ABOUT US
Hello hello!
I'm Cleo (they/she). I'm a knitter, crocheter, weaver, pattern designer, and second-time yarn shop owner. I used to run Cast Away Yarn Shop in Santa Rosa, California with my mom Justine, before I left it in her capable hands in 2020. It didn't take long for me to realize I wanted back into the yarn game, and after I moved to Brooklyn I realized the Bushwick/Williamsburg area was in dire need of a craft shop!
I first opened in a small space in East Williamsburg in November, 2022 as the sole employee. Over the next year and a half the shop's community grew quickly and so did our staff. In the summer of 2024 our small team dove in heads first to help us move to a much larger space in Bushwick. That's also when we expanded to open a cafe inside the shop!
(That's my dog Rory, our mascot, in the photo with me.)
The shop's incredible staff (featured below) have made this shop what it is today and I couldn't be more grateful to have them as friends and coworkers. I believe every small business should have two main goals: to contribute to its community (you can read about all our services and programs here) and provide both a good working environment and a living wage to its employees. To this end, we operate on our own unofficial co-op/non-profit model; everyone at the shop earns the same hourly wage (including myself!) and all profits go towards shared raises and bonuses.
Whether you're one of our long-time regulars or have yet to come check us out, thank you for being here! We couldn't do it without your support and engagement in yarn and craft events everywhere. If you haven't already, sign up for our newsletter (below) to keep in touch with what we're up to, follow us on instagram, and, of course, come visit us in the shop!
Meet Our Team!
Use the red arrows below to scroll and read a bit about our each of our incredible staff!
Paulina
Say hi to Paulina, a hardcore animal lover whose technical skills are second to none. Whether you’ve taken her Two-At-A-Time socks technique masterclass, or experienced the results of her hard work on the technical design of our new location, the ‘P’ in Paulina probably stands for precision. We think she could win the Guinness World Record for fastest knitting-without-looking!
Arlo
Meet Arlo, not only an excellent, skilled barista, but a fabulously talented sweater knitter. He’s whip-smart at modifying existing patterns to make them custom-tailored, and generous with his talents, splitting skeins to make matching accessories for his friends. When not here serving up kindness, Arlo is an expert musician (mostly bass, though he does a bit of everything), which is how he has such an extensive collection of sweet obscure jazz t-shirts.
Ify
Peek across the counter through a glorious haze of mohair and you might be able to spot Ify, a wonderfully talented knitter with a penchant for experimenting with bits and bobs of whatever inspires them. Ify brings their multidisciplinary art practice to the forefront of all they do, working across mediums from wool to tattoo ink, oil paint and, rumor has it… even karaoke :)
Jane
Don’t be fooled; despite their cheery, general orange-and-black color scheme, Jane is not simply here for the Halloween season! New to both crochet and the shop, Jane already excels in both arenas, whipping up adorable (and usually orange) accessories, and fancy syrups and drinks with equal aplomb. They spend their free time drawing comics (see them at @cherrymidnight), and that bright artistic nature shines through in all their interactions! Say hi when you see them at the shop!