Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lisa Whitfield. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Like so many other women of color, I have experienced biased treatment when entering yarn shops. Back in 2019 when people of color began talking more openly about their experiences, I witnessed the “shut up and knit” backlash and a tremendous amount of ignorance about black and brown folks in general — but particularly relating to the fiber arts. One person specifically wrote in a comment thread that black people had no history in the fiber arts because there are “no sheep in Africa”. I had to put my phone down and walk away after reading that.

That was really the birth of the mission behind For Ewe: An Inclusive Fiber Community. I wanted to create a space that was warm and welcoming to EVERYONE. I listened to friends of mine and asked them what they wanted to see in a yarn shop, and the most moving answer was from a dear friend: she had never felt comfortable in a yarn shop, so she just wanted to be able to linger, browse, interact with the product, and not feel she was being watched or judged. I took that idea and expanded it to include every shopper. If you take the time to come to my shop, you will be greeted warmly and treated with respect and dignity. What you look like, who you love, how you worship, how you identify, or where you come from are not going to change that.

We all deserve to be treated with respect. That’s the basic premise behind For Ewe.

Lisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My beloved grandmother taught me to crochet when I was very small. She was a wonderful seamstress who worked in a factory that made quilts and comforters for major department stores. I looked up to her in so many ways, and my brand is based on the love she showed to so many — mostly through food. We are very similar in that regard, only I chose yarn.

I actually learned to knit in an unusual set of circumstances. I was in sixth grade and I took the bus home from school. It was a long ride, and that day the bus was especially crowded. I managed to get a seat next to a lady who was knitting. She noticed me staring at the magic she was working, so she took out a spare pair of needles and some yarn and taught me the long tail cast on and the knit stitch. Once I got home, I practiced what she’d taught me on two pencils and some kitchen twine. I was hooked.

Knitting came and went in my life over the years. I would pick it up and put it down as time allowed, but I was busy pursuing a career in music, being married, and having kids. The most recent time I picked it up was when my mom was really sick and in and out of the hospital. I had been knitting for three days at her bedside when she passed away. I knit my way through my grief for the next year, making 52 projects. I was determined to learn more.

I started asking friends about knitting techniques and watching videos. I went to open knit hours and read a lot. I was surprised by how natural it all felt. I finally knit my first sweater in 2018 and I never looked back.

Honestly, I crammed a lot into my head all at once and then decided to merge my DEI training and my love of yarn into For Ewe.

It was important to me that I welcomed customers who represented a wide cross section of people, but it was also important to have diversity with respect to the products I sold. I’m dedicated to exposing more of my customers to dyers they might not know about, especially BIPOC folks, LGBTQIA+ folks, and women. While this is still an ongoing process, I’m happy to say that it is going very well and the student population in the town where I live is really responding in a positive way.

What I want potential customers to know is I take great pride in the collection of yarns I’m cultivating, and the wonderful and diverse community I’ve built. I want everyone to know they are welcome in my space. I’m changing and growing through it all and I’m really happy about it

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started with a simple question on my personal Facebook page: if I opened a yarn shop in town, would you shop there? The response was overwhelmingly positive. From there, I started a Facebook group and invited friends, family, and like-minded fiber folks and it grew really quickly. The final step was adding my Instagram account, @for_ewe

My current following nearly doubled after I did my first Instagram live with Adella Colvin of LolaBean Yarn Co. Right now, I’m just under 1600 followers and growing.

The best advice I can give is what I learned from the “influencers” I sought to emulate — be your authentic self. Be you and your tribe will find you. This requires a lot of internal work for someone like me, since I was always taught I shouldn’t be too much. Gradually, I’ve learned people like me for who I am and I’m less afraid to show folks the real me. At my age, that’s incredibly liberating!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

First, I have to give a lot of thanks and gratitude to the Lorain County Ohio Small Business Development Center. They gave me so much incredible guidance and education. The biggest takeaway was to know my numbers.

I have financed my business using credit cards and money from a home equity line. I don’t love being in debt, but having those resources helped me get started sooner and try out my business acumen. So far it’s been really successful. I do want to eventually pay off my personal debt and maybe pivot to small business association loans.

There are lots of ways to start, but starting is the important part.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.for-ewe.com
• Instagram: @for_ewe
• Facebook: @forewecommunity

Image Credits
Lisa Whitfield