Cool threads at Hot Knots

Fifteen years ago the sisters, Gayle and Andrea Shackelton began making one-of-a-kind sweaters and selling them at craft fairs.

They call their business Hot Knots. They recently opened a store three months ago on the Arcata Plaza to sell their own creations and those from other designers they have met through the years.

The opening of the store signifies the completion of a long journey that has taken them through the magical streets of Nepal.

Members of the Association of Craft Producers in Nepal have benefitted from Hot Knots' role in selling their wares. photo courtesy of Gayle and Andrea Shackleton

"We were making wearable art," she said, "but the market was very limited. No one could afford it."

With the challenges they were faced within the market, their interest shifted.

"We wanted to do something good in the world," Gayle said.

It seemed like a joke, she said, about trying to utilize their design and knitting skills to help society.

But their unique sweater creations caught the attention of an industry magazine and an article was published about the duo 10 years ago. The article caught the attention of the president of Aid to Artisans, a nonprofit organization that offers practical assistance to artisans worldwide, partnering with them to foster artistic traditions, cultural vitality and community well-being.

"We knew little about the development project, " Gayle said, "but the idea was exciting and had the potential of having a positive impact."

The sisters were asked to go to Nepal to lend their expertise to a knitting cooperative in Katmandu.

Their experience turned out to be so much more then they dreamed, Gayle said.

Funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Gayle and Andrea volunteered to go to Nepal for six weeks. They were paired up with the Association of Craft Producers (ACP).

ACP is a non-profit cooperative committed to creating job opportunities for low-income Nepali artisans.

Gayle said the cooperative's aim is to provide jobs and services, not money to its producers, although they do pay their workers a fair wage.

Gayle and Andrea Shackleton helped the Association of Craft Producers in Nepal sell their products in Arcata. photo courtesy of Gayle and Andrea Shackleton

"They develop services like dentistry, health care, scholarships for education, a banking system, a cafeteria and a wholesale shop. We went without much idea of what they wanted. We thought they wanted to learn how to knit, but they were expert knitters. We found we could just design," Gayle said.

She said they were inspired by the mosaics, ironwork, food, marketplace and everyday imagery that they saw in Nepal.

"It was so different. We decided to design a line of sweaters out of what we saw," Gayle said.

Andrea said the skills of the women were incredible. "They can do almost anything."

She said they set up a design board and it was interesting to watch the Nepali women see their everyday imagery transformed into a different medium.

Gayle said they were lucky to meet such a great group of women.

"We just lent our design help. We never had plans to market the product, but we saw how deep the need was," she said.

The cooperative approached the sisters to help them find a market for the sweaters, Gayle said.

Gayle and Andrea's business, Hot Knots, was already in existence and so they decided that they would try to market another line of sweaters to help the ACP knitters.

They decided to name the line Tara, after the Nepali goddess of compassion who is believed to help people as they pass along the difficult path of human existence. The Tara line is only available for a limited time each year but Hot Knots produces many other clothing lines throughout the year.

Aid to Artisans offered Gayle and Andrea space at the New York International Gift Fair that attracts 50,000 buyers from across the United States. They got a lot of orders and they are now designing a different line every year.

The line is no longer directly inspired by Nepali imagery, but indirectly, as the sisters have not been back to Nepal in five years.

"For the first five years we went back every year," Gayle said.

Both sisters now have young children and said Nepal is a difficult place to travel with young kids. They would like to go back and take their children when they get older, Andrea said.

"Without a doubt this is the most rewarding thing we have done. It is amazing the difference a small business like ours can make." -Gayle Shackleton

Gayle said, it has been challenging to be here, but they have been faxing ideas and sending sweaters back and forth between the Nepal cooperative and the Arcata business.

When they first went to the cooperative, there were 100 knitters who worked in an old factory with dirt floors. Now they have a newer and bigger, five-story complex with 200-300 knitters, Gayle said.

"It has grown tremendously and we are happy to be part of that growth," she said.

Andrea said "it was mind boggling to go back and see the women with glasses, wearing nice shoes and they weren't so thin."

Gayle said, "without a doubt this is the most rewarding thing we have done. It is amazing the difference a small business like ours can make. It feels great to spend our time doing this."

She said, "knitting itself is a positive force. It gives people a way to make wages in the villages."

One of the social problems in Nepal is that people have been moving from the villages to Katmandu, but the city cannot support this increase in the work force. The knitters can come to the cooperative to get the designs and the materials, and then they can go back to the village and knit.

ACP is also a place that unmarried women can go as an alternative to the sex industry, Gayle said.

There is a high rate of suicide among unmarried pregnant women or abused women because they are shunned by society, she said.

Andrea said the government of Nepal is supportive of the handicraft cooperatives, like ACP. The Nepali knitters have skills that are viable for the worldwide market.