Support and Save Seattle Yarn

Seattle Yarn is an institution in West Seattle, continuously serving the community for over a quarter century. Destiny Itano and Cheryl Lea assumed ownership of Seattle Yarn in August of 2018. Through the next 20 months, they revamped and reinvigorated the shop with their own brand of fun and hospitality. Destiny, Cheryl, and their employee, Elspeth Jones, are continuously cultivating a welcoming, inclusive, supportive space for all the fiber crafters of the West Seattle community, the city of Seattle, and the greater Puget Sound. Cheryl and Elspeth are life long West Seattle residents, and Destiny has lived in West Seattle for 15 years and in Seattle her entire life.

As a woman and POC (Person of Color) owned space, Destiny and Cheryl have made a point to invest in other locally owned, woman-owned, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color) owned businesses for the shop’s yarns, notions, and accessories. Destiny and Elspeth (and numerous guest instructors) have taught dozens of classes on knitting, crochet, weaving, and spinning. The shop hosts 3 times a week social knit groups, and has thrown birthday parties and monthly game nights. The love Destiny, Cheryl, and Elspeth have for all the knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners, and crafters that come into Seattle Yarn is immediately evident. Seattle Yarn's support of the greater community through fundraising for others, so that more people can access the supplies and lessons necessary for crafting, is heartwarming and impactful. 

Now, it is our turn to support Seattle Yarn.

The shop has been closed to the public for over two months, following Gov. Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Seattle Yarn flushed their online store with most of the shop’s inventory, allowing us to shop virtually. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been enough. Seattle Yarn thrives on having the community in the shop for classes, trunk shows, and special events. And it’s going to be awhile before any of those things can resume. 

Destiny and Cheryl want you to know that any contribution helps and is greatly appreciated. (And if you feel that your contributions need to go to other causes, we totally understand that, too!) Generally speaking, it costs a minimum of $12,000 to keep the shop open each month. That covers expenses like rent, utilities, insurance, and payroll, etc, but but does not include inventory and the like. Instead of setting a big goal, we're going to start small and love every bit that comes in! $1500 would go a long way towards utility expenses, $5000 would cover rent and a little extra, and each smaller amount adds up to make a big impact. 

Let's lift up this special place. Together, we can support this West Seattle treasure!

Thank you.