I may have started this adventure, but there are many who have helped to make Dances the community it is today. Hiring the right people who share your vision is tricky, and for me that didn't come from a glowing resume. Rather, it came from within our community. I watched interactions with others, listened for that spark of enthusiasm, had conversations with, and appreciated the talents I was witnessing. Not once did I hire because the person was the best crafter in the room.
I watched for connections. Helping someone who walked in nervous and left feeling empowered and welcomed was the connection I wanted to make sure we created. You can teach someone to fix a dropped stitch, but you can't teach the connection that needs to be established with the customer. Were we the best part of that customer's day? Every time, I trusted my gut.
I'll admit, that gut did let me down a couple of times. The most glowing of resumes do not always yield the best fit. But on the flip side, look who that instinct brought me! Remember, I was new to this community, and I knew no one.
Here are the gifts it gave me.
Nikki, as I mentioned before, was the first person to partner with me on this venture, coming on before the doors were even open. She has been a part of every crazy chapter in this business and continues to make sure we stay in business by carefully watching inventory and entering all of that into our POS system and website. She keeps track of updates in pricing, shipping costs and recently is having to navigate tariffs! Nikki is such an important part of this journey and a dear friend I still consult and trust with life's greatest challenges. She is not allowed to ever retire!
Erin came on early, and little did I know that she would become the other side of my brain.
She became my manager as the shop grew, and then something more than a manager. She became the person who helped me decide where we were going. When the world shut down and we had to figure out how to sell yarn to people who couldn't walk through the door, she became the face of this shop online. We navigated COVID together (more on that later), and she is invaluable to the day-to-day operations of the shop.
She's an extraordinary knitter and a spinner, though that's almost beside the point. She is also the architect and the brains behind our very popular year-long knit-along.
If something happened to me tomorrow, Erin knows where all the castle keys are, and the running of Dances would not skip a beat.
Karen came on during our first year. She'd worked at Yarn Lounge in Richmond and knew things I didn't, and I needed her.
Her first day was our first Black Friday. If you were here for those, you remember the crush of it. That was her first day. And she came back the next morning anyway, which tells you everything.
When Lykke needles first came out, nobody could pronounce the name. Karen, a Boston girl with the accent and all, said she had a trick for us. In Boston, she said, the ABC stores are called LICK-A stores.
Ten years later, that is still how we say it. And we have Karen to thank. She was, and is, an expert sweater knitter.
Joyce was here from day one. It was her patience and calm demeanor that I so needed in those early days. She had a beautiful way of connecting with customers. An expert knitter with a great eye for color, she knew the basics of fixing mistakes, and as I mentioned before she taught me to wind yarn! I began knitting with Joyce long before this venture started, and I knew she was someone our customers would connect with.
Rachel was with us such a short time and such a valued member of staff in the early days. She first attended, and then helped build, our Tuesday morning group, and was such a talent! She could do anything, and troubleshoot everything. Her husband was transferred out of state, but she was an important part of our beginning. I learned so much from her.
Jackie was a friend and my first bookkeeper, there at the very beginning, helping get this shop off the ground when I didn't know what I was doing. When she stepped out, Diane carried that work forward.
Both of them were friends first. I appreciated their bluntness and their no-nonsense honesty with me about the books, whether or not I wanted to hear it. Every shop needs someone like that. I had two in the beginning.
Barbara was a valued member of our Thursday stitch group. She kept books for her husband's business for many years, and when he sold that business, she joined the team to carry the bookkeeping forward. Talk about timing! She continues that blunt honesty tradition of her predecessors with the books. She also teaches drop spindle and needle felting, because of course she does. That's the kind of place this is.
Pam started teaching around the table in the middle of our retail space. No classroom. No dedicated corner. Just a table, in the middle of everything, and Pam.
From beginning knitting and crochet all the way to the most advanced techniques, she has turned more of our customers into confident stitchers than I can count. Our whole education program grew out of that table. Pam continues to teach the majority of our knitting classes as well as holding private lessons in our current space.
Keyser was part of our Tuesday stitch group when I asked her to come on as our weaving instructor. She then built the weaving department into something I could never have built alone.
She's also our chief merchandiser, which means that if you've ever walked in and stopped, just for a second, because something caught your eye, it was because of her. Her creative brain never ceases to amaze me. Remember the hats hanging from the ceiling? The works in progress hanging from the walls like works of art? That was Keyser.
Angela and Candice joined us in the last few years, and it is proof that our story isn't finished yet. They came in and immediately started giving something to this community. That isn't something you can ask of a person. They just did it.
Angela is known for her sock expertise. A customer from our first days, she is the most outgoing of the bunch and has never met a stranger. She is such an inspiration with the most positive outlook on the day. You truly see a genuine connection with every single person she meets. Angela is also our dedicated crochet teacher, welcoming brand-new crocheters and helping experienced makers continue to grow their skills with more advanced techniques. If you've ever found yourself swooning over one of our trunk shows, you can thank Angela. She's the magic behind bringing those special events to Dances With Wool.
Candice, our newest member, is known for her adorable knitted animals complete with wardrobes. She is a talented and prolific knitter (remember the fair isle skirt?) and is the creator behind our curated boxes. She is constantly watching posts, trends and other makers online and through podcasts and keeps me up to date on what is happening in the creative fiber world.
Then, 2022 was the year that brought the changes.
Karen retired, though you'll still find her here most weeks. Joyce retired. And in December of that year, I lost Lucy, another valued member of our team.
Lucy, my sweet chocolate lab mix, came into my life in 2013, after my divorce, when she was found on the streets of Richmond. She was neglected, starving, and about as far from safe as a dog can get. I'd like to tell you I rescued her. The truth is we healed each other.
She was in this from the beginning, when there was just an idea of a shop, and she was an integral part of our team. I couldn't have done this without her. She was the official greeter, and my silent cheerleader. She had her spot. You probably remember it, right on the couch facing the door. Many of you came in, and she was the first one you greeted. She knew her people, and most important among those was Sally, the treat lady.
We started this venture together, and I miss this sweet baby girl every single day. In the six months before her death, she trained her successor, her golden retriever sister Millie, to carry on as official greeter.
Whew! My team, my people, my friends. I've learned so much from each and every one. What you see when you see this team in action is incredible talent, and a desire to contribute to this community, to enrich it, to nurture it, and to help shape whatever comes next.
I began Dances With Wool by giving it a space to exist. I didn't build it or give it its wings. What it has become is because of this amazing team building the community alongside me. I only recognized the talent when it walked through the door.
Chapter 3 video by Debbie Floyd