On today’s episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast, we’re talking about owning and running a local yarn shop with my guest Ana Campos.
Ana Campos is a Brazilian knitting instructor, fiber witch, and designer with over 20 years of knitting experience. She currently makes her home by the sea in Salem, Massachusetts, known as the Witch City. As a Latina and an immigrant, she values the opportunities for connection, community, and common ground that knitting creates. Ana’s love for the knitting community led her to open Circle of Stitches, the witchiest yarn shop, in 2015.
Her focus is on empowering knitters to grow their skills and technical knowledge, so everyone can make pieces they love. She is passionate about teaching students how to customize patterns for the perfect fit. She also loves teaching Portuguese knitting, which reminds her of her grandma Tina back home in Rio, and hosting her monthly tarot study group.
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Ana talks about her life growing up in Brazil. She explains how she learned to knit and became interested in dyeing yarn, shifting from selling handmade items to selling yarn and patterns. She explains her vision for opening a local yarn shop in Salem, Massachusetts, and how she differentiates her shop, making it a destination for locals as well as Salem tourists.
Ana talks about starting a yarn subscription box, something we’re seeing more and more local yarn shops undertake. The boxes she creates have a fiber witch theme.
We also discuss the Vogue Knitting Diversity Advisory Council which Ana serves on, as well as Latines y Lana, an ongoing project to elevate and share the work of Latine fiber artists.
And, of course, I ask Ana to recommend great stuff she’s loving right now. Ana recommends:
- Knitstrips
- the lunar moth embroidery kit by Rikrack
- The Knitting Barber cords
Keep up with Ana on the Circle of Stitches website, follow along on Instagram for updates, and subscribe to the shop’s YouTube channel to watch the From Salem with Love podcast.