Thursday, May 19, 2005

Sue Rock Originals - the beginning........

sue rock originals came out of the need to bring the classic tradition of crochet to the growing handknit and crochet marketplace. We are design company that has produced of a line of hand crocheted seasonal accessories and clothing. We will be launching a travel bag in the fall that has been produced in collaboration with the men and women of Rwanda and Kenya. Their knitting and crochet cooperatives have been key in making this possible.

Without any liquid capital and in an effort to "make a dollar out of 15 cents" I searched the internet for crochet patterns. These wound up being the initial pieces to a now extensive vintage pattern collection spanning the early 1920’s to today. Ebay would be next – as the resource for first purchases of yarn. Its back and forth correspondence style between buyer and seller encouraged a wonderful sense of community. One relationship afforded a remarkable windfall – all of the remaining stock from the yarn store she had closed 3 years ago (at 10 cents on the dollar!). As I surveyed the mounting patterns and now non-stop boxes coming to my door, I marveled – "God must certainly have a plan for this….."

Hats turned to scarves and scarves turned to skirts. As the retail market continued to flood with Mexican made ponchos and imported Chinese scarves, I diligently worked on crochet fedoras, bubble cloches and dense, tailored men’s accessories. A chance meeting with marketing consultant Jada Goodlet turned the direction of the company to a whole new perspective – a line of travel accessories in rich fabrics and wonderful colors for the high end travel market. But how to have these items created easily and affordably? Enter Cari Clement, originator of the Fiber and Craft Entrepreneurial Development Center (FACED), one of the Centers for Social Responsibility located in Kigali, Rwanda and a thriving knitter’s cooperative. With her and Liz Wald of EDImports, sue rock originals has the samples for its travel line and the beginnings of a thriving business relationship.

Through working with people such as Jada Goodlet of Goodlet Consulting, Liz Wald of EDImports, the United Nations Micro Economic Development Group and businesses like 4W Circle of Arts and Enterprise in Brooklyn, sue rock originals will most assuredly be successful.

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