going to LA.
and I asked for suggestions on where I should go, the yarn stores not to miss in Los Angeles.
and this store, Knit Culture, came up more than any other store.
this was, in most people's opinion, the premier store, knit store, in los angeles.
so i called them up, and here we are!
in Knit Culture.
and I'm here with Emma Gordon.
and tell us what you do here, Emma.
Emma: well, i'm the blogger and social media manager as well as kind of the event coordinator
for our store.
and so i'm in charge of designer outreach and bringing on new events for the store,
to kind of keep it fresh and lively.
as well as managing our social media profiles.
Ravelry, twitter, pinterest, facebook.
Staci: you guys have a beautiful web presence, for sure.
but i didn't know this. this is a new question for me. what is designer outreach?
Emma: so, we have a lot of events that involve the knitting designers that are hot on ravelry,
or getting published now.
for example, Tiny Owl Knits.
right now in our store, we have a trunk show from Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.
Staci: that's great!
Emma: and so my job essentially is contacting the designers, seeing what events or trunk
shows they'd be up for.
so that we can kind of bring the knitters together with these amazing knitting patterns
that are hot on ravelry or freshly published.
and kind of coordinating it with the yarns we carry.
Staci: you guys have such beautiful yarns and the store is so pretty, you do a really
good job.
you are here - my understanding from looking online, this area is called mid center city?
or something like that?
like, you are right in Los Angeles here.
Emma: yeah, mid city. so we're kind of flanked by The Grove and the Beverly Center, which
are two really hot like, touristy shopping destinations.
and then the street that runs between those two shopping centers is just packed with boutique
shops.
a lot of hot designers have their studios there, so you can go in, and they'll be actually
working on their samples for their upcoming collections.
Staci: wow!
Emma: and there is a lot of really cool restaurants on this street, too.
Staci: totally! we had to park a ways away, and walking this street is so fun, there are
so many cool things to see on this street.
and now, something we've been talking about while Parker was getting the cameras ready,
is driving in Los Angeles is maybe not the most fun thing in the world.
Emma: [laughs]
Staci: but, that's why it's exciting to have this walking neighborhood.
people do walk this street, and so the window displays and everything are really important.
so you guys have a great location, is my point.
Emma: it's definitely worth, once you find a parking place, it's definitely worth spending
the day on the street and coming to our store. [laughs]
Staci: of course! no knitter is going to pass this up, if they're nearby. of course.
now, something that you guys are doing, you have this store, and it's beautiful, but you
guys are way more than just a brick and mortar store, in my understanding.
you have not only blogging and social media and everything else, but you are knitting
store to the world now, right?
Emma: yes, we started our website a couple of years ago.
and we've just been expanding it as much as possible so we actually do ship internationally.
Staci: that is amazing. i mean, because I live in Texas, and this could be where I get
all of my Spud and Chloe yarn, right?
Emma: that's right.
[Staci laughs]
Emma: we're always trying to keep up with the changes, you know, keep up with the changes
that are happening online.
Staci: right.
Emma: and so, we want to make our online space as beautiful.
Staci: it is so pretty! it really is, your website.
well, your blog and your online store, are they two different things? yeah, they must
be.
Emma: well, our blog, you can find our blog easily from our online store, so it is a,
um, it's kind of like our creative space.
so that's where we kind of, we share what we're knitting, we share tutorials.
we like to showcase new things that are coming in, play with palettes.
this is really kind of like our little place to be creative, and show you what's happening,
what we're thinking about knitting.
and then that's connected to our online store.
so, we really want to create kind of like a - it's really like a holistic thing.
we want it to represent how beautiful our store is in person.
so if you can't come in person to really enjoy the color therapy, and texture.
Staci: color therapy! you walk in the door, and it's instant color therapy the way the
store's arranged.
Emma: oh my gosh. you just feel your stress level, traffic and everything, just come down
a couple of notches.
Staci: [laughs] totally! yeah.
Emma: and so we really want our line store to be - because knitting and crafting is just
so tactile, and some of that gets lost when you go online.
and that's a lot of people, that's why they need to come into the store.
so we work really hard to make sure that what we present to our online shoppers and our
online audience is just as satisfying and gets your creative juices flowing.
Staci: well, the way the photos are taken, you can almost taste the yarn.
the lighting is so pretty, and it really shows the color and everything, so if someone can't
actually touch the yarn, you guys are doing the next best thing, i'm sure.
Emma: yeah, we're sticklers about the quality of the photos we put up.
because we don't want it to misrepresent any of the colors.
the dyers and the yarn companies that we carry, we want to represent their colors as truly,
well as true as possible.
Staci: right.
Emma: so, when you get it in the mail, there are no surprises.
you can just start casting on.
Staci: happy surprises!
Emma: yeah, happy surprises!
Staci: yarn's here!
Emma: yeah, exactly!
[laughing]
Staci: UPS man!
so now, this is a question for you. what is your favorite thing to knit?
Emma: my favorite thing to knit, um, i'm kind of hooked on shawls right now.
Staci: did you make these?
Emma: no, I can't take credit for that.
i'm hooked on lace shawls, center out, start with a garter tab, and then work your way
out.
months and months of just knitting.
but when you finally get it off the needles, it just, it's like this big beautiful.
Staci: you finally get it off the needles, and you block it a little bit, and then you
see how beautiful it is!
Emma: right, yeah.
[staci laughs]
Emma: yeah, and that's kind of the most satisfying part.
when you take the kind of, it's kind of, uhh, not crunchy, but, ruffley, a little bit scruffy
looking when it comes off of the needles.
Staci: oh, it's a mess! it's a glob of knitting.
Emma: i know! and then, okay, don't panic, we're going to block it.
and then you block it, and it just opens up.
and the stitches, they're even more beautiful.
it has a beautiful drape.
Staci: yes.
Emma: and I guess it's that transition that is really addicting for me.
shawl-knitting wise.
Staci: so, who gets all of your triangle shawls? are you keeping them, or giving them away
as gifts?
Emma: well, I'm not cranking them out as quickly as I'd like.
so i do give them away as gifts, but i love to wear shawls. they're one of my favorite
accessories.
Staci: and you work in a yarn store.
Emma: and I work in a yarn store, so there is no end to the number of yarns i'd love
to knit with.
[emma and staci laugh]
Staci: yes! it would take you a lifetime to try every single yarn out there!
Emma: oh, i know!
Staci: well, thank you very much Emma! It was really nice to meet you!
Emma: nice to meet you, too!
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