Jillian Moreno and Amy R. Singer of Knitty
Photography by Lise Varrette and Michelle Desgroseilliers
Straw into gold
Issue #35
Knitty.com’s power duo uses knitting know-how to craft successful multimedia careers
By Toni V Martin
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 3:03pm
Few who pick up knitting needles intend to make a career from the craft. But by blending the traditional craft with modern sensibilities, Amy R. Singer and Jillian Moreno are able to weave success from their passion for knitting. Their flexible partnership style allows them to navigate physical distance and individual interests to craft patchwork careers with a Web magazine, books, a pattern line, and teaching.
When Singer started Knitty.com five years ago, she parlayed her experience creating Web sites into a revolutionary experience that met the needs of knitters on the Internet. "Up until about 10 years ago, knitting had been a solitary craft," Singer says. Knitty was one of the first free online publications for knitters. Word of mouth among the knitting community booster Knitt's profile and allowed Singer to quit the proverbial day job. Only when Knitty was self-sustaining through ad sales did she pull the day-job plug.
As a former marketing director for Interweave Press, Moreno had tons of experience with crafts and craft publications. A move to Austin, Texas, led her to start knitting. While working in a yarn shop and exhausting the supply of in-store patterns, Moreno began to design her own. Moreno submitted a pattern for the first issue of Knitty, and she and Singer cemented their Internet friendship at a knitting retreat.
Moreno's background in publishing armed her with a knowledge of the marketplace - and what it was missing. "Jillian said, 'We need a book for fat girls,'" Singer says. Banking on Moreno's knowledge of the industry and demographics, and Singer's track record with Knitty, they published Big Girl Knits in 2006. With patterns and instructions on knitting for voluptuous figures, they meet a need often overlooked by the fashion industry and the knitting world. It was such a hit that the duo's second book, More Big Knits, is due out in 2008.
Singer and Moreno are able to use their shared successes to launch separate projects. Singer's book No Sheep For You serves the market of knitting with non-wool fibers, and Moreno has a line of patterns called Curvy Knits due this year.
The duo is able to play to each other's strengths for a successful partnership. A high profile on the Web helps to attract potential opportunities. "bloggers are getting approached for projects," Singer says.
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