Weaving Artistry at The Knitters Studio
September 3, 2024 - by Rachel Pfalzer
Weaving Artistry at The Knitters Studio
When you walk into The Knitters Studio, you are immediately greeted with a symphony of vibrant colors, cascading vines, and vast floor-to-ceiling windows. The bright and airy space creates an environment certain to nurture a creative spark, which is exactly what owner Rene Dickey hoped to achieve when she opened her new shop in May of this year. The Knitters Studio is not just a yarn store – it’s a haven of self-expression.
“I strived to create a space where people could feel inspired, comfortable, and enjoy spending time in,” Dickey says. “There are so many devoted and talented people who work with fiber arts, and I wanted to showcase that.”
Dickey discovered her love for the craft 25 years ago as a university student of the fine arts. She was disappointed by the limited abilities of traditional painting mediums and realized that she had found her true calling as an artist when she first stepped foot into a local yarn shop. To her, each skein provided endless possibilities of color, texture, pattern, form, and shape. She quickly grew enamored with the community aspect of fiber arts that was cultivated within small yarn shops and the joy of sharing the arts with others. When she noticed that the Eastside was lacking on that front, she knew it was time to fill that void by starting her own store and makerspace.
While larger craft stores offer limited selections of synthetic yarns, The Knitters Studio boasts a strong, curated collection of buttery soft, hand-dyed yarns from all over the world. Rene and her team all have extensive knowledge about the art of knitting and crocheting and seek to make it as accessible as possible. So, whether you are learning for the first time or simply looking for pointers to further hone your skills, The Knitters Studio offers guidance through the philosophy that everyone has the capacity to learn and gain something meaningful from the creative process.
class offered at the studio this fall.
“Unfortunately, many people stop creating things as they grow out of childhood. I believe humans have a deep need and appreciation for making things – this satisfies those needs,” muses Dickey.
When she opened her shop, she was drawn to Downtown Bellevue’s multitude of alluring qualities. Its safety, cleanliness, and walkability all contribute to nurturing an environment perfect for starting a small business. The diversity of the area creates a mecca for appreciation of art, culture, fashion, and innovation, inviting people in to learn more about different mediums of creative expression. The Knitters Studio’s central location in the Elements building only furthers the opportunity for more community members to learn about the endless possibilities of working with their hands, one small stitch at a time.
For those looking to get involved with the world of yarn, The Knitters Studio has a variety of offerings catered to every skill level. They teach a wide range of knitting and crocheting classes as well as weekly social times to meet and mingle with fellow fiber arts lovers. This fall, they will also be hosting pop-up events with local dyers and a book signing event.
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The Knitters Studio
958 111th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
