My latest adventure took me to Minneapolis for work and fun. It was great to see and spend time with my son and his wife (the pair expecting). Mom-to-be has acquired the baby bump and the beautiful glow of a pregnant woman. She is looking and acting strong and everything seems to be going very well. The first night in town I was treated to another quintessential Minnesota meal of wild rice with mushrooms, onions and craisins with walleye and peas. It seems to have become a tradition and I love it.
My son had just finished his day job of teaching and was willing to take me around town. So I took full advantage of this offer and asked if he'd take me to StevenBe's yarn shop on 3448 Chicago Avenue. The owner Steven Berg was someone I met at Vogue Knitting Live (VKL) in Seattle this last spring, so it was a plan to visit his store when I was in town.
Before we talk about the shop, let me give you a bit of information about Steven. He grew up in a yarn shop owned and operated by his mother. Steven, even at a very young age, had a flare for fashion creating doll fashions that he sold to neighbours. He spent 30 years in the fashion industry, but luckily for us left that work in the early 2000's to come back to Minneapolis to open his own yarn shop with his sister in a 19th century firehouse. The neighborhood his shop is located is not necessarily the hippest place to live in Minneapolis, but that clearly does not keep customers away. Outside is a lovely enclosed garden that is used during the summer for knit nights.
Below is a 2010 advertisement he did for Addi, a knitting needle collection by Skacel from Germany. He is well known for his use of glitter and this advertisement plays that up.
My son and I ventured in on a random Thursday morning and the place was hopping, apparently there was a knit-day event going on where knitters bring in what they're working on and talk and knit and drink the tea or coffee provided. My son described this as "old lady daycare." I reminded him I could have easily been one of those ladies and he appropriately smiled.
The store's setting is dramatic.
You walk in to a wide open space with high ceilings, chandelier and an eclectic yarn inventory. Steven has a style all his own; at VKL he was wearing a sweater knit from film from an old film reel we had in school back in the day along with VHS tape.
Although the photo seems to make the shop appear cluttery, I can attest it doesn't seem that way in person. The inventory of yarn is well organized and there are plenty of accessories like boas, unusual buttons, bags for your knitting products in addition to the yarn. Additionally all the staff were very friendly and helpful. (I did know all of this going into the shop, but my son did not. He being a guy was a bit leery about this adventure, so I promised I wouldn't take more than an hour in the store and I held tightly to that time frame. I might need to ask him again to go with me to another shop in the future. :-)
Steven wasn't there when we walked in but shortly after our arrival the place lit up when he arrived. He immediately found my son, who at this point was sitting outside the knitting circle in a comfy chair. Steven asked him what brought him to the store and my son shared it was his mother. My son was given a cup of tea and I was given an opportunity to have my photo taken with Steven especially since I was so far out of town.
My son had just finished his day job of teaching and was willing to take me around town. So I took full advantage of this offer and asked if he'd take me to StevenBe's yarn shop on 3448 Chicago Avenue. The owner Steven Berg was someone I met at Vogue Knitting Live (VKL) in Seattle this last spring, so it was a plan to visit his store when I was in town.
Before we talk about the shop, let me give you a bit of information about Steven. He grew up in a yarn shop owned and operated by his mother. Steven, even at a very young age, had a flare for fashion creating doll fashions that he sold to neighbours. He spent 30 years in the fashion industry, but luckily for us left that work in the early 2000's to come back to Minneapolis to open his own yarn shop with his sister in a 19th century firehouse. The neighborhood his shop is located is not necessarily the hippest place to live in Minneapolis, but that clearly does not keep customers away. Outside is a lovely enclosed garden that is used during the summer for knit nights.
Below is a 2010 advertisement he did for Addi, a knitting needle collection by Skacel from Germany. He is well known for his use of glitter and this advertisement plays that up.
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| Steven's ad for Addi |
My son and I ventured in on a random Thursday morning and the place was hopping, apparently there was a knit-day event going on where knitters bring in what they're working on and talk and knit and drink the tea or coffee provided. My son described this as "old lady daycare." I reminded him I could have easily been one of those ladies and he appropriately smiled.
The store's setting is dramatic.
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| Steven B's shop as you enter. See Steven there just right of center? |
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| Steven's film sweater |
Steven wasn't there when we walked in but shortly after our arrival the place lit up when he arrived. He immediately found my son, who at this point was sitting outside the knitting circle in a comfy chair. Steven asked him what brought him to the store and my son shared it was his mother. My son was given a cup of tea and I was given an opportunity to have my photo taken with Steven especially since I was so far out of town.
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| Steven Be and me just hanging out together in his shop |
And, surely you can guess, I did purchase a wee bit of yarn as I'm prone to do on these sorts of trips. An alpaca blend that has subsequently been turned into a Sanibel cowl, a Plymouth cotton yarn that is being made into another Sunnyside baby cardigan and a lovely Elle Rae, lace merino DK in a colour blend similar to Tena's hickory for her Antler sweater were all purchased on sale.
My son and I will be talking about this particular shopping adventure for some time to come. It was one moment in this trip where I knew he was willing to take himself out of his comfort zone to make me happy. What more can a mother ask of a son?
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