After six years in Texas, Auburn alumna Cary Curtiss didn't expect to come back to the Plains.
"I just moved back to Alabama after six years in Texas, where I was in graduate school for south Asian studies," Curtiss said. "It was really interesting. I studied modern Indian history and culture. In the meantime I learned to knit, and I really loved it."
Curtiss made the move with her husband and mother.
"My mom also moved out there, and we both ended up working in a yarn store out there that was on a working alpaca ranch," she said. "It was really interesting, and we both learned a huge amount about the craft, but also the business."
Curtiss' husband was hired last year as a chemistry professor at Auburn. After returning to Alabama, Curtiss used the knowledge she gained on the ranch to open Yarnhouse Studio in downtown Opelika. She and her mother both work in the store and specialize in different techniques.
"We both knit and crochet, and then we each have a little specialization," Curtiss said. "Mine is spinning--spinning yarn on the spinning wheel--and hers is weaving. We do it together."
Curtiss said she felt like opening the store was the right thing to do once she was here.
"When we moved here I went online and I was like, 'OK, great, I'll find out where the local yarn store is and maybe I can get a job there,'" she said. "There weren't any, all the way to Birmingham, Atlanta or Mobile. Then it seemed so obvious. There really needed to be one. I ended up switching paths, and here I am."
Curtiss said she loves the dynamic she and her customers have.
"It's nice because we're all adults at this point, and everybody comes together and it's just a bunch of friends," she said. "We'll have knitting groups or crafting groups sometimes and everyone will bring what they're working on. It's a really nice space for getting away from everything."
Customers range from college students to men and women in their 70s.
"I can knit," said Amanda Healy, junior in pre-nursing. "It's really fun and I love the idea of a store dedicated to learning how to do these things better."
There are opportunities in the store for beginners too.
" If you want to learn then we sometimes have learn to knit or crochet, spin or weave classes on the website calendar," Curtiss said. "We do a lot of individual classes that are the same price. Most classes are $20 and it's for two hours."
Curtiss said she's glad to be back in the Auburn area with her own business.
"Local business owners with an Auburn history are the best," Healy said. "They just understand the Auburn spirit and community."
Curtiss said she's especially excited to be in downtown Opelika.
"I love being back," she said. "I didn't even think we would come back. We weren't trying to; it just worked out that way. This is where we met, my husband and I. At the time, Opelika especially wasn't anything like it is now. I love historic downtowns, so I'm just really pumped to be here."
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