Published: October 09, 2009 10:04 pm      

Yen for yarn: Business owner knits community at Moxham shop

Margaret Smith of Southmont has given knitters their niche at a former neighborhood grocery store.

In 2004, Smith and her partner and co-owner, Leigh Black, bought the building that had housed Helsel’s Market at 608 Grove Ave. in the Moxham section of Johnstown.

Before it became a haven for knitters, the renovated grocery started out as an antique shop.

The two women, who both had been at a turning point in their careers, combined their last names to create BlackSmith Exchange Antiques.

“We both shared an interest in antiques, and Leigh is a third-generation antiques dealer,” Smith said. “While the shop was getting started, we worked part-time jobs.”

Smith had spent 20 years in the health-care field, 15 of them in marketing and communications, when she decided to change the course of her life by getting a degree in art from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“I called it a revolution, not a midlife crisis,” Smith said. “I graduated with a 4.0 in 2005.

“It changed my life.”

Smith added she had always been an artist, working as a graphic designer and photographer while in the health-care field.

Now she wanted to pursue work that was gratifying to her and to be creative while earning a living at it.

Smith worked in retail until she could pinpoint what she wanted to do.

As she and Black thought about their potential antiques store, they also thought about where they would like to do business.

“We thought about relocating, but we didn’t want to leave Johnstown,” said Smith, who is a Johnstown native. “We decided to weather the storm, to enrich our local community.”

In 2005, Smith did something else that would determine her course in life, she learned how to knit.

She was taught by Chris Richey, who would be instrumental in helping to start Smith’s yarn shop.

Within six months, she had learned how to knit and was learning the yarn business.

While the shop was still all antiques, a neighboring art gallery had an exhibit featuring yarns, and Smith was asked if she would like to display some yarn in a basket.

The basket grew to a shelf, and the shelf grew to a section before yarn took over most of the space.

“We had an interest in more than antiques,” Smith said. “I started a collection of one line of yarn and offered classes. We built it from the ground up. It was a gradual process.”

A name change for the shop was in order, so Smith decided to christen it Knit 1 @ BlackSmith Exchange to retain the identity of the antiques store.

As Smith began receiving students in 2006, she realized her fledgling yarn shop was something the community wanted and a community resource.

“Those who liked to knit came and friends were made,” Smith said. “We had coffee and got comfortable and either learned how to knit or increased our skills. The yarn shop was not just retail, it was nurturing.”

The narrow shop boasts an original wooden freezer case from Helsel’s Market, which is used as a counter. A wooden walk-in cooler, still imprinted with the words “Use clean ice,” is used for storage.

“Some of the original shelves were still here, and we made others to blend in,” Smith said.

Smith remembers coming to Helsel’s Market as a child and also when she lived in Moxham in the 1990s.

The former proprietor of the store sometimes comes in for a visit.

“I feel so blessed and fortunate to be doing what I’m doing,” Smith said. “I get to work and be creative. This is exactly what I wanted to do,

but I had no clue it would be knitting.

“I was a mover and shaker and never sat still, but I was at the point in my life where I was ready. Knitting came out of nowhere. I love working with people. They’re fun and interesting. They all bring something to the table.”

Smith has attracted customers and students from Windber, Davidsville and around the country.

“When people are traveling, they want to find a yarn shop,” Smith said. “They might be visiting relatives in Johnstown and stop in. They give feedback and say the shop is as nice as those in larger cities.”

Smith has a Web site at www.blacksmithexchange.com, but doesn’t sell yarn on the Internet yet.

Her future goals for growth include getting a shopping cart on her Web site and listing the shop on the social networking site Facebook.

Knitting classes started out as a monthly Knitting Nite Out when Smith employed her gourmet cooking skills to make a light supper.

Now her weekly Sit & Knit classes on Fridays draw two to 10 people, and everything from needles, yarn and instructions are supplied for both beginning and experienced knitters.

“Fridays are a time for the instructors to be able to knit,” Smith said. “You can leave the outside world behind and come in where it’s safe with no judgment.”

Other classes are available afternoons and evenings for beginning to advanced knitters.

“We meet you at your level of knitting,” Smith said. “And we don’t discriminate against crocheters. They’re welcome, too.”

Smith said knitting has had a resurgence since 2000.

“After 9/11, the activity of knitting brought balance and calm in a chaotic world,” Smith said. “Even in poor economic times, people will find a way to knit. It’s so satisfying on so many levels.”

Smith has all weights of natural fiber yarn in her shop. The shelves lining the walls are a rainbow of color.

“We have a variety of prices for every taste and pocketbook,” she said.

Ironically, Smith doesn’t always get much time to knit, but she did manage to win a blue ribbon at the Cambria County Fair this year for a shawl she made, which is displayed at the shop.

When not watching over her yarn shop, Smith enjoys gourmet cooking and practicing yoga.

“A friend taught me how to cook when I was in my 20s,” Smith said. “I love feeding people and trying new recipes.”

Smith also fills her life with four children, seven grandchildren, three dogs and a cat.