Our Brick and Mortar Store is Closed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic
I design knitwear patterns for garments.
This is a passion that I have started to pursue only in the last few years after our two sons have left for College - the youngest one just graduated with a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Cooper Union in May during the Covid-19 Pandemic which as you know hit New York City very hard. Our oldest son is in Israel working as a teacher - he loves to teach even though his degree is in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University. My husband and I live by ourselves in the house that we raised the boys in. We have a retail brick and mortar store that we have operated since 2002. We famously opened it right before 9/11 which turned out to be a tough time to do business as everybody was scared and keeping their purses closed unless they needed something. We don't sell things that anybody needs - our store sells Antiques and Collectibles. Then in 2008 the going got tough again when the gas prices shot up to almost $4.00 per gallon in South Carolina and the recession started. The recession was a terrible time to be in business and we had to make big changes in order to keep our expenses to a minimum. We managed to hang on to what we owned and to stay open even after the local effects of the recession had finally subsided 8-10 years later. But the world around us had changed with more and more people turning to thriftstores and Amazon or other online businesses to shop. The taste in home decor had changed to being all about the 1950s style and later styles. Our much older Antiques and Collectibles had never been less attractive to the buying public, yet, we were still open for business 5 days a week and making a living. Then came the Covid-19 Pandemic and the rest is history, as we say. It feels like this is the death knell. We have been closed for almost 3 months now and we do not know when we can safely open the doors again. My husband's 97 year old mother is being taken care of primarily by him and we must therefor be extremely careful not to expose ourselves to anyone carrying the virus.
I will continue the story -the about me story- from time to time.
You can already buy things directly from my shop, Karen Fechter Knits. It should be easy but if you have any questions, please, contact me.
Thank you for reading.
Karen
This is a passion that I have started to pursue only in the last few years after our two sons have left for College - the youngest one just graduated with a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Cooper Union in May during the Covid-19 Pandemic which as you know hit New York City very hard. Our oldest son is in Israel working as a teacher - he loves to teach even though his degree is in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University. My husband and I live by ourselves in the house that we raised the boys in. We have a retail brick and mortar store that we have operated since 2002. We famously opened it right before 9/11 which turned out to be a tough time to do business as everybody was scared and keeping their purses closed unless they needed something. We don't sell things that anybody needs - our store sells Antiques and Collectibles. Then in 2008 the going got tough again when the gas prices shot up to almost $4.00 per gallon in South Carolina and the recession started. The recession was a terrible time to be in business and we had to make big changes in order to keep our expenses to a minimum. We managed to hang on to what we owned and to stay open even after the local effects of the recession had finally subsided 8-10 years later. But the world around us had changed with more and more people turning to thriftstores and Amazon or other online businesses to shop. The taste in home decor had changed to being all about the 1950s style and later styles. Our much older Antiques and Collectibles had never been less attractive to the buying public, yet, we were still open for business 5 days a week and making a living. Then came the Covid-19 Pandemic and the rest is history, as we say. It feels like this is the death knell. We have been closed for almost 3 months now and we do not know when we can safely open the doors again. My husband's 97 year old mother is being taken care of primarily by him and we must therefor be extremely careful not to expose ourselves to anyone carrying the virus.
I will continue the story -the about me story- from time to time.
You can already buy things directly from my shop, Karen Fechter Knits. It should be easy but if you have any questions, please, contact me.
Thank you for reading.
Karen
Please, check back to see how the site develops.