Got Yarn? Hubbard store stocks speciality craft supplies

By Sarah Lehr | June 7, 2017 at 12:02a.m.

HUBBARD

Gwen Brown’s home was a tangle of yarn, looms and knitting supplies.

Now, however, the compulsive crafter has her own store that doubles as a workspace.

Brown, a Hubbard resident, opened Gwen Erin Natural Fibers this January at 44 N. Main St. in the city.

The store offers individual and group crafting classes. It also stocks specialty items that are difficult to find at big-box craft stores.

Along with looms and spinning wheels, Gwen Erin sells dyes and fibers to customers who make their own yarn.

Brown said making yarn allows for greater control over details, such as texture.

“It’s like that artisan, small-batch thing that’s just happening everywhere,” Brown said.

She likes to trade tips about the process at fiber-arts shows in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Brown’s mother, Jan Shriver, who describes herself as a casual knitter, often visits these expos with her daughter. Shriver said she’s noticed a demographic shift among attendees.

“There was a whole bunch of people like me, and I’m in my 60s,” Shriver said. “So, there’s all of us hippie mothers who knew about it back then. All of us white-haired ladies are walking around and then you’ve got her [Brown’s] generation with the LuLaRoe [clothing brand] on.”

Knitting does seem to be having a moment among millennials, Brown acknowledged.

Brown uses social media to attract customers. She frequents Ravelry, an online forum for knitters and crocheters, and follows tags like #MadeByMeMonday on Instagram, the photo-sharing application for smartphones.

“It’s funny because when I talk to people in person, they’re like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe anybody does this,’” Brown said. “I feel like everybody I know does this because my entire Instagram feed is full of yarn.”