THE JOURNEY BEGAN JUNE 6 2008

Back in 2008 i still went by “Olga”.

By now, not only did I change my name to Aina, which is the last name I had age 0 to 16, but T-SPOT has undergone dramatic, even if gradual, changes.

When the shop was opening, recession was setting in, and many of us found something soothing about escaping into a knitting pattern, wrapping warm yarn around one’s fingers, pulling loop through loop through loop in a meditative state.

“Friday Night Knitting Club” was on NY Times bestseller list and all matter of celebrities - from Julia Roberts to Russell Crowe - were knitting in public.In fact, “Knit in Public Day” is a world-wide celebration of the craft still.

A beloved local shop, Bad Woman Yarn, was moving to Seattle and so I filled in their shoes. It’s hard to believe, but I actually did NOT know how to knit when we opened! I’d been a life-long crocheter, but needles weren’t my friends at first. I have to say, it wasn’t that hard to pick it up. In fact, to put my “yarn store owner” hat back on for a moment- if you are a crocheter, or left-handed, and you feel like knitting is too hard - do not despair. Try continental style! You might find it much more intuitive for you.

The community that blossomed around the knit night that T-SPOT was hosting brought in many wonderful people, with fascinating life stories. We shared patterns, worries, wine, techniques, laughs, and on occasion - even a few tears.

But .. Isn’t there always a “but”.

The knitting fad was waning, and the devoted fans of T-SPOT started noticing that first jewelry, and then clothing was slowly encroaching on the yarn displays. The way I learned to explain the decision to disappointed crafters is - “Not selling knitting supplies anymore was the hardest business decision I’ve ever made, but it was also the best one”.

The chocolate however, held its own. No matter what future brings to our shelves, the magic of pure dark single-origin bar will persist.

Thank you for listening!

Those were fun Wednesdays…