Bloomin Yarns Blog: Staff interview

From Michelle: I've been slightly lax in getting these staff interviews posted, but here are the remaining four along with another introduction to Rebecca, a college student who helped us here at Bloomin Yarns during her recent holiday break. One of Rebecca's jobs was to interview our staff and write a blog post on each person.
Thanks, Rebecca! It was great having you!

Michelle

Michelle pictured with her Earth Stripe Wrap

When I first e-mailed Michelle about working at Bloomin Yarns this past November, she replied to make sure that I understood what I was getting myself into. I'll never forget how she wrote, "We certainly don't sit around and knit all day!" She later tells me, "There are a lot of things [about owning a yarn shop] that people don't think of." These things include knowing what will sell, how to market yourself, and bookkeeping skills. Michelle opened Bloomin Yarns in 2007, when she started knitting after taking a hiatus from it. Like most of her employees, Michelle started knitting at a young age, and learned from her grandmothers. Her first projects included a pink purse and Barbie clothes. "They (the Barbie clothes) were pretty awful but I thought they were fabulous." When she was a teenager, she crocheted scarves and baby blankets, but fell out of knitting in her twenties. She started knitting again when she married her husband and made sweaters for him, their children, and herself. She took another break until 2006, right before opening her shop. "I always wanted to have a business, but none of my ideas seemed right, and then I started knitting again and visiting yarn shops and thought it would be fun!" Michelle took some classes at CCAC for small business owners before taking the plunge. At first, she was mostly on her own; she had some friends help her label product and other small tasks, and she did ask for advice from a friend who worked at a yarn store. Then that September she hired Janice, who she knew from working with at another job. Bloomin Yarns is coming up on its fifth year- quite a feat for a small business, especially in this economy. It is clear, though, that Michelle genuinely enjoys two of the most fundamental aspects of owning a store- the customers and the product. It is not uncommon to find her comparing notes with a fellow knitter or taking a break to play with color combinations. People who come to the shop can’t help but notice Michelle’s enthusiasm for all things related to knit and crochet. One thing that they may not notice right away, however, is that her enthusiasm can be rather contagious.