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The Knitwear Designer Causing Serious Girl Crushes

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find your fade andrea mowryI love it when knitting related stories pop up in unexpected places, like this story from The Cut. The headline is “This Woman is Making Shawls Sexy, I Swear to You,” and if you’ve knit or even seen a picture of the hottest shawl of the past couple of years, Find Your Fade, you might know that the author, Edith Zimmerman, is talking about designer Andrea Mowry.

In the knitting world, as I learned, she had become something of an overnight celebrity — Mowry had rocketed to the top from out of almost nowhere, with her first pattern published only in late 2014, but with at least 88 since, to become arguably one of the world’s most popular designers. She’s like … the knitting world’s Taylor Swift. Cute, talented, driven, precise, upbeat, and kind, with a wink and a flicker of darkness.

There are no real revelations about Mowry in the piece; it’s mostly just fan-girling about a gorgeous and talented designer many of us might wish we were a little more like. But it’s always nice to see knitting portrayed as dynamic, stylish and, yes, even sexy, without a bit of the usual “not your grandma’s knitting” snark in sight.

Have you knit any of Mowry’s patterns? This might be the year I finally knit a Fade.

[Photo: Andrea Mowry via Ravelry.]

 

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Golden Peak Media Acquires CreativeBug

Throughout the saga of the closing of Joann, I’ve been wondering what would happen to CreativeBug, the subscription-based online craft learning platform that Joann acquired in 2017. 

Golden Peak Media has announced its acquisition of the company in a media release. 

Golden Peak is “one of the largest media and education companies serving art and craft enthusiasts in the United States,” according the release, and includes in its portfolio brands like Interweave, Sew Daily, and nine print magazines including Love of Quilting and Interweave Knits. They have daily newsletters, magazines, digital patterns, on-demand classes and host live events.

David Saabye, CEO of Golden Peak, calls the purchase a “very natural fit” supporting crafters in their lifelong learning journeys. 

CreativeBug general manager Liana Allday will stay on and the company will retain its headquarters in Berkeley, Calif. 

Abby Glassenberg of the Craft Industry Alliance collected reactions from some CreativeBug instructors and others with a history at the company, and heard lots of optimism about the news. Ursula Morgan, who was CEO of CreativeBug when the company was acquired by Joann, said Golden Peak is a “perfect home” for CreativeBug as they’re getting an owner that “deeply understands the craft consumer.” 

I, too, am relieved to see that this platform will be able to continue. I’ve been a subscriber for years and I love that it has solid instruction in a wide range of crafts (including knitting, of course!) and is always adding new content to keep the platform interesting. It’s also a great service that CreativeBug is available to many for free through their local libraries, so be sure to check on that where you live if you don’t already subscribe. 

This feels like the last piece of the puzzle in the story of Joann that’s going on all year, along with the announcement that Michaels had purchased Joann’s intellectual property so its private label brands can live on, but of course I’ll keep watching to see if there’s more to come.