We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Celeste Murphy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Celeste , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Thinking of a yarn shop might conjure visions of a cozy environment fill with friendly elderly women, but that is not always the reality for a knitter. If you crochet, your experience may be even farther from that image. Yarn shops are amazing places filled with candy-shop like enticing varieties of fiber and color. They can also be intimidating to newcomers or even repeat customers. Sometimes they can be downright unwelcoming. I know that was my experience for years with two local yarn shops. Then when I created a local knit group I learned that my experience was not isolated. All the knitters in my group had similar experiences, at least in our area. Crocheters had it even worse. They expressed that they felt there was an invisible sign posted that stated “No Crochet”. They were banished to shop at big box stores and learn their craft in secret.

Fast forward many years. A friend who would become my business partner and I were discussing how we were tired of driving to find friendlier shops without success. After many conversations we decided to open a shop in our town. From the start our mission was to create a space where everyone was welcome.

Aside from inventory our most important purchase was a large table, where we would welcome anyone, anytime to just sit and work on their project. We have three designated “Open Studio” crafting times. We offer complimentary help to everyone. Everyone who comes in the door is personally greeted. We don’t have a lot of signs around the shop, except for one that reads, “All Welcome Here, All Ages, All Genders, All Abilities, All Cultures, All Beliefs, All Religions, All Means All.” This is our driving mission. And yes, all of this includes crocheters.

Our classes range from novice to advance crafters. All of our store samples have tags that read “You Can Make This” because we truly believe that anyone can accomplish what inspires them. Staff are trained to always be encouraging and reassuring without being pushy. Our marketing utilizes friendly tones that are respectful. We may use slang, but we do not use any profanity because we are a family friendly shop. We offer classes for children and families. We have a little craft library in front of the shop. For those who struggle financially we offer donated materials.

My partner has since moved on from the store, but I remember when we first opened she warned me that at times I would feel like a bartender. I wasn’t sure what she meant until the very next day I was handing tissues across the table. A woman who came in for help with a project soon began telling me about life struggles. It is an honor to become a part of people’s lives.

Celeste , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

All of my life I have dreamt of having my own business. It’s sort of in my blood. My maternal great grandmother was a milliner who owned a shop in downtown Philadelphia. My paternal great grandparents owned a market in Philadelphia. My grand father owned a floor refinishing business and my father owned an auto body shop. When I was nine years old I learned to knit in school. I became immediately obsessed. In middle school I subscribed to Vogue Knitting magazine and was writing my own sweater patterns. Through college I made extra money by designing and knitting and selling sweaters. After college I started a small t-shirt company and sold my items in Philadelphia boutiques.

Yet, somehow I did not put the fantasy of owning my own business and knitting together. It wasn’t until I was in my 50s that a friend came told me she had a dream that we opened a yarn shop together. We laughed and dismissed the idea. But then my nagging idea of owning my own business spoke up. We decided to give it a shot. If it was meant to be, it would come together. Within six months we rented a brick & mortar space and we were open!

If you were to look at my resume, you might see a jumble of unrelated experiences. I’ve worked for a professional theater, a non-profit youth center, a medical device manufacturer, a credit union and more. My diverse roles were all preparing me for owning my business, though rather unintentionally. I learned acting, marketing, graphic design, and finance. All of these experiences have become directly useful in my business.

The best part of it though is the people. I love helping them when they are stuck on a project. It is such a joy to see someone express themselves through craft. I see the visual affect when someone uses their craft to de-stress. I meet so many inspiring people! And it is incredibly rewarding to get to know people that I would otherwise never met.

So as far as my background and experience goes…I don’t think I could have planned this. And I am so happy it has worked out the way it has.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Well, everyone has their pandemic story…here is mine.

December 2019 I bought out my business partner. I was quite nervous about whether or not I could do this on my own. Having a partner was hard, but this was a bit scary. Then the Pandemic hit! I could have taken it as a sign to end the business but instead of getting scared I got angry! Nothing was going to take me down. Well honestly I was scared too. I decided to pivot like everyone else.

Prior to this time the store’s website had never been focused on selling products online but fortunately my POS had the capacity. I stayed up all night adding images of products and turning on online sales. Then at 4:00 a.m. I thought “What am I doing? Does anyone even care?” We are talking about a yarn shop, which is not exactly essential to human survival, right? Why was I ignoring my family and destroying myself over this?

So I decided to put out an S.O.S just to see if anyone really cared. I started a GoFundMe for a token $2,500 which would cover rent and some expenses for one month. I sent an email to my customers letting them know. I really just needed to know if anyone cared. The email went out around 5:00 a.m. within two hours I had over $5,000 gifted to the shop. I cried. That was my answer.

My online shop was open. I offered free delivery to online orders. For the next few months I drove all over the metro area delivering yarn to doorsteps.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Like most people I don’t enjoy conflict. Last year I fired an employee. The problem, as I see it now, wasn’t so much her action as it was mine. Here’s what I learned:

There had been small incidents of poor performance building up over time and then one big one. I fired her for the big event. She also wasn’t in sync with the rest of the team. She was sort of the “oddball”.

How was this firing my fault? I avoided conflict. Always wanting to be “nice” I tip toed around all of those small things that were either incorrect or bothered me. I wasn’t direct. When it came time to let her go for the big incident she was not prepared. She couldn’t understand how one event would lead to dismissal. She cried and argued. It was awful. What I should have done was given her direct, constructive feedback on all of those little things. I should have worked with her to be a stronger part of the team. I should have trusted my instincts to know that things were “off” with her.

Even though my shop is small with just four employees, it is still helpful to have formal systems and employee review and education. I made the mistake of thinking that communication wasn’t a challenge for a small team.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fingerplaystudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fingerplaystudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fingerplaystudio

Image Credits

5 women standing: Meeting designer The Colman (left) at NY Sheep & Wool Festival

2 people at table: Celeste teaching during Knitting for Kid’s class

group at table: Inside FingerPlay Studio

large group: FingerPlay Studio Sweater Camp retreat Estes Park, Colorado