Our First New York Yarn Exchange - 2/05

Meeting new volunteers and teaching!

It was a hot summer day in New York. After a hectic morning (which included traveling back and forth to the meeting location TWICE in one day) - the get together started. My closest friend came and we set up for the coming attendees. As people came, they joined in and lent a helping hand. There was yarn to be sorted, tables to be dressed, magazines to be laid out and applications to be filled in.

This time, trying to get more organized, I had made a volunteer form so that the volunteers could share their interests and state what they expected to get out of the group.

We have received the acceptance letter from Safe Horizons, one of the leading advocates for survivors of domestic violence in the country. This organization currently has 2 "transitional" facilities (6 month stays) and 6 emergency facilities (3 month stays). With this information I was able to share a concrete committment from an organization towards receiving these items on a consistent basis.

And it was a wonderful event - A total of six women attended and each agreed to create something wonderful. I held a class of creating a plaid fabric using crochet - and it went really well. We all sat around the central table and made multi-color swatches of our own design.

We were all relieved when the rain clouds finally brought relief to the heat and showers poured down outside.

sue rock originals No Matter What!!

For the next get together in June - what would be next? The yarn was overflowing and I began crocheting voraciously - oversized pullovers, reminiscent of the ski tops of Gidget's '60s. Shrugs combining colors, pinks and magentas. It was a real challenge to come to the yarn with a sense of the contemporary, both in color and in style. The first thing was to group all the yarns received in terms of color. Choosing the P hook to work with was best - using three yarns would "eat" the yarns stores and wonderful textured items could be created. You see, many of the acrylic yarns are in loud garish colors. Finding combinations that would not hurt someone's feelings ("so ........you actually think I should WEAR that.....hmmmmmm) was exciting! Pale yellow combinations with a splash of red became a child's throw which reminded me of Banana Now & Later candies. Infinate numbers of "super saver" balls of a strange puce/pink combined with a soft blue of lighter weight yarn created an almost three dimensional visual effect. With white fluffy cuffs and neckline - holiday entertaining comes to mind. Combinations of Greens, rather than being overly bright are warm and forest like.

I decided to do the next get together in the lobby of my building - offered it as a way for folks to actually get their hands into some yarn and start crafting. Imagine my shock and surprise that women actually came to my little corner of the world in Brooklyn and enjoyed visiting. The day was sweltering, so I loaded up a large basin with ice and cans of Snapple juices. As women came in they admired the items created and immediately dived into the yarns.

The orientation story is always one which bring people together. Posing the question - "Can a woman who has just had the courage to bring her kids to the shelter in her denim jacket and her flip flips ......can she have a bag?, can she have a sweater?" always gets heads nodding. "What about a pair of earrings?" one woman said, "I mean when she is going to court, they always say 'look presentable' - I make jewelry, what about a earring and necklace set"?

.......so I guess there is bound to be a jewelry component.......hmmmmmm

(now where is that huge jar of earring backs I had?........)

Sue

Sue Rock Originals - The Beginning.....

sue rock originals came out of the need to bring the classic tradition of crochet to the growing handknit and crochet marketplace. We are design company that has produced of a line of hand crocheted seasonal accessories and clothing. We will be launching a travel bag in the fall that has been produced in collaboration with the men and women of Rwanda and Kenya. Their knitting and crochet cooperatives have been key in making this possible.

During the winter of 1999, to put it frankly, I needed a way of "keeping my hands out of my own pockets". Although I had a 20 year corporate career, it was still not making ends meet. I though it was important to change my poor financial habits now and create future for myself. Crocheting, for me, was the answer: there was no learning curve involved (I had been taught to crochet by my South Carolina grandmother) and there was a sense of effortless joy in the activity.

Without any liquid capital and in an effort to "make a dollar out of 15 cents" I searched the internet for crochet patterns. These wound up being the initial pieces to a now extensive vintage pattern collection spanning the early 1920’s to today. Ebay would be next – as the resource for first purchases of yarn. Its back and forth correspondence style between buyer and seller encouraged a wonderful sense of community. One relationship afforded a remarkable windfall – all of the remaining stock from the yarn store she had closed 3 years ago (at 10 cents on the dollar!). As I surveyed the mounting patterns and now non-stop boxes coming to my door, I marveled – "God must certainly have a plan for this….."

Hats turned to scarves and scarves turned to skirts. As the retail market continued to flood with Mexican made ponchos and imported Chinese scarves, I diligently worked on crochet fedoras, bubble cloches and dense, tailored men’s accessories. A chance meeting with marketing consultant Jada Goodlet turned the direction of the company to a whole new perspective – a line of travel accessories in rich fabrics and wonderful colors for the high end travel market.
But how to have these items created easily and affordably? Enter Cari Clement, originator of the Fiber and Craft Entrepreneurial Development Center (FACED), one of the Centers for Social Responsibility located in Kigali, Rwanda and a thriving knitter’s cooperative. With her and Liz Wald of EDImports, sue rock originals has the samples for its travel line and the beginnings of a thriving business relationship.

Through working with people such as Jada Goodlet of Goodlet Consulting, Liz Wald of EDImports, the United Nations Micro Economic Development Group and businesses like 4W Women’s Circle in Brooklyn, sue rock originals will most assuredly be successful.

Thank you so very much for your interest!

Contact Info

The Yarn Exchange Info
Susan Hargett-Rock