Today I visited a local yarn store by the name of The Black Purl here in Rochester NY. I’ve been meaning to visit this store for awhile, for it kept popping up in my Facebook Feed. The name alone really caught me as something really cool and something I needed to check out. I absolutely love the play on words. When I walked in the store, sorry to use this cliche , but, I felt like a kid in a candy store. There was a pirate theme with pictures, octopus sculpture and cargo nets, shades of gray paint throughout the store and a big comfy couch that the owner was sitting on and knitting. It had a real home feel to it, like you could just chill there all day.
The owner of the store was very welcoming and not who you would expect and this is absolutely why I loved this store and why I loved her. She had multicolored hair and piercings. I got to talking to her and she had said she wanted to make a store that didn’t feel so judgy and you are encouraged to touch stuff and ask questions. She had several items on display to show what the yarns looked like, so her customers could get a better feel of what they weer buying. I was very impressed at the work she put into the samples. The non-traditional “ image” of this store is exactly what we have aimed with starting this whole Crafty Rockers blog. Nancy and I set out to show people that crafting/ diy/ projects are not just for some little ol’ lady with her hair in a bun rocking in a chair. Oh wait, scratch that, I basically described myself, but you know what I mean. There is such a release in creating and making items for yourself and others, seriously, the best therapy. I am very passionate about helping people find what their own niche is and happy to see someone doing exactly that.
This also brings me to something else that I loved about the store and its purveyor. She had a table set up with information about a charity called Knitted Knockers. Anyone that knows me, knows I have a major space in my heart for charitable causes. What Knitted Knockers are is soft, comfortable knit prosthetic for breast cancer survivors. If you or someone you know is a survivor, the prosthesis you are given are often very irritating to the scar tissue, which then leaves women not wanting to wear anything, which can lead to self esteem issues and depression. This charity encourages knitters and crocheters to make these and they provide directions and a list of acceptable yarns to use. This store is a collection site for these and I plan on making some of these myself, in memory of my grandmother. If anyone would like to partake in this, I will be more than happy to also drop these off when I drop mine off. Also you can visit www.knittedknockers.org to help
I leave you with a small adage of “ not all who wander are lost” . I say this because I went in to this store with just the intention of window shopping. I left impressed with the marketing, the atmosphere and the reach to the community.
Love!!