Yarn Garage Puts New Spin on Knitting

With every color of the spectrum and hue imaginable, it’s probably the most vibrant “garage” you’ll ever see, filled with all types of yarn – and everything created from it – showcased from ceiling to floor.

Surrounded with such a colorful atmosphere and creative ideas, it’s a little easier to park one’s problems at home and get inspired - which is one of goals.

Nestled in the heart of downtown Rosemount, Yarn Garage is located right next to . The unique little store is one of two in the Twin Cities owned by the talented Steven Berg, aptly nicknamed “The Famous Glitter Knitter” for his charismatic personality, unique approach to knitting, and flamboyant love for fabrics. He encourages customers to “knit happy, glitter it up.”

After attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Berg said he worked his way up the ladder in the corporate fashion industry during the early years of his career, which included the position of vice president of design and merchandising for Perry Ellis, before returning to Minnesota and becoming a small business owner. Today he owns both the beloved Yarn Garage and its “bigger, more exploded version,” Steven Be, housed in an old renovated firehouse in downtown Minneapolis.

We talked with Berg about his one-of-a-kind, colorful business and how he sells his passion for such a specialized craft.

Rosemount Patch:  What inspired or motivated you to open a yarn business? 

Steven Berg: Well, I’d been a knitter since I was a kid; I started when I was 4 ½-years-old. I hung out with my mom and mimicked what she did – it was like having a part-time job. Instead of mowing lawns, I always had knitting projects and sold what I made to earn money. I knew I wanted to be either a fashion designer or actor someday – I didn’t want to do the same thing every night…

[After returning to Minnesota from New York] my mom – who lived in Rosemount at the time, right behind Cub Foods – suggested I open a yarn shop. We started in fall 2002, and business grew fast – we drew [customers] from as far as Hastings and Cannon Falls. And it started right when knitting took an upward turn, and they came out with interesting yarns and fun and fast projects that appealed to a younger crowd.

Rosemount Patch:  With selling such a specific product and hobby, how has the economy affected you?

Berg: Knitting was huge in the 70s, [but] in the late 80s and 90s, it took a dive down while people became involved with careers and with computers. In 2003, there was a resurgence that attracted a younger crowd – they came out with colorful, fringy, furry yarn, and fun and fast projects like accessories and scarves. That paved the way for us to be successful.

In March 2003, we moved to our present location and it’s been a perfect fit for us. The rent is affordable, which can [otherwise] be so expensive for a small business. Michelle [Scheuerlein], the owner of Rosemount Floral [and] who owns the whole building, was very accommodating and helped us a lot; we just continued growing.

We had a little dip in the beginning [of the recent recession], but as people’s unemployment ran out and they started to stay home more, they were looking for a hobby and an interest that would allow them to productive, where you end up with something to show for your work at the end of the day. That’s really rewarding – to make something by hand and know that you did that. It’s not something you get every day.

So we like to [give customers the opportunities to] do show-and-tells; we do trunk shows where you can display what you made. It’s an accomplishment, something to be proud of – and we bend over backwards and really do everything possible to help our customers.

Big merchants have been a bit of a battle but [as a small business], face-to-face [contact with customers] is real important. I like to tell people, I’ll know your first name – I may not always know your last name – but I’ll always know what project you’re working on.

[We want the knitting experience to be] fun and playful, lighthearted – we want this to be a happy place where – whatever troubles you might have at home – you can leave them behind. We named our downtown store “Steven Be” as a play on words – [we want you to] be all you want to be – be creative, be inspired!

Rosemount Patch: How did you come up with the name “Yarn Garage?”

Berg: Two reasons [why we call it that] – back when we started, we went around doing home knitting parties, teaching people how to knit. Sort of like holding Tupperware parties – and we stored our yarn in the garage. The other thing was, we were thinking “garage band” – like a nonconformist way of doing things.

Rosemount Patch: It sounds like teaching [customers] has always been a pretty important thing – and you offer a lot of classes and ‘knit nights?’

Berg: We have evening classes, day classes, open workshops – they’re offered through District 196, Community Ed – and in-house classes. We go into schools – I’ve gone into Red Pine Elementary to do demonstrations. And so we have kids knitting on Thursdays … we want to give the younger generation a way to learn hobbies and crafts. It’s funny, once they start, their parents start. So, then we have family knit nights where they can knit together. We have Wild Women of Wednesdays, Pizza and Purls parties on Fridays – we shop local, since we strongly believe in supporting local businesses – so we order local pizza, and we have this joke: Whoever gets the most grease on their project gets an evening discount.

[Our approach is] very different, very creative – everybody’s out of the box, and [we] don’t follow the norm. We treat it as an art form. We cater to easy projects and trends of fashion in the stores. Knitting is no longer an expensive hobby … we help people who don’t have a lot of skill and want to do it. That’s our personality. We purposely refuse to go to a mall [as a location] – we love the character of the old building; Michelle has let us blossom. We have five to seven wonderful staff who work at all times and keep the store going. Between the two stores, I work seven days at week at this – both have been successful.

Rosemount Patch:  And in doing so, it looks like you also defy the knitting stereotypes that may be out there?

Berg:  Yes – especially for those not familiar with it – we’re not just for knitting grandmas, although we do welcome them in our groups. We’ve actually got a group of local high school students that are studying ethnography, and they actually come in and study us, because we’re sort of a subculture of our own. Inevitably, they end up joining us.

We put a new spin on [knitting]. Did you notice our big sequined store sign, by the way? We have the only sign in town with sequins.

Rosemount Patch:  Yes, you definitely can't miss it! So, what are some of your future goals for the business?

Berg: We’re looking at maybe doing an in-house knitting reality show...and we have plans for expanding and maybe even opening up a knitting bed-and-breakfast. There’s no stopping me once I get started on something!