RED BANK — Growing up in Cranford, Laurie Brekke learned how to knit and crochet early on. And her love of the fiber arts was further strengthened when she married into a Norwegian family of knitters — so much so that in 2021, she opened Mother Knitter Yarn Studio, a store in Red Bank featuring high-quality Norwegian yarns, designs and accessories.

“My mom is very artsy and we did a lot of handcrafts in our house like painting and macramé, and my high school art teacher, Dr. Josephine Harris, showed me to throw pottery, make jewelry, weave and do embroidery,” said Brekke, 57, an Atlantic Highlands resident, of her artistic upbringing. “My mother also taught me how to knit and crochet, which she’d learned from her mother-in-law, also an avid knitter.”

After spending many years working for such companies as Banker’s Trust and AT&T, Brekke took the opportunity to explore a new path in 2000 when she married and started a family with Vidar Brekke, a Norwegian tech specialist, and began immersing herself in his culture.

“Vidar’s parents live in a small, scenic town on a fjord on the west coast of Norway, one of many towns in that area that are geographically isolated based on their mountainous topography,” Brekke said of annual visits they made to see his family. “Historically, farming and keeping livestock were standard across Norway and spinning wool and knitting were necessities. Knitting continues to be a big part of the culture there and every town in Norway has a yarn store.”

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Though she was familiar with knitting and crocheting from her youth, “I wanted to learn to knit better and Vidar's mother and grandmother would sit with me and teach me when we’d visit them,” said Brekke. She also enjoyed visiting the town’s yarn store, “which sold Sandnes Garn — a high-quality knitting yarn made by a company established in Sandnes, Norway, in 1888 — and I loved the range of colors, fibers and textures it came in,” she said. “It was so visually beautiful and inspiring.”

'Comfortable collaboration'

By 2018, “I’d been buying Sandnes Garn for nearly 20 years and bringing it back from Norway because I couldn’t get it in the U.S. and I decided that we should sell it here,” Brekke said. “I could see that knitting was experiencing a resurgence and I thought that Sandnes Garn would do well here based on their amazing-quality yarn, range of beautiful colors, and affordable price points.

"Vidar and I called the company and as it turned out, they’d had a U.S. distributor years ago, but that relationship had ended and they were interested in talking to us. They appreciated our knowledge of both the U.S. and Norwegian markets and the fact that I knew their yarn well because I’d been knitting with it for years,” she said. “It was an easy and comfortable collaboration and our learning curve with the brand was small.”

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Brekke and her husband soon built a website, familiarized themselves with the process of importing, and began working with Sandnes Garn, learning how to market and sell the brand in a highly competitive yarn industry.

“I did it out of my house at first, then in 2020 we bought a building in Union Beach to expand our inventory and office space as the company’s U.S. distributor,” Brekke said. “Today, we supply Sandnes Garn to nearly 100 different knitting stores and provide them with something that not all of their competitors have.”

While Brekke continued to import Sandnes Garn, distribute it to stores, and sell it to consumers on her website during the pandemic, she soon desired to open her own brick-and-mortar knitting store as well.

“In 2021, yarn stores in Red Bank and Colts Necks both closed, so there was no local shop serving the Red Bank market and we saw an opportunity,” she said. “We’d received many requests from consumers who wanted to see and feel our yarn and take classes and it seemed like people had a real need to be with others doing something creative.

“We opened our shop, Mother Knitter Yarn Studio, in Red Bank on October 1st, 2021,” Brekke said. “It was an offshoot of our core business, Mother Knitter, which was a name that just flowed for us and conjured up images of knitters like Vidar’s mother and grandmother.

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“Within our 2,500 square feet, we carry wall-to-wall Sandnes Garn yarn and we're the only store in the U.S. to carry all of their colors across about 28 different qualities,” she said of products which range from $6.50 per skein to a $21 mohair variety. “In addition to Sandnes Garn, we also carry Clinton Hill Cashmere and Malabrigo-brand yarns and hand-dyed and other specialty yarns as well as knitting and crochet supplies, including buttons, notions, needles, knitting tools, Scandinavian-themed project bags, and Schacht spinning and weaving products.”

“We also offer crochet and knitting classes for all skill levels,” Brekke added.

Among trends, “a lot of Scandinavian brands and designers saw a rise in their social media following in the U.S. because their designs are classic and modern while being distinctly Scandinavian,” Brekke said, noting that her shop similarly has an organized, airy, Scandinavian aesthetic. “Based on the popularity of the concept of ‘hygge’ — a Norwegian/Danish term associated with feelings of coziness, contentment and wellness — softer fibers are big sellers these days, as are more natural, eco-friendly fibers that aren’t super-washed or chemically-treated.

“We’re very customer-focused and want to make everyone feel welcome,” Brekke said of the personality of Mother Knitter Yarn Studio, which features a cozy couch as well as a table and chairs for customers who want to sit and knit. “We get a lot of local customers, but also people from other states who have ordered from us online and want to meet us in person if they’re in town on vacation or visiting family. We’re a destination for fiber arts enthusiasts,” she said, “and having a big space that’s well laid-out enables people to take it all in.”

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Creating a 'happy place'

Supported by four full-time employees and six to nine part-time associates, “I focus on sales, classes, imports/shipping and other day-to-day operations while Vidar handles all technology, social media and marketing functions,” Brekke said.

Looking ahead, “we recently hired a new fiber arts instructor and this fall we’ll be building out the Mother Knitter School of Fiber Arts, which will include new weaving, spinning and yarn-dyeing classes in addition to knitting and crocheting classes,” Brekke said. “We’d also love to support and partner with the art programs at local schools and help teach kids how to knit and crochet.”

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Among her favorite parts of her job, Brekke said that she and Vidar enjoy creating a ‘happy place’ for both their employees and customers alike. “I love fiber arts and it’s so rewarding to be able to offer a place for others to enjoy them as well,” she confirmed.

“It’s also great to have a job you love, because then it’s not like work at all,” she said of running a business that revolves around her favorite hobby. “And I’m proof that anyone can reinvent themselves at any age,” she added. “I hope that other women will feel inspired to ‘go for it’ if they find something interesting that they want to do or try in their life, no matter how old they are.”

Mother Knitter Yarn Studio

Location: 97 Broad St., Red Bank

Phone: 856-535-3780

Owner: Laurie Brekke

Launched: 2021

Website: motherknitter.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Mother Knitter in Red Bank NJ began with owner indulging yarn hobby