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Bringing a small business to life takes a whole lot of passion, strategic planning, and some very special people. Have you ever wondered who's making it all happen here at Gist?
We are a team of seven fiber enthusiasts dedicated to making Gist the company you've come to know, love, and trust. We're so proud of the folks working hard behind the scenes, and felt it was only right for you to get to know everyone a little bit better. Today we're starting with Gist founder, Sarah Resnick.
Sarah Resnick (she/her), Founder of Gist Yarn and Zollie.
I founded the company, and have held just about every role along the way. In the early days of our company, I was mostly focused on finding ways to get new customers to learn about us, and developing new yarn lines. My responsibilities have shifted over the years as we grew our incredible team, and right now, I’m focused on three main things: 1) working to keep our team happy and thriving 2) managing our finances to ensure we have the resources we need to keep growing and developing new products and 3) leading our digital advertising strategy seeking out new customers for our new sister brand, Zollie.
I’ve been a maker for as long as I can remember. I learned to knit from my friend’s grandmother when I was seven, and learned how to sew from my own grandmother soon after that. I have many fond memories of going down into her sewing room with her after Friday night family dinners, and learning to cut fabric and follow sewing patterns.
When I was 19, I spent a year working on a farm in California that had bags upon bags of greasy wool in the barn. We grew sheep for meat so the fiber wasn’t particularly soft, but it was free and abundant so I learned how to clean and spin wool, and was always intrigued by the pieces of looms that were stored in the barn there.
When I moved to Toronto the next year, I signed up for a weaving class and was instantly and forever hooked. I found my first floor loom on Craigslist for $300 and hauled it up two flights of steps to our one-bedroom apartment. And I’ve never looked back!
I can’t find a picture of me with those sheep, but here’s me at the farm with a goat, and my grandma!
I started my career working in community gardens and food justice organizations, and later in a labor union. I was interested in learning how people are inspired to take action together to make change. Throughout all of this, making was a big part of my life as a hobby, but I never thought it would be part of my professional life.
I became curious about the employer’s side of creating good, local jobs, and left the non-profit world to help start a cut-and-sew factory in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was the hardest job I ever had, and I learned a lot about the challenges of domestic manufacturing. It inspired me to start my company Gist Yarn in 2017.
Pushing swings at the playground and painting with my kids! Parenting my 1 and 4 year-old daughters takes up just about all of my outside-of-work time.
I’m inspired to create by beautiful quality materials and striking color combinations, which is why I started a yarn company. One of my favorite parts of my job is seeing the projects that designers make with our yarn - so much creative inspiration to draw from.
I can’t say I have a daily creative ritual at this stage in my life (see above!), but I also draw a lot of creative inspiration from my oldest daughter. She loves to make things – the first sentence she wanted to learn how to spell is “I am an artist!” – and it is a gift to be reminded how easy and free-flowing creativity can be at a young age.
Array. Because color is my love language and there is every color to choose from.
Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel
This is Uncomfortable
The Moth
Tea, all day, every day.
