Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Gardin.
Hi Kate, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was about 8 years old. I remembering using big, pink, plastic needles and cheap acrylic yarn- I would get extremely frustrated when I would pull too hard and the stitches would slip off of the plastic, or when I would stab the needle through the chunky roving-weight yarn I was using. For some reason, though, I stuck with it. Knitting became something I almost forgot I could do until other people would bring it up or ask about it. It was never on my list of hobbies, but was more of an afterthought of “oh yeah! I knit every winter, just to make myself a new hat or a scarf as a gift for someone.” When the pandemic hit, I got more serious. After years of knitting one month out of the year, I was suddenly knitting every single day. I wasn’t very good still- the idea of following a pattern with anything more than knit and purl was something I could never see myself doing. But, since I lost my job and was taking a gap semester between my undergraduate degree in Music Education and my master’s in Opera at CCM, I figured I would sell some of the hats and scarves I made every year around Christmas. Because of all the knitting, I was doing, I gained a natural curiosity for more complex projects (even if it just meant thinner yarn or learning one new stitch). To document this new process, I started posting my makes on my personal Instagram. I was probably a twice-a-month poster to IG, and it quickly turned into every few days. Because of the IG algorithm, I began to get targeted ads about yarn and knitting, which led me to finding other knitting accounts such as my own that documented projects. Not long after, I discovered that there is a sprawling fiber arts community on Instagram. Thousands upon thousands of accounts dedicated to projects, patterns, and hand-dyed yarn- I was like a kid in a candy store. Over the course of several months, I made new online friends who became a part of my daily routine, and I began purchasing PDF knitting patterns online, as well as indie-dyed yarn. Around this same time, I posted on my Instagram with the caption: “I really love to knit. I would be amazed if someday I could design a knitting pattern. Then can you imagine if someone KNIT my pattern? Or even purchased the PDF??” I had no idea what would happen just 6 months later. Eventually, I changed that same IG account over to a knitting-only account and selected the name “Mezzo Makes”- “mezzo” referring to my voice type. I got the idea for a knitting pattern I wanted to design, a hoodie for heading into winter weather- and I designed and released the pattern for sale. I sold 3 copies and I was ecstatic. Fast-forward 6 months from THERE and I had released 4 more patterns, my third one selling over 250 copies the first hour it was released on Ravelry, the fiber arts pattern website. In a matter of under a year, pattern design had become a main source of income for me. I was feeling lost in my degree program, I lost my other job I had gotten in the meantime, and patterns weren’t quite enough to keep me afloat. I decided to try my hand at dying yarn in my kitchen on my stove. Somehow, by the grace of the universe, the gamble of putting money into the supplies to start hand dyeing paid off, and now, 1.5 years after starting Mezzo Makes, I am a full-time yarn dyer and knitting pattern designer.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I feel extremely lucky for how smooth my road has been to where I am now with my business and my life. I took a huge gamble by not finding another job right away after losing it and putting all of the money I had to my name into supplies, but I trusted my client base from my pattern sales and it was the best decision I could have possibly made. To be fair, I had been building up an IG audience for about a year before I decided to try my hand at dyeing, but it still seemed like a very smooth transition to working for myself. I have always wanted to be self-employed and I am beyond fortunate that I was able to make it happen so early in my life.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a classical singer by trade. I gig often around Cincinnati, and the arts community is bountiful here. Because I am now self-employed through my business, I never have to turn down a gig and can constantly move and adjust my schedule to optimize my time in both of my creative fields. The fact that I am a pattern designer and dyer means that I can “collaborate with myself”- many people who have monetized knitting do one or the other and work with folks who do the other thing to help both of them sell their products. However, I can show off my own patterns with my own yarn. I can design a garment with a specific yarn in mind. I can set the deadlines for both, market them the same, and release them on the same day. The entire thing is on my terms.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I want to stay completely true to my artistic vision while creating something other people feel drawn to and emotional about. For example, I designed a knitting pattern for lingerie (there’s not much out there, as you can imagine) and the feedback was amazing. Hearing so many people tell me that my design inspired confidence in themselves that they have never found before makes everything even more worth it. Along the same lines, I did a Taco Bell-inspired yarn collection. It may seem goofy, but so many people have memories from high school going to Taco Bell with friends, or grabbing their comfort taco after a long day (hilarious, but so true!) and I guess it just really spoke to people.
Pricing:
- Full-Sized Skein: $28
- Mini Skein: $7
- Patterns: $7-10
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mezzomakes.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mezzo.makes