Carolyn Lowi is the new owner of Concepts in Yarn! All the papers were signed at the beginning of the month, and Carolyn immediately started a major redesign of the shop. While negotiations were in progress, Carolyn already began opening up the space and making the shop bright and airy. Now the shop is closed temporarily for the major work to be completed. We all feel like we are wearing blindfolds that will come off on April 15th when the shop reopens. We will be there to celebrate!
Carolyn’s ownership means a lot to Handmade Especially for You. Carolyn believes in helping others, and part of her motivation for buying Concepts was to make sure the good work of Handmade continues. This generous philosophy dates at least back to when she was raising her two sons. She understood that they had everything they needed and wanted, that they were privileged, in contrast with the children who arrive at shelters with their abused moms. She wanted her sons to know the difference between their lucky lives and the lives of those who had less.
As a result, she started volunteering in the community, and even volunteering at shelters for abused women. She took her young sons with her. They all participated in 1736’s Christmas boutique. That’s when 1736 turns its offices into a “store.” Each office is a different “department,” so mothers can “shop” for their kids and kids can select gifts for their mothers. Kids, by the way, love to choose Handmade’s comfort scarves for their moms so Carolyn was familiar with Handmade long before she learned to knit! At 1736, she helped mothers go from room to room picking out gifts for their children. Her sons participated by wrapping the selected gifts. Everyone-- the mothers, the children and the volunteers--leaves happy at this warm holiday event.
In addition to running Concepts in Yarn and supporting Handmade, Carolyn has a new project in mind. Her older son entered treatment in 2016 (he has been sober now for 14 months!). Going through the hardest parts of recovery were difficult for him. From that experience, Carolyn thought that a small knit blanket might help others who arrive at treatment centers sometimes at their lowest, sometimes near death. She wants to encourage teens to learn to knit so they can make “comfort blankets” for people going through the challenges of recovery. They can use these blankets the same way abused women use their comfort scarves. Wearing a comfort scarf feels like a hug; Carolyn thinks holding on to a comfort blanket will feel the same way.
We so appreciate Carolyn’s invitation for us to continue meeting on Wednesday evenings 5-7 p.m. at Concepts. And we are grateful that she will allow us to place our bins in her shop. Handmade volunteers will still be able to drop off finished scarves and pick up new kits to make more comfort scarves just by dropping in at the beautiful, fresh, new Concepts in Yarn.
Thank you, Carolyn. Good luck to you, your family, and to Concepts! We wish you every success.