Eats
Atlas Insider: Little Hut on the Campus
I’ve decided to start calling MDK World HQ the “MDK Campus,” because “campus” is the word Apple and Google use to describe their headquarters—and if there’s any company on earth that should take its rightful place next to Apple and Google, it’s MDK. So: the MDK Campus.
The first thing you see when you approach the MDK Campus (sounds good so far!)—aside from the foreboding gate (that you can totally climb over like I did seven months ago when it was iced shut)—is a snug little outbuilding that once doubled as living quarters for the people who occupied this joint before us. It has a couple of nice tight, clean little rooms and a bathroom—everything you’d need to live except a kitchen, but since it’s in the middle of the Delicious District, that wouldn’t really be a problem if you decided to take up residence.
When Kay went to France recently, I developed a theory that she wasn’t in France at all but instead secretly slung up in the hut out front, eating croissants and faking online missives from Provence juste sous notre nez.
The thing is: we don’t know what to do with it. In the year since we’ve been in this space, I’ve heard several ideas bandied about: coffee shop (an idea nixed because the building is nestled just a touch too deeply in an industrial area to really get good foot traffic), independent dye studio, and the occasional pop-up shop.
At the rate we’re filling up the warehouse, it’ll most likely end up in the short term as storage space—that we’ll no doubt immediately forget we put stuff in, so if 2020-style bath tissue/paper towel shortages ever start up again, don’t come a’knockin’. We’ll deny everything.
A Giveaway
Help us think up a raison d’être for the little hut/outbuilding/place. The prize? A skein of Barnyard Knits Sock/Fingering in Lemongrass Tea, plus a copy of our Socks 101 primer, Field Guide No. 11: Wanderlust.
How to enter?
Two steps:
Step 1: Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Snippets, right here. If you’re already subscribed, you’re set.
Step 2: Leave a comment letting us know how you would use that little building. (N.B. DG forbids “MDK retail shop” as an answer.)
Deadline for entries: Sunday, September 26, 11:59 PM Central time. We’ll draw a random winner from the entries. Winner will be notified by email.
Knit Night in Nashville!
Get a little peek at the whole MDK Campus at our first event since moving in a year ago! At 3:30 on Saturday, October 2, the whole place turns into a hangout with snacks and bevs and shopping and time spent in the company of knitters.
It’s shaping up to be a lot of fun, so if you’re in the area, or want to come to Nashville for the weekend and make Knit Night a stop in between boot shopping and hot chicken, come on! Sign up here. We’ll be wearing masks and asking everybody to show their vaccination cards.
In the same vein as a pop up shop, a pop up fiber related maker space. People could have a space of their own for a week? month? afternoon? to work without distraction, whether it be a dye project, complicated cables, cut out a dress pattern, bring a portable sewing machine for concentrated work and undivided attention to sew, or write up a knitting pattern. All the fiber things that need some uninterrupted time and space.
A YarnB&B! For guest artists/teachers and for short term rental to knitters and tourists alike, and apply a portion of the proceeds to a charitable cause. : )
The haven – since it’s a great place for knitters and their supporters
The Haven – a fabulous name. What if it is a multi functional space for a designer to have some quiet to concentrate for a few days, a pop-up retail, and or a BnB. It could be planned for the year and space and time designated to how and who needs it. It doesn’t need a kitchen (I have Lockland Table on speed dial) just a coffee cabinet and great internet.
Correction: Lockeland Table
It sounds like a great space for small knitting gatherings and classes. Barring that, you could do as Google does and use it as a bike shed for the free bikes your employees use to move between buildings in your campus. (You do have free bikes for your employees to use going between the buildings now, don’t you?)
You worded better! I totally agree, a (length of time) reward, assignment, holiday, whatever. Make it the MDK Academy or whatever. Somehow add people and yarn at all times.
Definitely a nap room!
I was thinking along Phyllis’ idea of Fiber Artist In Residence mini getaway to focus on new works or get some inspiration. Not quite the same as Fogo Island Newfoundland residences for artists but along the same idea. It is hard to beat the views of Fogo.
A place for knitting retreats. Not sure how many it could accommodate and might need some walls removed, but it sounds perfectas a wonderful place to sit and knit with friends from all over!|
Guest house for the knitters that would come to teach a workshop or class for you? / a prize weekend for the regular knitters that love what you do?
Hear! Hear!
Add the CraftairBnB idea to this with meditation space.
Please!!!
The sale or over stock shop, it will sell out in no time. Or the learn to knit studio, customers can buy the kit and MDK employees can take turns staffing the studio, say once/week.
Sample Salon/museum—-where you can try stuff on.
A meditation space where one goes to calm down and center after discovering a mistake 10 rows back in a fairisle color knit project.
Oh my goodness you made me laugh! I actually cut the sleeve off where I thought the mistake was, re measured and discovered I had cut off 4” too much! Because the fair isle is a Jamieson’s and just impossible to frog. I cried. It was a month before I picked it up and knit down to finish. Luckily I had bought too much yarn. Lol
A place to get ice cream and frozen yogurt. 🙂 everyone needs an ice cream shoppe in the parking lot.
a little classroom!
Ohhhhhmmm….
Meditation Hut 🙂
Indeed!
Bed & Breakfast except a skein of yarn and some needles instead of breakfast.
A place for overnight knitting. You can rent it out like the bookstores I’ve heard that let you stay for the night.
OR – you could turn it into the MDK library with reference books, a comfy place to sit and a table.
So many possibilities!
I. Will suggest a drop-in knitting space to show and tell, exchange ideas, mini workshops, and get help with fixing errors, understanding new techniques new knitters want to try and helpful hints.
My thoughts exactly! Sign me up!!
Oh, great idea! Sign me up, too!!
A knitting library, with shelves and shelves of knitting books, dictionaries and field guides,and, of course, signs of “no counting aloud, please”. Cozy leather and velvet armchairs mandatory.
Yes, a knitting library! Love your cozy chairs idea. A variation on the little free library where you leave a book or two, or a pattern or two, and take one you haven’t read.
How about including in the library a catalog of knitted items from the MDK books and Field Guides, and itinerant guest knitters (including customers and designers) could take turns being the field (i.e. campus) Guide to all things knitterly….
Love this idea!
Yoga studio to stretch out the tightness that comes from concentrating on cables and such. And massages!
A yoga space also occurred to me.
Espresso machine. Old comfy couches. Good WIFI. Do not determine the use for the space, just see what develops!
Crafting Classroom for MDK and independent craft instructors (a Craft airB&B)!
Call it “The Cottage”, add comfy surroundings and see what evolves. If you have a warehouse next door then you need the opposite environment on campus ( see “campus” worked perfectly here).
I’ll be there for knit night so I look forward to seeing The CAMPUS!
Sorry kids. I love your “everyone included” ideas but I’m a selfish hag. Add a bed, a dorm fridge, and a sign on the door that say’s “Karen’s House.” I’ll throw some sweat equity into the deal. I can rock a tape gun and I’ll plant climbing roses around the door.
“Karen’s House” sounds mighty fine to me—a perfect fit.
Two thumbs up for Karen’s idea!! Except I want one, too.
Every week it could be some one else’s house!
Lots of plants, calm music, and rotating employees to help assist new knitters. We need to encourage more people into knitting, crochet and weaving. Maybe on the weekend or once a month a reservation-only for junior high students.
Karen can have visitors. They’ll just put in a second bed. You can visit, Nancy, the week after me. 😉
She-shed to rent out for knitting parties. Strict no-bachelorette rule, of course.
Swatch Studio! Combine yarn tasting with making a swatch. They could be displayed next to the yarn to show knitters how they shift with different tensions and needles. Knitters could find the fabric they like and aim to match their swatch to the fabric. Yarn and needles are supplied. No wine though – that changes tension!
Meditation space! Or maybe I’m just over here wishing I had a quiet space to clear my head?
Create a knitting safe-space. Comfy chairs, lovely music and no rush. A gentle, open space.
Yarn and cocktails
I have a friend who’s away this month at an artist’s residency… You could have a residency program for fiber artists. My friend is working on his own stuff in the studio but also giving talks in the local community and sharing a lot on social media.
I vote for an artist retreat or knitters only Bnb.
I would definitely book it if you allow a coffee pot and wine rack.
That’s an excellent idea
Employee nap (or knit) space ala Google….
How about using it as an AirBnB for shoppers who over do it just before closing time?
Airbnb listing: “On the grounds of the fabulous MDK Campus, a lovely little cottage (hut sounds too primitive) for the fiber lover!” With full access to MDK World HQ for a 1-day shopping extravaganza!
It’ll be booked solid for a year in advance;)
Yarn Tasting Room. Instead of a sip of wine you get to “taste” test the yarn and the bar tender can extol the virtues of each yarn tasted. Ok maybe a little wine tasting too.
Oooh yes! Scratch your itch to try a new yarn by swatching it in return for free MDK Goodies. Or even better, lunch with DG!
Yes! That would be fun and awesome!
Yes! This!
A science lab, to develop self-correcting knitting needles!
Ore even just an alarm system for errors.
Yarn tasting space. Knitting notion, tool and book library. Meditation space to commune with your WIPs to muster the inspiration to finish long-standing projects.
It sounds like a great space for artists in residence! Designers, dyers, and the like.
Guest quarters for visiting dignitaries
Sounds like you already considered airbnb style lodging so instead I think small class rooms…
I am in love with the idea of the crafting library! Or a sort of try before you buy cottage. If you had all of the field guides and the yarn that goes with them for people to swoon over I think that would be lovely! It could potentially pair with the Air BNB idea too.
Caretaker cottage for the MDK campus. I volunteer!
Air BnB. (Duh!) We all want to visit
A SHE Shed
MDK library filled with field guides and skeins of each yarn – guests could have a peek before purchasing.
Afternoon nap space. BYOmat and blanket. Not just for kindergarten anymore!
Intern housing. Where do I sign up?
That storage space would make a great little classroom & social pod. We’d all love a little space to escape & knit!
I would use it as a respite but, when the stress becomes too much; you can take a break. Pipe in calming music or sounds like water or rain. Stock it with coloring books or other soothing tasks
Maker space surrounded by books, with coffee and tea available.
Workshops, wool squishing and woolly tutorials
1)Hire an intern (provide the living space -sans kitchen) or 2)use it as the MDK board room for whatever board rooms are used for or 3) a time-out space.
A Maker’s space for anything fiber related.
Rent a studio. Could be for dyeing, sewing, weaving or anything crafty,
Sounds like a great space for a small weaving studio. Time for a new craft experience Ann and Kay!
Rent it out (use the profits to fund an annual grant to a budding fiber artist) as an escape for anyone longing for a room of their own for a weekend or a couple of days, in which to dream, knit, write, draw/paint, create.
Rent it out to fiber lovers. Include a chance to shop at MDK. Who cares that there’s no kitchen. We’re too busy knitting to cook.
Self serve coffee, tea and knitting!
Call the building the Collaborative. A place to mentor and help develop the next generation of artists. You could word with upcoming designers, dyers, and maybe editors. You could even have them all collaborate on a single project. You could put out a call for test knitters to come in to join the process. What a wonderful way for a knitter to help develop the next generation. The participants could vary depending on the project. Their work could be published yearly a a MDK Field guide “ The collaborative”.
It is clear from all these comments that we are a greedy and needy group in the all the BEST senses of those terms. We want more outlets for our inspirations and to realize them with the support of and collaboration with others. Dolores is on to something here…something big. I hope DG that you are paying close attention and not distracted by the stock! The place can be rigged with a few high tech cameras and recording devices and the work of the collaborative Dolores describes can be both in-person and virtual. A schedule of events could be developed well in advance and lead by upcoming designers, dyers, pattern writers (!) and editors with in-person and capped virtual participation (because we have the technology and too many of us are just to far away to make it there).
Between sessions, it can be a place for reflection, meditative knitting, and inspiration.
Maybe one room or wall could be set up something like a knitter’s Yule Log where we could visit in person or virtually (24/7) and listen to soothing music while watching random silent videos or a loop of video about any and all aspects of the knitting process….hours of sheep, alpaca, etc. in fields, sheering, combing, dying, drying … all the way to the skein … and beyond. New footage can be added at any time – there is no required order, just soothing emersion.
I can’t beat these excellent ideas. It should always be accessible (with limits) to your general customers, to see what’s going on in the Creative Cottage and be inspired.
I really love these ideas – Dolores and Barbara have great suggestions!
An overnight space to teach girl scouts and college age people the joys of knitting.
*all* scouts. *Any* scouts. I run some co-ed scouts.
Since you’re a campus now, you need a faculty lounge. Or better yet, a Faculty Club, ala https://www.berkeleyfacultyclub.com/.
I love love love the idea of a pop up shop! It could be fore special occasions like field guide releases featuring the newest field guide and associated yarns (one day only), then another day it could be a painter, a potter, then an indie yarn dyer. Basket weavers, etc.
OR it could be an open dye studio. Have people pay a membership rate, or by the skien, or something, then they can came in and use your dyes and supplies and space to make their own beautiful hand dyed yarn! Stock it with different weights of yarns and prices too! Especially if you want these lovely drop in people to pay by the skien!
Chelsea’s idea reminds me: Our local knitting group took a ‘field trip’ one day to visit a pottery studio where they had clay yarn bowls, we painted them, and then the studio fired them and one of our knitters picked them up and delivered them to our next knit get-together. They also offered plates, bowls, mugs or vases, but we focused on the yarn bowls, of course. You paid by the piece, and by the size (they had both large and small yarn bowls – something for everyone!).
The MDK campus studio could offer different types of yarn-related projects – make bowls to hold yarn, learn to spin or weave or a new knitting technique, or dye-your-own yarn like Chelsea suggests. Or pattern writing 101… Dedicate the space to one thing at a time, for a week or a month or a day, depending on the resident expert’s schedule and the demand for the activity offered. And if some of the curriculum can be offered virtually, then we all can participate. Who knows, maybe a new designer will be discovered for a future Field Guide?
I eally like your idea!!
Sounds like a great space for staff meetings—good to get away from those yarn fumes now and then.
The Bind Off
Rent out for fiber creators to teach in
Somewhere Else. Not work where there are responsibilities – not home where there is laundry and cleaning begging to be done (with the need to silence that squishy yarn begging to be cast on) Somewhere Else where anything is possible and peace will prevail.
How about a pop up yarn swap shop. Have 8 skeins of yarn you won’t use for a sweater? Drop it off and swap for someone else’s unwanted yarn. That could be fun.
A place for employee pets to hang out during your workday, maybe add a fenced in yard?
I like it!!!!! Unfortunately I’m not an employee, and it would be a tough commute from the west coast
A skills school…..knitting, crochet, embroidery, dyeing, sewing, paper making, jewelry….all sorts of making can go on inside
No clever ideas here, but classroom space seems the most practical. Otoh, I would totally come spend the weekend there, with a few fiber friends…
Absolutely a place for a weekend getaway, limit 2 people, stay close to the yarn!
Airbnb it for those of us from out of town who want to come visit.
Wine bar. Or, you know, full bar
Bed and takeout sounds good to me. It would be hard to leave though.
A place for an artist in residence, like the National Parks and some schools. Lots of great art is inspired by places with a little time.
Exactly what I was thinking, Pam. The MDK Fiber Artist Residency.
What if you made it into a recording studio for online classes/ youtube/ other video and audio media pursuits? I would 110% subscribe to MDK podcasts, video series, etc.⁴
I think you could call the space THE BIND OFF and use it for miscellaneous projects to compliment your campus.
Great name … great idea. I concur (I’ll give you the yarn if I my name is drawn as winner after all you came up with the name.)
I’m thinking of Lucy’s booth (recalling the Peanuts cartoon) where she provided counselling for the hefty price of 5 cents…a place where knitters could drop by for advice, direction, support and just plain help when it was needed in the world of knitting.
Would hav eloped to se enough climb over the gate!
Love the idea of a dye studio or how about a B&B for yarn lovers?
Classroom and library!
Use it as a place for visiting designers and fiber artists to stay.
You could use if for knit groups to meet or hold small group classes…..
Mini knit retreat for two!
How about a potting shed? Even knitters need a break from knitting. Just joking!
Employee retreat/meditation/yoga space!
I think renting it out as an Airbnb/vrbo to fiber lovers would be awesome!
Knitters’ Spa!
The B&B idea would be great – some of us would love to visit but don’t live any where close. You could get a discount if you bought …. amount of yarn!
A place for some great knitting classes. Intimate groups where a knitter can get plenty of help if the technique being taught is difficult for them, with no specific end time, order in some food (and coffee) if necessary.
A MDK museum/library of field guides samples of knitwear corresponding to the guides.
This is the perfect idea! An Homage to MDK.
Jeanne Shenkar, you took my idea! I agree that it should be a multi-purpose space to try out all the fabulous suggestions. I assume it’s habitable, so no major renovation needs to be done. Just decorate and use. The knit night would be fun there if it’s big enough. I like the dyer in residence idea too. Everyone is so creative.
Yarn and more yarn. Obviously.
Campuses these days restrict entry, as should The MDK Campus, with a little guard house at the campus entry point. The hut would be a good spot for a rotating round of volunteers to live in during their their tour of duty. I volunteer for the first month! And I will be (mostly) honest about areas of campus I explore during the nights.
No question … Airbnb with MDK access. What’s not to love? I would think it fun to spend an afternoon fulfilling orders, just to get a view of the other side. And then filling my shopping bag.
A super comfy rest stop for those worker bees coming and going from the MDK Campus that just needed a bit of a rest before or after the work day.
Classroom space for intensive teaching without yarnie purchase distractions
I’d drive to Nashville to hang out in a Knit Hut, meeting and greeting new knitting pals right there on the MDK Campus, getting the vibes from the MDK World HQ looming on the horizon…
This can house a Fiber Artist in Residence. They work in peace,, get meals left at the door by DGStrong because he started all this. Reunions after a few seasons, prestigious awards, I can see this.
I have a weaving feeling for that space. I would love to make lots rugs.
Air BNB for people obsessed with great yarn (totally not talking about me).
Use the little house for a designer in residence and have competitions for people who can win a month at the MDK campus designing wonderful new knits. (You get the rights to the patterns.)
A hut? This week, build a sukkah!
Museum of lost causes and unfinished projects. Except it’s probably not large enough…
If you’re going to use a tech company analogy, then I vote for R&D lab. In my work space, R&D is basically swatching so let’s say an MDK employee gets inspired by a skein of yarn. They take it to the R&D lab, sit down in a comfy chair, and make a lovely swatch. You pin it to the wall and over time you have a beautiful wall of inspiration. Bonus, no painting required.
The building could be a cute little knitting retreat that you could use for live blogs/classes!
Knit nights and classes.
A place for a fiber guild to meet. You do have one, right?!
I just read “The Midnight Library”. How about a space to retry all the knitting projects we have regrets about.
Great reading reference (the books is great) and idea. The place of new beginnings….
Private coffee shop!
Visual book release space for each new field guide. All the garments on display, in an appropriately decorated context. Changing space really brings out creativity and helps readers visualize possibilities. Name: The Dyeorama
Most definitely an Airbnb. What knit afficianado wouldn’t want to stay close to MDK HQ?
An in person and virtual classroom.
So many great ideas! Practically speaking, a classoom/workshop space can generate occasional revenue without too much extra work for everyone. A BnB would be fun, but does DG really want to be in charge of guest relations?
It appears that MDK Fiber B&B wins! Sign me up.
I would rent it out as a knitting destination spot. Imagine being close to a yarn shop in a cozy little place and knit the day away.
Flexible she-shed/retreat space/traveler rental/class space/artist refuge as needed
A quiet space for alone time with an electric teapot, couch, good lighting for knitting, lace curtains, a cozy rug, and a small bookshelf for fiber books
Great idea! This would make it available for everyone, not just renters or artists. Add in a sale corner, and you’ll get lots a traffic!
A big old fashioned “powder room” -unisex of course. Never can have too many toilets.
Knitting (and crochet) library: don’t forgeyvthe crocheted out there.
Offer, as another source of revenue, something similar to working farm vacations, but instead, knitters could pay for the ‘privilege’ of working at MDK for a week, helping DG Strong box or unbox yarn, playing up the opportunity to pet yarn and see all the colors. You could have quite a racket going.
I really like this win/win
Create a ‘Knitdom’. Soft cushy chairs, music candles etc. Lots of Hygge. A place to stop by and have a little knitting time away from the busy-ness of life.
“If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
So, a knitting library, a little houseplant paradise, and yarn storage. Done!
I would use it as a studio for everything I do that is not knitting. It would need an electrical source for my glass kiln, shelves for storage of the glass and a work table. In addition to glass I sometimes do small wood projects so I would need storage for a few tools and small amounts of wood. Last, there would be an area for crafts with my grandchildren!
Air BnB!
Sounds like a nice spot for a classroom/ knitters retreat! I wish I lived closer…..
Trunk show/demos
Classes
It should be called The Love Shack. Regardless of what you decide to do with it
How about the MDK mailing, packaging, and shipping center? That would leave space in the main building for more yarn and fun stuff. Just sayin…
Yoga class studio. Exclusive, by appt only by instructor. He/she/they pay MDK rent for room per use
At the grad school where I teach we have a similar hut, and we use it as guest lodging for visitors. For MDK, imagine guest designers, artists-in-residence, technical experts, and anyone else who could add even more sparks to your amazing creative flames.
Along the lines of the presidential libraries, an MDK Historical Library. How Ann and Kay each got interested in knitting. How they met. How they formed MDK (maybe even including the reasoning behind the original name). The first book, then its sequel. Events that lead up to making a daily blog, field guides, IG, recipes (deviled eggs!), the organized knitting blanket squares for various causes (and much more). The Knitters Retreat. Of course, the meeting of The Kaffe. Etc, etc, etc.
Airbnb for overnighting yarn shoppers
Guard Shack – you really, really need a guard to protect all that beautiful yarn. You can pay me in yarn!
It’s the quiet place. Where one can fix brioche mistakes and decipher complicated cable charts
Studio for video production – interviews of designers, online instruction, demos of new products, etc.
Ok………………..a group hangout .multi use…………….knitting group hangout………………book and knitting notions and local artisan shop………coffee house, IF your licensing permits this…………….maybe even a monthly or weekly intro kids to knitting class linked to the local schools or scouting or 4H programs (sheep and wool you know!)
so people could gather for classes and knitting circles, plus shop while there……………..and local crafts people could have a place to sell their wares in addition to etsy.
Good music and tea and a warm wood stove and old chairs works wonders. fliers galore.
Best use? One might be as headquarters for any filming, Zoom, etc lessons or meetings. Lighting, wifi access tripod for camera or phone and you’re ready for closeups.
Give a Skein, Take a Skein drive thru co-op
Definitely a she shed to hide away in and knit some awesome socks!
Perhaps MDK childcare for your employees?
Definitely a Retreat Center for the Fiber-ly Challenged. A cute little space to get your Mojo pumping, since how could you not feel all the good vibes when living on the MDK Campus?
I vote for the airbnb, for us out-of-towners to stay and shop!
Gnome home.
Make it KnitSpace. Our KnitWits group met weekly, in each others’ homes, with knit-knourishing treats provided by the hostess. That all ended. We would love to have a neutral space to gather, (vaccinated and masked, of course) to continue our knitting for charity/social gatherings. Sigh.
How about a Visitors’ Center/Sample (Idea) House for groups or individuals that visit your “campus?”
Event space for MDK marketing — knitting club meeting space; residence for artist-in-residence when you have visiting designers; classroom
I love the idea of a pop-up spot, and when that’s not happening use it for a space for knitters to gather. Maybe throw in a skein or two of the latest yarns each week for knitters to sample.
I think the little hut should be a knitting get-away hut. Where you could have people come and sit and knit together. Or sew or dye or think or read or drink tea while contemplating the world outdoors. Put in a little wood-burning stove to keep you warm in the winter as you knit a cozy afghan.
It could be a media room where people can “Knit to This”! Maybe every once in a while DG could read his musings aloud to a gathering of fanpeeps/followers.
Multipurpose space. Knit Night HQ, Wine bar. Class space. Pop up shop for visiting artists.
A space devoted to the current (latest, greatest) field guide and all that’s reasonably related as a maker space and/or test lab.
Hygge hut
I would have a cozy knit space for employees where they can relax, knit and share. Also some type of coffee makes would be essential too.
Instead of a place for someone to have a “time out,” it could be treated as a fabulous Time In (for knitting). Awarded to an employee (or volunteer, if you have such a thing) who has done outstanding service, and that person would get to have their break (with a few lovely, provided snacks…tea & scone). And the only responsibility would be of MDK to describe how this lucky, hard-working individual was selected and that person would write up (or if hesitant, could be interviewed for a write-up) about what he or she is making during their wonderfully awarded Time In. How’s that! Think how fun it may be to furnish!
How about my husband and I rent the Little Hut and move in?!?!?
Living on the MDK Campus would definitely be a blast!!! Also, we could
chip in whenever the yarn crunch is on!!
Fiber artist/writer in-residence.
MDK Library and Book shop. Being a retired librarian, a perfect spot to keep all the MDK field guides and other publications!
A mother in law quarters? A time out space? A display room? Solarium?
An art gallery for fiber and related arts.
A library of knitting boooks. If there is enough space, books on other textile arts/crafts as well.
I think a little tiny house like that would make a great staff retreat. A place to be away from the hustle and bustle of the actual facility, and brainstorm ideas. Also, a great place to meet with important clients. When I was a food service director for a tech company in Chicagoland, we had a suite of meeting rooms that were decorated like a nice hotel, and we would cater meals there when meetings and negotiations were going on. You could do the same with your outbuilding.
Raffle off tickets for a stay in the hut…the winner will get a cozy retreat plus a “shopping spree” in the warehouse!!! This could be an annual event…..where do I sign up?!?!?
How about a drive-through for order pickup.
A knitting school was first on my mind but you’re sure to have that already.
I would make it a little get-away Air B &B type place. Guests could come stay, have an exclusive tour of the campus, explore Nashville, including the aforementioned Delicious District, and have the weekend of their dreams. I’d be first to make a reservation!
Ooo I know- a fibery Airbnb! Each guest gets a tour of the warehouse, & a coupon for 25% off of a purchase
MDK B&noB. Set up for folks from around the country who would love to visit the MDK campus and then Nashville.
If I were working at the MDK campus and there was a really nice building with 2 complete rooms and a bathroom, I think it would be an excellent place for 1 on 1 meetings or small group meetings with staff. It would be a place that is comfortable to be in and allow good brainstorming sessions to organically flow.
You’re right that it cannot be a retail shop. It is a business asset that should be used to enhance the performance of the business.
An alternative is to put fitness equipment it in and ask all employees to use it to help with keeping health insurance premiums at a more affordable level for all the employees. Really good business models includes the health and well-being of the employees because it costs a fortune to continually have to replace employees.
Meditation Zone
Are you sure the coffee shop is a bad idea? How many workers are in the nearby complexes? Maybe coffee and sandwiches? Maybe open for evening knit nights?
Studio space for workshops
A child care or husband hang out so women can shop in peace!
A place for out of towners to come visit your shop. Rent per day would include help with those projects that they figured they would never complete, like me!
I would love to rent that hut/VRBO for a retreat space, how many knitters might fit?
a place for classes and knit togethers
Classroom space
Pajama parties, invitations by lottery!
The Yarn Hut – a place for telling stories. One week a month it’s a Textile Maker’s Retreat location. The rest of the month it’s a Retreat available for rent by the week. Put twin beds in one room and a little couch and table in the other. And sign me up.
I should have said…a place for MAKING stories!
Dye studio for yarn and fabrics with guest indy dyers or designated dwelling for all things socks
I was going to say a meditation room for frazzled workers from the campus but I doubt there are any. MDK campus sounds like such a great place to work! All of the suggestions are great but I think I most like library or museum devoted to knitting and yarn and the people who do it.
The little cottage sounds like a great place to stash that sweater with 1 and half sleeves completed because you are dying to start knitting with zauerball to make some great socks.
I would use it for a hideaway for when I need to count stitches and absolutely cannot be interuptrd.
A Yarn B & B.
sounds like perfect office space to me!
A yoga studio for sure.
I would turn it into a green house, and put my favorite plants inside. There would be a comfy chair to take my knitting project. It would be my secret place.
I would love to use a little shed as a place to write (poetry) and to spend time with my bullet journal. I took Felix Ford’s bullet journaling class last year and it has revolutionized my organizing of things like knitting queue, tracking sleep, tracking my tea vs. coffee intake, note on knitting workshops I take and more. But I need a dedicated space for all my supplies – wash tape, stickers, rubber stamps etc. And space is lacking especially now that we got a rescue dog with special needs. Time is also more precious.
The ultimate Knitter’s VRBO. Just add television and coffee pot.
perch for Kay in the South
Knit night nook
Throw some wheels under that sucker and roll it on down Broadway, with Ann and Kay on board in their wig hats, blasting “Pardon Me I Didn’t Knit That for You.”
But DG, yarn store is the most obvious use of it!
Easy peasy, a TIME OUT SPACE for DG Strong and other MDK bad boys/girls!
I think a break “room” for staff would be great!
Rent it to out of towners coming to visit MDK!
In line with the campus, how about a crafters academy where small group classes, lectures etc.could beheld?
What a perfect spot for a private sitters retreat! Sign me up!
Suggestion for The Hut: A fiber arts studio where students can learn about different sheep and other animals and the wool they produce, learn to spin, dye, weave, knit, crochet, quilt, basketweave, etc. It would be great to learn about the different ethnic styles of fiber art, as well. There is such a studio located on Washington Island, off the tip of WI, called Sievers (www.https://sieversschool.com/).
A glamping cabin for the fiber-obsessed!
Knitting Knowledge Central, a place where the authors of field guides and other experts could digitally connect and help MDK followers!
Classroom space?
A drop-in centre for wayward knitters (and crocheters). It would be great to have a blocking area for people who don’t have the child/criitter-free space at home to block larger items.
A little educational “museum” to yarn, knitting and crocheting!
A retreat—keep it quiet and clean and peaceful, someplace to take a short break and clear your mind during the work day. (A nap hut??) A studio—any filming can be done there. A spot for small classes.
My little outbuilding would become a space to knit, to weave, and to store my vast HOARD, er, I mean, my stash of yarn. I’m runningout of room in my little 2 bedroom cottage!!!
Use the hut as a knitting retreat!
A hidey hole to escape to when you have more yarn than time to knit it. There should be a bottomless coffee pot and endless podcasts and audiobooks.
I like the idea of a pop up store but when I worked (retired 3 years now!) I longed for a napping nest. Just a little place I could close my eyes on stressful days for a quick 20 min. Maybe a nice couch and soft music.
Call it Kint Away a space for mini knitting retreats!
A restful space for MDK staff, complete with aromatherapy, magic fingers recliner, cucumber slices, and a collection of guided meditation offerings.
How about a place for a book club?
A place to truly clear your head: at least two cats, an assortment of cookies, and British baking shows playing on a loop (on an old TV). Sometimes the brain needs a break!
The lounge, as a physical space. For MDK staff breakroom, and if it’s not too small, for knit nights, classes, whatnot.
A place to scream “serenity now” without scaring your coworkers. (Sort of like Harry Potter’s “shrieking shack”. Only without the werewolf.)
Love this one! 🙂
A nap house. Who can pull an all-dayer anymore?
How about a sample shop that shows off all of the knitted sample sweaters, on a rotating basis? Themes for the up and coming holidays (Halloween, Xmas, etc.)? A sample shop! Perfect!!
A teaching space. One day retreats, KAL meetings. Video classes for far away knitters. Anything education related.
You could use it as a garden hut and surround it with plantings of seasonal fruits and vegetables. You could probably put some benches outside for eating lunch, taking breaks – that is, when you’re not weeding the garden. I bet the neighbors would notice the improvement to the neighborhood.
An artist residence. You could give a series of knit artists a weeks residency with access to the warehouse to create an original (& I MEAN original) design and then put a collection of the designs into
a Fieldguide for the wild and wacky.
A space for crafting and art classes of all kinds. Equipment for screen printing, some wheels for pottery, etc. Plus just a general awesome spot for knit nights, etc.
Tea house for sipping tea, eating snacks and hosting knitting circles. Or custom dye shack and classroom space.
A very Spartan knitter/crocheter only Air B&B. Like a Zen retreat where you can be fully disconnected but intensively immersed in your craft. Emerging only, blinking like a mole, when the smells from the nearby Delicious District can no longer be ignored. ( sign me up first please!)
It could be a classroom for knitting, looping and a book club hangout.
I would use it as a space to display new yarns and finished objects and to sell pastries (sourced from a local bakery) and coffee. A great place to rest, browse, and think!
Hmm a little house with a bathroom. I think it is the perfect place to escape with some meal for the local lunch diversity. So some very nice comfortable chairs (maybe two in case you want to talk to someone) and a variety of yarn and do not disturb sign.
Would love a little knitty Airbnb – stocked with some extra needles, scissors, bits of leftover yarn and some books on fiber. Oh and a coffee maker would be nice but not necessary
Every place of business or commerce needs a hidey hole where one can disappear to as needed for any reason whatsoever. Hidey holes are good for naps, yelling at the universe, correcting wardrobe malfunctions, knitting a row or seven to keep your sanity, etc. ..,,and you get the idea. I once had one that was under a flight of stairs in a dead-end, unlit corner. I could elaborate further on this idea based on how you described the hut. Email me so we can talk it out!
A dog house.
Nap room, but the bed is made entirely out of squooshy yarns. The ultimate test of yarn squooshiness.
I think the best thing would be to have a coffee/croissant shop and a few tables for knitters!
It’s a She Shed grand prize. Fill it with yarn and notions, a comfy chair and a mini fridge. The winner can fill it with their fave yarn and wallow in the fiber fumes for a long weekend.
Knitting library, yarn sampling, and place to showcase items you offer.
You can set up a small lathe to make nostepinnes or Amish Yarn Swifts, or sewing machine to make heavy duty project bags.
I envision this spot as a place where you could come knit for the good of the community. An hour on a log cabin project. Two hours on a hat. You could come here to recharge and refresh during those time when you are tired to death of working on your current project and you still want to knit a bit. Hang the lovely things on the wall for a week or a month and then pass them on to those who need something lovely in their life. Perhaps the yarn could come from a curated de-stashing?
Keep the shed. Remember when power naps were in vogue? When a private “nursing” place was set up (before people could nurse in public or before they were working from home)? I used to work in a building that had a “temp” chill/sick room for when someone wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t decided to go home or not. It was not a great idea, if the person fainted, died of heart attack or whatever, no one would find them for hours or not until the body started to smell. Maybe pet lounge where people can take a their pet to work and sometimes others could just get pet therapy (it could keep pet allergens from the stock but still be a pet-friendly place to work or something similar to a “cat cafe.”
Maybe it could be the MDK “Little Red Schoolhouse” and you could host the occasional weekend retreat or tracing event there. You could add a zen outdoor space to extend the space. The whole thing would need to be very Insta ready. Get a youngster involved ha! Good luck- seems like there is definitely potential!
It should be a library because every “campus” needs a well-stocked library!
Staff hang out lounge? Collaboration space for future MDK Field Guide authors? Maybe a bedroom for them and some office/ design space? I’d have voted a retail space because that means I could visit when I’m in Tennessee next but since you nixed that… Or turn it into a regular knit night space with the walls showcasing the latest of MDK.
A small refrigerator and a microwave go a long way to make each room like a hotel room. Also add a coffee maker to each room. Advertise them for rent to the knitting community, and see who shows up.
I think napping is a profound experience and having a space at work for a nap or an espresso machine for the work group would be a good use of your space. O
An air B&B for subscribers only.
Sounds like it would make a perfect classroom for knitters. All you need is a small counter for a coffee pot and a small refrigerator for treats!
The MDK Lounge. Which mean anything from cocktails to yarn
Would it be feasible to rent it out to a college student who can eat on campus or fix up a microwave or hotplate like the kids do in dorms? You could give them a break on the rent if they did some maintenance or warehouse work for you part-time. This is a very common practice where we currently live.
How about a MDK Hall of Fame/ museum with first edition Field Guides, designer info, mood boards. MDK history and evolution etc.
I’m thinking, but I’m sure this has been thought of, a knitting space (hang-out) with a fridge and hot plate for folks to escape to before, after, during (Lunch) or after work except when not in use as a pop-up shop. They can work on any project and test new yarns. To piggyback on someone else’s idea, it could also be a pop-up shop for new yarns to sell, local hand dyers and spinners even flash sales for yarns and colors that may not be selling. After all MDK is a business and all space should pay for its self in some way.
Writers have writing retreat spaces, so quiet knitting retreat spaces? I would totally sign up.
Knowing how much you love staff meetings, a staff conference room, couch to nap on, fridge/freezer stocked with calming items, ice cream comes to mind. A sort of getaway from packing and wanting to kill the tape dispenser, or is that just me.
I would love a yarnie AirBNB type situation. Imagine getting to stay there for the MDK Knit Night in Nashville. I would love that type of escape.
Use the little hut for a teaching space.
A knitting hideaway with the ability for members to visit campus, test projects, meditate etc.
My Daily Knitaway reservation includes a copy of two field guides, supplies for one project and a special MDK stash bag.
May I place my reservation now?
A guest house!
An Air B-n-B for visiting MDK fans!
I think “MASH” would be perfect. My Amazing Stash Hospital !!!
Studio for classes and meet ups!
(So those of us not in Nashville can be jealous)
Ohhh. I would use it as a private, no-electronics, hand-knits and real-books only sanctuary from a noisy, overly accessible world.
Wait – Elizabeth Suzann is there???? Oh my. Sewing and knitting … oh the possibilities.
Yoga – always yoga…
It should become an Air BnB! Can’t you just imagine the joy that knitters would feel at staying on the MDK campus?!?!
Add a massage chair and it could be a place to rejuvenate after sstocking shelves.
Textile Artist in residence! How awesome would that be?
It should be used as a man’s/child’s cave to entertain them while we enjoy shopping! think of how much more we could buy!!
It should be the “Yarn Bombing” center for Nashville and surrounds!!!
Renovate it inside and out to look like the hut on Gilligan’s Island!
I’m for the library, with yarn samples and tasting and all, but it has to be a cozy comfy relaxing sit-down-and-read-and knit sort of library.
Community Outreach Center: A place to teach kids. Or new mothers-to-be. Build a new generational of Knitter’s.
I’d make it an AirBnB, fiber fans would line up to stay that close to all that lovely yarn.
Have an Artist-in-Residence space! It could be someone who dyes, spins, weaves, knots, crochet, beads – just anyone who would benefit from a space and could be an addition to MDK.
Personal retreat space!
MDK Studio – with all the online things so we can all have “knit night” together, no matter where we are. Set up and ready to go. We could all have a beverage of choice at the ready. Could get out of hand, but great things come from “out of hand.” Ah…all the fibery goodness comes from “out of hand.”
I’d make it living quarters. Perhaps you don’t have this problem, but we have a severe housing shortage.
That little building: how about as a B & B, for which you award free access for two nights through drawings or some other methods, open to your faithful followers.
Textile artist residency
Advertise for an year long Artist-in-Residence opportunity. That can be their little house. They can give creative workshops and just . . . be a fiber artist without the burden of rent.
Lodging for an MDK fiber artist in residence.
Time out space for the overloaded. Would stay for days!
Special events in collaboration with designers, dyers to promote new books, yarns, techniques, etc. Film classes or promotional videos. Rent space to other makers. Relaxing place to take a knit break from the campus. But of course my first thought was I want to live there. Kitchens are over rated. I just need a sink.
Host monthly knit nights/days. A book group is good too – my LYS has one.
A retreat space for makers, especially independent dyers. MDK could have limited edition colors dyed on site. Retreats for knitting designers (any local pattern editors?). The retreats would have to come with a meal stipend, to go explore the marvelous food options available.
Space for artist in residence for a week or month. Small area for classes and another for meditation creative space.
I would use it for an “Artist in Residence” kind of thing. When it’s possible to host workshops again, the guest famous-knitter-person could use it as a private retreat space to rest and create between bouts of teaching.
Yoga studio for sure!!
Classrooms & place for knitters to get help with projects.
Husband Hut. Probably with a less sexist name, but that one gives you the idea in two words. A place for the non-yarnies to hang while their other halves are exploring HQ.
I also love the idea of the Craft B&B that can be used for private classes, special sales, overflow, etc.
Spouse House?
You could hold knitting classes either during the week or a week end seminar. I am sure many people would be interested since the classes at the knitting store in my town are always filled quickly.
Artist residence for Artist Residencies 🙂
MDK employee yarn stash. For when there’s no room left at home. Or a place for anonymous unfinished objects that others may be motivated to finish. The home of lonely skeins. It could be a palace for MDK pets.
A library for field guides and other knitting books recommended by Kay and Ann.
a nap room//yoga studio to unkink after packing all those orders ( or just crash after one of your famous lunches)
I would create a dye studio because I think someone should try to make up for the loss of Lorna’s laces
Retreat space would be groovy.
MDK tiny house for visiting fans
A yarn overstock clearance center, for MDK fans, who would certainly find their way there.
Classrooms!
I’ll go for Artist in Residence maybe with special preference for Contributors Who Dawdle in the Process of Putting Together Their Materials.
Not self serving in anyway….;-)
A secret little’break room’, a hideout from mid day stress
A portal for Ann & Kay to use to travel to see each other, sort of like a Tardis. 🙂
Or we could all use it to get to MDK without having to deal with all the ordinary hassles of travel.
I know, you all wish it were possible and want it too!
A guest cottage and you can do giveaways to stay there. They can browse MDK while there etc
A space for parents to hide out in. I’m sure I’m not the only one but every time I manage to finally sit down with my knitting someone needs something. I need a secret space where no one can find me.
A knit artist-in-residence!
Mindfulness knitting corner where every pattern will be easily followed and every project knitted in the space will never require tinking.
A knitting library with a museum showcasing MDK knitted items.
Workshop space. Hold classes. Give fiber artists a venue for a getaway space, artists in residence!!
Lots of great ideas already shared. Think the space would offer small Zoom/podcast studio possibilities. Also place where campus folks could take/make personal calls, space to rest if not well (say fighting a migraine and need a bit of quiet), or lactation area.
It sounds ideal for knitting group retreats. Most hotels wouldn’t relish a bunch of knitters descending on the lobby for the day.
Put in some comfortable chairs and make it a spot for knitters to sit and knit together
A nice little (big?) B&B where crafters can stay and where said stay includes a tour of the MDK Campus HQ where aforementioned crafters may absorb the wool fumes, learn new uses for pallets, indulge in a round or two of “figure out the best box size and Tetris configuration for this order” and solicit suggestions as to where to go for lunch. Bonus if the stay includes a Knit Knight Knashville or coincides with a (an?) MDK conference, guest artist or retreat. Have you considered adding a pool? Perhaps built out of pallets?
Knitting Nook filled with knitting books and comfy chairs and a frig for fun beverages.
I think a shoppe to sell knit wear on a consignment basis. Folks who are prolific knitters can’t wear all their finished objects so you can sell them for them. Just an idea!!! Pat Murphy Baltimore
So many great ideas! I love the idea of a Maker-in-Residence space!
While all of us would love to use this space how about using it to give some one in need shelter? You can add a dorm refrigerator and a microwave.
Since it’s in the delicious district – walkable restaurants? – could it be a one room hotel?
I really don’t know how I could possibly add to all the great ideas already thrown out there, so I’ll go with my first inclination…Nap Room.
MDK Campus Lounge-the best place for MDK folks to rest/relax and unwind. Comfy chairs, good music, beverages, some nibbles of some kind. Maybe it could double as a knit nite place too!
OMG, Air B&B all the way. Imagine the rates you could get just for the yarn fumes!
Secret hideout à la The Bat Cave.
Might not yet be legal in your state (haven’t researched it) but it could be the “MDK Stash Haus” featuring that other kind of stash (not yarn) and its various CBD cousins! There might be some interest…
Other thank outdoor eating, I stop and shop for 4 things these days:
1. Yarn, 2 Coffee / Tea (must include cookies) 3.Tap
room/ Bar. 4. Books
I assume MDK will cover everything yarn and will
Have a terrific meeting room?
And I know you said it’s far for coffee, but build it and they will come!
If not, Tap Room or better yet
Or Tap Room with Library
I’m not reading the other comments first because when I do that, I always decide either my response is too repetitive or someone else deserves to win. With that said, I would go for a B&B, with y’all delivering breakfast and the ‘view’ being a chance to just spend the day wandering the warehouse. I suppose it’s too much to ask for some yarn to be delivered with breakfast? Maybe?
I would call it MDK Lab, where designers could showcase their work with yarns from mdk have classes and samples for sale with weekly updates of the goings on.
A clubhouse! Or else a place for Time Out in case of misbehavior.
A guest house?
Visiting puppy house. It always a good idea to take a break to play with puppies during the day.
(S)he Shed
So many great ideas! I like the air b&b for fiber lovers!
A classroom for workshops and visiting designers!
A tiny weekend rental for an obsessed knitter who NEEDS to be close to yarn; the perk is that that knitter gets access to the yarn, to feel, smell, and swoon over!
I vote for a knitting artist in residence.
I’d use it as a yoga studio. I’ve always wanted my own quiet place to practice and meditate. Though gardening tool shed comes in a close second. They are not allowed in my crazy subdivision. Can you tell I’m a little envious of your predicament?
I would love to come to your city to participate in a weekend Knit and Learn retreat. Purchase a “kit” and knit it along with others, maybe the author of the piece as a bonus. Have it catered. Great chairs and lighting.
During non-weekend activities, think about “field trips” for knitting classes. I live in Atlanta. This would be a fun weekend.
For something completely different (and yet so closely linked) – a sewing studio! A few machines, cutting table, iron & board – all at the ready to create the garment, accessory, or project bag. Always set up, so MDK’ers and their visitors have a sewing space at the ready when inspiration strikes or a quick fix is needed..
Fill it with spinning wheels and charge an hourly fee for use!
I actually have several ideas. It could be used for small groups for meditation or perhaps for meditation and knitting at the same time. or Perhaps for small classes and knitting lessons. And if indeed it does become a storage space perhaps it could be designated for a particular kind of yarn or item so that you don’t forget oh what is in there. Or it could be office space for planning when you want to get away from the bigger building. Sorry to overdo the use of perhaps! It sounds like a wonderful cozy space.
A versatile space to be used for workshops, knit night, knit day, yoga classes for knitters . .
Oh, I would have so many ideas for a space, something like a “man cave,” but for knitting. I would have one room devoted to only yarn, one would be a sitting room with comfy chairs, even a fireplace, if there was one. One might be designated a work room for dyeing small batches of custom yarn. The last room would have a large TV screen in order to watch YouTube videos when I get stuck or need a break and watch Fruity Knitting, or any one of the many blogs written by knitters who know much more than I do. A microwave would be located on the premises, for the times when hunger strikes, but I am deeply immersed in my work. The door would always be open for friends to stop by and stitch with me. In the depths of work, we may share our lives, or just be with each other. No negative people will be allowed to occupy this space. This is a place where dreams can hatch and be fulfilled.
Well I’m totally plaigarizing Solitude Yarns, but I think it should be the Wool Call window for folks who want to ‘grab and go’ their treasures from online ordering and skip the shipping.
Classrooms! Yoga for knitters!
Pop up shop sounds good to me.Wish I lived closer.
A hideaway with a touch of chocolate, yarns,, lots of pattern books, maybe a candle or two for ambience, a rocking chair for comfort, hand knitted or needlepointed pillows and a fluffy sheepish rug for ultimate toe diving. Give me the key. Oh I forgot, painted lovely shades of pink and cream. Now give me the key please. I’ll even move to Memphis!!!!!
A residence for visiting artists at MDK!
hmmmm…what would I do with a cozy little hut like that? Obviously it would be my test knitting site with a knit sample swatch of the yarn in the warehouse, on different needles in different stitches, so I could recommend certain yarns for certain projects. So often when I shop for yarns I just want to see it knit up before I decide if it is right for my project.
Artist’s retreat. Invite designers or dyers to take up residence for 2 weeks at a time, and let them have quiet time away to create – while having all the resources of the MDK Campus and the Delicious District conveniently near their hideaway. Maybe they’re working on a Field Guide, maybe they’re not…..as appropriate. (I totally stole this idea from my friends who run an artists retreat on their farm and arts venue in Wisconsin, Everwood Farmstead).
Obv the knitting break area. Make it a little Zen place with plants, low lighting with some lamps to work by, cozy furniture, maybe a way to make tea…
I would make it a multipurpose area – a knitting library with lots of books filled with photos of luscious knitted delights. Add swatch samples of each of the yarns and maybe even provide needles so someone could see how various yarns feels as they knit with them. And you could hang or drape a garment or two or thirty that would show off the various yarns. If there’s still room, put in a cot for emergency stayovers that may come up now and then. But a warning to potential overnight guests: when you wake up you may think you’ve died . . . and gone to heaven.
So many great ideas you may need to take a calming time out in the hut to meditate on the abundance of suggestions.
“Small Event” space to swatch new yarn sounds good, tiny knit projects or mini dye class.
A knitting hide out. It could be rented for those who need a day to hide from the world and knit undistracted.
The Sample Hut where you can view all the knit samples of your sweaters and other knitting projects.
A kangaroo house. That is, a house to keep and store your kangaroos.
A drop-in knitting space! You know how your LYS has a space with comfy chairs, tables, etc. where you can go anytime and knit? It also has to have a coffeepot. And you never know who you’ll meet there!
I would 100% set up a dye studio. I have been wanting to make a deep dive try into yarn dyeing and that would be the perfect space
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So many great ideas already expressed! Our imaginations run wild.
MDK- Let us know if and when you do anything with with the space!
“Mahjong and Mittens” a space with cozy chairs and couches to knit in, and tables and chairs for board games.
AirBNB for knitters!
A spot for yoga with goats? Or maybe hot yoga if you don’t turn the AC on.
You could use it for a place to crash after wild MDK knit nights.
So many amazing and creative ideas, but I think classrooms make the most practical use of the space. You could line the walls with project samples, yarn swatches, accessories, etc. have a few iPads or computers handy for “online” shopping!
The Strong Contemplative Center for Fiber Arts Clarity. In the main building on the MDK Campus you winnow down your yarn fiber choices, to say a respectable twenty possibilities for your next sweater. Next you move to the Contemplative Center where you meditate in a serene environment on your twenty yarn options. An MDK Fiber Guru assists in this clarity seeking process by very gently pointing out that maybe that particular color of chartreuse, though lovely, may not be the best color for your skin tone. The Strong Contemplative Center for Fiber Arts Clarity on the MDK Campus would be committed to helping with yarn overwhelm which some customers may experience. Another cheeky idea is to put in a kitchen, round up a few knitwear designers in the making and produce a reality tv show where they learn about the yarn business. The winner could be the next MDK Field Guide contributor. I would certainly tune in!
An short term artist in residence would be really cool, or an air b&b for knitters.
I would use that cute little hut as a get-away from my glaring chores, hubby’s needs and tv. I would sit back, take a deep breath, drink my hot tea and knit, knit and knit some more.
Ahh ….the wonderful possibilities of silence…..
After Kay cleans up the croissant crumbs you could offer the hut to temporarily house visiting musicians for a month or so while they make their mark in Nashville. You could most likely get a lunch time concert or two out of the deal!
Use it to house the MDK party vehicle. You know there has to be one. What would an MDK party truck look like?
Housing for future MDK interns!
Air B&B, Employee Party Lounge, rotating place for employees to get away from their spouse/family/self. C’mon, it has to be something fun!
Hmmm, it sounds like that hut might be a great little spot for a couple of awesome people who are knitters to record a podcast now and then!! Or film some clever tutorials. It’s probably quieter than the warehouse and you could leave the equipment out without taking up other valuable space. A Knitters’ She Shed!
I am late to the party – so these have probably already been suggested . . . . Airbnb or Nap Room!
I like the idea of a pop-up shop. This leaves the door open (pun intended) for many things— textile show and tell, classroom, artist showcase, book signing, and on and on. So many options…
You could use the hut as a world wide double pointed needle sorting hub. We could all mail our shoe boxes full of random dpn’s in and have them organized once and for all.
Since you are using the term campus I think it should be classroom/s , the MDK Schoolhouse
DG, (sounds like I know you) I love yarn color you picked!
It is so hard to know what to do with this “shack” without actually seeing it. Is it as small as it sounds? There are so many good ideas presented but, I might be inclined to turn it into a gardening cottage. Bedroom for naps, storage space, and bathroom for clean up. Do you have many green spaces where you are located? You could hire a gardener to plant NATIVE flowers to help the local and migrating pollinators. Pollinators are in trouble and we have to have pollinators in order to have much of our food. It could be a beautiful and functional space on your property! MDK could be a trendsetter!
Don’t forget to include a coffee pot or iced tea maker for the gardener!
Artist in residence, or air bnb it for fiber enthusiasts only.
I think you should make it a ‘Stop the Insanity’ personal getaway space for anyone who would love to see the inner workings of the mighty MDK Campus then immerse themselves with a personal Knit Night. A bonified She or He Space. I dare say, you would have to politely kick people out by limiting their stay. I’m sure you would have a new person visiting every day.
It could be a guesthouse for visiting knitters
A two tiered residency-one part for an experienced/possibly renown fiber artist and also a ‘learning’ residency where someone could just study-research. FiberSpace.
Remove all the interior doors to create one large space with a long center table and chairs. “If you build it, they will come.”
I wanted to be clever, but I really love the idea of a dye space.
How about “the hut” becomes Inspiration Station? It could be filled with finished objects that are displayed and have information about them – tags that list the pattern, yarn used, needle size, etc.
Sit and knit and relax space complete with coffee and tea availability.
A studio for guest artists with novel ideas, new craft. The sky (or the roof) is the limit!
I would totally drink lemongrass tea and knit socks!
The knit up and off hut
Definitely a place for visitors to stop, rest, bring along a coffee and knit quietly for a while. If in the area, or if you’re planning to be, you could sign up for an hour slot. Heaven.
Rather obvious, a mini-retreat inn. Bunk beds and fouton couch, possibly 6 could stay, knit, explore, knit, eat, knit, etc.
You should use the little hut to house a “knitter in residence.” Assuming you have, or start, a knitter in residence program.
How about a yarn shop/coffee and lunch place? My all time favorite local yarn shop (Sow’s Ear, if you are curious) was both and it worked fabulously well. Which seems odd since you would not think coffee/pastry/salad/sandwiches and expensive yarn would be an ideal combination but it really was. My husband actually asked to go there and he did not expect to buy lunch without having me also shop for yarn. It was in a spot without a lot of foot traffic and still worked. It also meant that you could get a snack during classes to keep your strength up while knitting.
If it’s quiet enough, a audio/video recording studio and editing suite. A permanent set-up saves a lot of time (and grief). I bet you could even rent studio time.
Foster kitten studio space with 24-7 live webcam so we can all watch the kittens.
Offer it to the school district as a place where kids can learn fiber crafts after school. It would be manned by teachers, or parent volunteers, or even social services.
A copy knitting library would be lovely. A place to knit and be inspired.
It sounds to me like the perfect space for classes and knit night type activities. If there’s two rooms you can have two classes at a time. Retreat right in your own space? Food is there and I’m guessing someplace to stay is close by as well.
Turn the campus bungalow into a library. For each pattern, collect photos of the garment/object made, who made it, in what yarn, when, with comments about construction, wear, some measure of satisfaction with the end result…. Create a computer file to use as an index to the objects on the library.
A learning studio and/or a Knight Night studio.
Coffee shop/cafe to refuel between bouts of shopping
As a librarian, I love the idea of a knitting library as mentioned previously, but I’d say think outside the box of just books/patterns. Let people borrow knitting needles – maybe specialized ones to try out or ones they only need for a singular project. Have scraps of all kinds of yarn so someone could try knitting with mohair for the first time or check how that self-striping yarn looks in a swatch, etc. Also some notions – eg. different styles of cable needles so new knitters can try them out to see which style fits them the best; various types of pom pom makers, etc. And think how fast you’d knit if you knew you had to return the needles in a month!
Rent it to those who need a getaway to knit and relax. Airbnb?
Turn one room into a stall and the other into a hay barn and feed room. House a pair of mdk sheep as therapy animals. Put in a webcam for round the clock viewing in the Lounge. They’d be a big draw for mdk campus visitors, and what they get up to would be good subject matter for blog posts. Sheep totally love industrial estates, right? The hut even already has plumbing for a water trough.
I was thinking something similar, but why not include other fiber animals too? Add an alpaca or two, a couple of Angora bunnies, some mohair goats and a musk ox.
Artist in Residence program!
Well Duh! A knitting and spinning studio! It would be well insulated with…(wait…)…well duh! Yarn and Fiber!
What about a “Live Zoom” studio? You could do live sessions, vendors could come there to have virtual pop-ups, etc.
Wine bar.
A knitting library! Books to look through, comfy chairs, good lights, coffee pot. Heaven!
AirB&B it out to knitters?
Private knitting retreat. Rent it out by the hour or afternoon. Add a tea pot or coffee maker and some cookies for snacks. Just the place you need when you have some serious knitting to do to meet a deadline.
I’d add a minifridge, microwave and coffee maker, make one room a bedroom and turn it into a space for an “artist in residence.”
Whatever it becomes, make it dog-, cat-, bunny-friendly 😀
Leave it empty for now and allow staff, family and friends to use it for “when the world or its people are too much”. Empty space is valuable and to soon a reason to need it will pop up.
Featured Artist Love Shack. Get Jen Geigley to bring her knitting machine so hand-knitters can embrace instant knits. Sonya Philip can help non-sewers cut patterns & show off new clothes later that same day! Sock People will have their day, as well as Lace Lovers. You really shouldn’t have told us about this unoccupied space…
Nap pods.
Little free library of small knitted items and swatches and oddments of yarn.
Rent to a podcaster and a chainsaw sculptor who need space and film the ensuing chaos.
Speakeasy (with often-changing knitting-related password) / potting shed / sewing space with ironing board/s at the ready?
Air BandB for visiting knitters.
A social pop-up shop/knit night (day?) combo where makers could share their wares but also folks are encouraged to stay and socialize and show what they are working on. Or! A landing place for groups of knitters visiting Nashville to hang out for a half day or something between all of their sightseeing.
It sounds like the perfect hide out
Looks like it could be a nice classroom!
I like the idea of an overstock shop or clearance hut where you can do a virtual visit and load knittin gems into your cart.
Having the benefit of reading through some of the comments, I thought many were really great and creative, inclusive, sustaining, hilarious. After impulse buying at the warehouse, I may need a space for intervention.
Something like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, but with yarn and patterns instead of chocolate
I would definitely have the place used 7 days a week- as a library- as a school with one-on-one and group classes- guest speakers via zoom on a big screen (channeling Clara Parkes) and a museum store and as a Yarn exchange too!
Napping space!
Oh! As a knitting snd music retreat!
An Air B & B catering to knitters.
ALL THINGS KNIT SHED – for classes, youtube production; Overstock or Last Chance yarn, you name it – full anything for knitters to get-away – and overnight, weekend or weekly rentals would be great; A
I would definitely offer the MDK Campus Hut as a temporary safe house for fiber nuts (like me ) to escape from the chaos and practice fiber arts to their heart’s content!
A yoga space or a wine cellar
So, in London you can find these little libraries on the street, which are decorated little boxes where you bring and/or take books – leave ones you’re done with for other people and take ones you’d like to read. Maybe this can be the yarn equivalent? Lots of shelves or bins where you can leave your loved (or indeed unloved) but unused yarn and take a skein(s) that someone else has left? With perhaps a sofa and a bookshelf of patterns to peruse?
I am assuming no one can stay overnight and you would want to use it in the daytime. How about a craft center, and art place for kids. Maybe you can try a small daycare (toddler and up in age) that would enjoy doing craft work while moms shopped. Of course you would need someone there- maybe someone could volunteer to start it out? Kids could have some face paint and a craft to bring home. It would be good to get the younger moms to knit and the kids would have a nice experience and maybe knit when interested, too. And a good way to bring both young girls and boys into the fold.
The MDK building would be a pawfect place to knit and frap (Corgi for playing). Draw back of course would be the hair.
crafting AirBnB YES!
A knitting/fiber retreat space. Need yarn? Walk across the parking lot!
I would love the idea of a knitting place where friends could gather to knit! Could it be rented for an overnight knit retreat by a few friends or just a day retreat?
I love so many of these ideas, but none of them can compete with the obvious, highest and best use for the space: the Fiber Immersion Center. Each room is 2/3 filled with a different type of fiber (wool, cotton, linen, etc), and visitors can take turns immersing themselves in their favorite fiber. Maybe offer changing rooms, so folks can change into bathing suits to really get the full-on experience. Visitors will put on their bathing suit, don a blindfold (in order to enhance the ability to appreciate the fiber with their other senses), and then enter the room of their choice and dive in. It can be like a giant ball pit, except with your favorite fiber.
Definitely an artist in residence where the next field guide author can stay on campus while meeting with the creative team.
I love the idea of a knitting library where visitors can see/feel samples of all the MDK yarns, Field Guides, etc. and sit and knit together! A maker residency is also a great concept. So many possibilities!
Air BnB for a knitter,
How about free housing for two students – what a godsend – could even arrange with one of the area schools – think of what a wonderful gift that could be.
Remedialknitting bed and breakfast we can rent to come and complete projects thT have overwhelmed us.
An Airbnb for knitters
Craft studio/library!
Line the shelves with books and patterns! Have a variety of different sizes, brands, and styles of needles and hooks!
Have random craft equipment that people can borrow or rent! (Cricut/Silhouette, 3d printer, loom, spinning wheel and drop spindles, sewing machine, serger, ect)
It would be a great place to try before buying – I’m notorious for buying different needles to try, not liking something about them, then forgetting to return them.
With the random craft equipment, sometimes it doesn’t make sense to buy a $300+ machine you’ll only use once or twice, but to rent a space with all the equipment you need for your project? I’d go for that!
My vote: clandestine nap area for when you’re “running errands”.
Nap room!
Install some overhead walkways, window seats, cosy sleeping corners, and other appurrrtenances, and transform the hut into the MDK Supurrrrvisors’ Office Suite. With that much yarn on the premises, you know you need cats for quality control and general interference.
This space definitely needs to be a little library with cozy reading chairs, plenty of knitting books, and the MDK field guides paired with their respective project samples. Bliss!
Community Yarn Stash donation and free yarn exchange HUT. Like a “Little Library” but for yarn, yarn supplies, books. Leave some, take some. Could be utilized for teaching, getting new folks interested in learning to knit, etc., community projects, and fundraising.
You know those tables with pattern books for browsing in fabric stores? That’s what you need. A set up to browse patterns and inspiration books for knitters. Then it just funnels them next door to purchase yarn for said project!
A hostel for people willing to come teach a class on charity knitting. Part of the hut would be a storage space with donated yarn so that people who learn about a charity knitting project could select one or two skeins to get themselves started. For example, someone who knits for Knit-a-Square could teach beginners how to knit a square. More experienced knitters could learn how to make buntings, hats or toys. I have talked to quite a few knitters who would like to do charity knitting if they only knew projects and had starting materials.
A space for an artist in residence. Or if there is a school nearby a space for a student studying fiber arts who needs financial assistance in order to attend school.
A place to sit and knit with a nice cup of coffee. You can just put in a good self serve coffee bar.
Well, ths is Nashville, so probably something to do with music. Music to knit by featured here. A display place for samples with a shopper’s list. A shop for knitting accoutrements perhaps, all the swifts, needles, project bags and markers one could dream of.
A quiet space for breaks, relaxation and renewal. Comfy chairs, soft lighting, soothing colors and an electric kettle for tea. A sound system for soft music and meditation podcasts. Ommmmmm.
Spouse/driver/supportive friend waiting room set up for non-crafters. TVs, video games, snacks,…
Amazing ideas already posted. Meditation, classroom space, and knit night gathering space all sound excellent uses of this bonus building!
The hut would make a great space for a knitting retreat for a few friends. No need to go far to shop!
A short term residence for visiting designers or instructors.
Korean karaoke room!
Fill it with books and comfy chairs. No devices allowed.
Open up the two into one big room, and make it an open knitting space. Locals groups could sign up for meet up space, and MDK could use it for hanging out, as well. It could also work for a teen knitting club.
In intentional Makers Group space… classes, retreats, workshops, somewhere a small group can escape to!
a knit-night location, of course!!!
Why not use it as a community knitting space?
Air b n b!
How about the live in residence for the shepherd of the MDK flock of sheep? You did say you have a campus right? A sheepy campus? Lol
AirBnB: a place fiber enthusiasts can rent for a getaway complete with fiber right next door.
It’s the MDK She Shed!
Sounds like a natural landing point for the admin offices for HQ…would free up some of the “baked-in” admin space in warehouse for more warehouse. Whether as “off-site” meeting spaces for internal day-to-day, or special event outreach/classes…Research/archives for various internal needs.
The fitness/quiet room ideas are good thoughts too…we are all more sensitive to work/life balance needs.
There are so many good ideas here! Artist in residence and fibre arts library with cozy chairs for visitors are my favourites. (Canadian spelling is a bonus for y’all.)
Seems the “hut” had been housing and is now lost from Nashville’s housing stock. Can it continue to exist as housing? Perhaps for homeless folks in transition? While many of us would love yet another BnB opportunity, are there local community needs than MDK can help ameliorate?
I love this less selfish, more global thinking
Inspiration station, with a focus on young people to teach and share the joy and beauty of slow fashion and creating clothes rather than buying and disposing of readily available fast fashion. Be the change that inspires better habits to combat climate change and excessive consumerism.
She probably already has her own room in Ann’s house, but maybe a second home for Kay for when she’s in Nashville?
The hut sounds perfect for a Bed and Bath. Breakfast in the Delicious District.
Maybe name it MDK Oasis, a place catered to all things fiber, yarn, notions, the importance of the entirety, history of MDK, and so much more
I too like the artist in residence idea. Then I feel there would be more knit nights at MDK because I can’t be at the one on Oct 2nd! ☹
What about an Artist in Residence Space – maybe for the field guide designers, maybe for special guest teachers like your recently announced events. Add a micro-fridge, an induction hot plate and set folks up for a few days or weeks. When not in use by designers it could be rented as one of a kind experiences on Airbnb (maybe with behind the scenes tours of MDK…)
Signage: More Delicious Knitting (MDK) – An art studio. A stunning showcase for finished fibre Arts.
I say you should start a teeny artists’ retreat in there!
Put the hut on a flat bed, fill it with yarn and take it on the road. I’ll bet there are knitters marooned in small towns near you who would go wild for a few minutes surrounded by yarn and smiling knitters.
Definitely a cool place to sit and knit and visit!
Two rooms and a bathroom on a “campus” certainly sounds like classrooms to me.
Honor the original intent of the building with nap pods.
A tiny little hut with a bathroom and bedroom- duh! Air BNB!!! A knitting fantasy stay for special guests! “Come and stay for a weekend at your favorite world headquarters. Enjoy a week or an overnight with a special tour of MDK inner workings. A glorious knitting haven…”. Get the idea? Just don’t let you-know-who do the colors! Love your weekly posts!!!
Use it as a studio to host a rotation of artists in residence…dyers, knitters, weavers, etc.
Create a crafty abnb fully stocked with crafty goodness! Nirvana really!
I would section off the hut into yarn weights and make it a yarn exchange building. Many of us have that 1 skein or two left over from a project and nothing to do with it. We could come and leave a skein and maybe find a skein we need. It would also allow those with limited funds to be able to come in and grab a couple skeins of yarn that they might not be able to afford. I would make it clear that you could only donate full skeins and not partial ones.
I love the idea of s library. But not just for books. It will be a library of samples knit up from all the yarn MDK stocks. There must be comfy, overstuffed chairs and good lighting so the library patrons can browse through all the books and yarns and knitting samples. And if someone wanted to sit in one of those chairs for a time, and read one of the books, or work on a bit of knitting, that would be all right, too.
I think it should be a quiet place to frog or think a project that has somehow gone wrong. Maybe the quiet and solitude would help the knitter see the error of their ways and get it right the next time.
A place where 1 knitter could stay for an artist in residence. You decide on the time frame. They could learn, teach knitting skills and learn about having a business in the knitting /fiber industry.
“My cabin” because that invokes so many happy memories.
Well, I started with She Shed Exploded shortened which came out to Sexploded—WRONG!!
Place for trunk shows. Solitude. Guests. Afternoon tea party.
A lounge with vending machines full of snacky snacks, adult beverages and yarn!
Crafting classroom or library reference space… or just “getaway space” when someone needs to just chill (and knit – etc -) for a bit.
AirBnB for knitters. Or anyone else.
Workshop,classroom,pop-up fiber artist studio. Love!
MDK Artist-in-residence retreat space! How fun would that be–knitters could come and live there while they create cool things. Writers and painters do it all the time–why not fiber artists?
A little She Shed! Must include a wine rack , a cozy chair , a geranium plant in the window, a good book , and knitting basket ! Maybe a spindle and some lovely fiber !
A place for small classes. One room each, and a “teacher” could go from room to room, that way you wouldn’t be distracted by others knitting a different project.
The perfect “They Shed”! Appropriately decorated with books and yarn, candles and a small fridge. Place to rent out for a knitters getaway. Pet friendly of course.
The (real) Lounge! Post-pandemic of course.
“Skill Shack” for lessons & pop up shop related to Skill Set & Field Guides.
A hideout for when you just need to ignore the world! I don’t know about you but I want somewhere to go hide from everything at least once a day…
How about putting all the knitting needles
and notions in there? Along with copies of the Field
Guides and any other knitting books you sell!
A free library, knitter version – with everyone’s leftover bits and bobs from FO’s that others can just take and try for themselves. Donors have to label the yarn with its brand name, and no dumping or de-stashing allowed. Just leftovers from projects.
A tea room with: a selection of teas and sweet and savory pastries; a variety of seating options; soothing music; a Barnes and Noble type mini-bookshop of knitting/crocheting books/Field Guides that can be browsed or purchased–where folks would be encouraged to rest awhile and knit or not as they like.
A classroom and classes to teach children ages 7-15 the art/pleasure/joys of fiber arts. When I was young my mother sent me to a Singer Sewing Class and it was great – I carried that skill with me all of my life. My mother taught me how to knit, but so many children don’t have parents who knit, and doing something creative with their hands is a way to engage their minds, but in a slow-creative way. Once they learn, they can always put down the joysticks, phones and controllers to whip up a hat or two and feel really accomplished.
I’d use it as a place for refreshment, making excellent coffee and serving it with delicious cookies made by my husband. I would also offer color help to those who ask “what colors should I add to this—my favorite?”
How about a sock shop! Call it the “The Sock Shop”of the “Sock Shop Stop” or “All Things Socks”
Have sock yarn, needles and books for socks in there!
You definitely need a patisserie on the MDK campus!
A boutique nook where a new or advanced yarn enthusiast can see and feel the lovely yarns that are available. When the enthusiast finds one of special interest perhaps make it possible for them to create a small swatch with a needle of special interest as well. A place where everyone feels comfortable no matter where you are in your yarn journey.
A space to have classes and meetings
How about using it as a studio (and living space if the zoning allows for it) for a Knitter in Residence program? Something that would benefit every day knitters not just well-known designers and knitters. The residency could last a week or two and the Knitter would work with yarns, patterns, and other goodies at the MDK shop. Can I pleeeeeaaaase be the first one there?
How about a small space for a periodic knitter in residence?
Love idea of independent dye studio for building
How about putting it on AirBnB for knitters to get away for their own private retreat?
A time out space for very very bad projects. OR a dye hut.
Little Yarn Library. Leave a skein, take a skein!
1. First aid/calming/ recovery space for those need to reset before going home after shopping at MDK
2. Emergency quarters for someone who forgot to leave before closing time
A couple of things came to mind. 1. It might be nice to have a rotating Artist In Residence (weaver, dyer, spinner, knitter…etc.) for two or three months at a time. 2. A teaching space that might focus on which ever booklet was most recently off the press. Other things occur to me but I think two is enough for now.
Maybe a little mausoleum for WIPs never finished. Projects could be adopted. There would be a little story attached to each one regarding what is kniwy
A little retreat space to be used as the visitor wishes —yoga, residency space, reading and of course knitting. Perhaps a working internship for someone to learn about what you do (and help).
An artist’s studio, where knitters can come learn from the best all over the world. They will surely love to come to visit the MDK campus.
A small art gallery featuring works of local artists. And you could pair each artwork with yarn(s) that complement it.
Hmm…. how would I use the little house…….Sit and Stitch gatherings……classroom (in person, with video broadcast). For both, still include that coffee or tea house area.
Pinball machines. Vintage arcade. So that non knitting companions are happy to while away hours at a time.
Hi. A little room, a snug little room. Ok, i would make it a small gathering room for my spinning circle to congregate. Or knitters, or lace makers, card weavers (if there’s room for a table). Just a place to take a deep breath and think, “I’m home.”
How about an artist in residence space for fiber artists? Sounds like a great place to dye, design, create, immerse in color and be a creative. Plus a nice tie-in for your business, maybe the next field guide designer?
Fiber artist in residence space where fiber artists apply and get to use space for a month (or more), they create a project for display and also agree to teach a class or two depending on length of stay. Maybe city if Nashville or a local arts non-profit could spearhead the program. Lots of models around country.
An Artist or Designer in Residence is a great idea – could be the author of an upcoming Field Guide several times a year. How about calling it the Field School and having the Resident give classes, too. Or partnering with a local knitting/crocheting teacher to give the classes.
How about a cozy little rental cottage (no worries about no kitchen as you say food is available nearby) . That way knitters visiting MDK campus can overnight and have plenty of time to buy yarn!
A classroom or social space. Furnished like a sitting room.
Mini massage shop — necks/shoulders/arms/hands via chair massage.
My son and wife just purchased a new house that has a small two story “doll house” in the back yard. Soon a “TIKI BAR” sign will be on the front door. Sounds like a good place to relax between knitting.
I how about a napping room? May be a yoga room too.
A root cellar for all the knitted and crocheted veggies you make in your spare time, ha ha!
While I’m sure there are a ton of good suggestions on this post, I’d likely do the practical thing and rent it out to makers, either short- or long-term. It sounds like a great space for a studio for someone just starting out and/or for someone who can’t yet commit to a commercial space.
The little shed is perfect for practice studios for everyone can’t play their instrument in their apartment. Perhaps a little scheduling will be needed. A century ago they called it ‘wood-shedding’.
Love the idea of a maker space! With yarn tasting on the side.
A knitting TARDIS! Bigger on the inside! Whisking us all through space and time to yarn shops, festivals, sheep farms, knit events, wherever our knitty, wooly hearts desire!
Good place for a massage!
Class space! Knitting and crochet 101 classes to bring new folks into the fun cult that is fiber arts 🙂
It could be a place for MDK folks to show off projects they want the public to see. Like a gallery of things knitted.
I wish that I could see what the building looks like because a hut could be anything from an outhouse to a hut big enough to sleep inside of with a light. What is the floor made of and the walls and how high is the building…no free yarn for me but if you have a window
So many great ideas! I would definitely get in line for an Airbnb rental!
I think you should use the hut for teaching; invite a fiber artist for a week or a month and schedule one-on-one or open classes in the artist’s field.
Thanks for the opportunity of the give-away!
Invite different designers, dyers, others involved with knitting for small group interactions. You have a room for meeting and a room and bathroom for the person. Schedule 2-3 days of the same presentation, for which there would be a fee to cover speaker expenses and something for MDK as well. Small groups means more intensive interaction between speaker and attendees.
She shed.
This little house would be my watercolor studio. Of course it would also have a cozy chair in which to knit or read.
Yarn Bomb it. Use the inside to teach novice knitters how to make a garter stitch square. When you have enough squares to make a hut-size blanket, sew them or tack them together and cover the hut with the resulting Very Large Piece of knitting. Every new knitter can point out his/her square.
How about using the hut as a lovely little homebase for a Fiber Artist In Residence?
To me, it’s obvious. Goat yoga.
What a perfect little staff-shed… when it’s time to take a break and unwind!
I think that little hut is ideal to house a guest teacher who you have brought in to teach classes at MDK.
I would make it into a clubhouse or employee retreat. Everyone needs a creative place to recharge. If it were mine, I would have all the colors and floofy sitting places. Since you work on a colorful environment, you might need a break from color in something more neutral. I would still put long flowy curtains and comfy chairs in it though.
One room for couches, good lighting, a coffee/tea maker and a mini fridge for a getaway comfortable relaxation spot for employees (or a safe place to scream if you accidentally turned on the news for a minute). The other room for bringing in visiting professionals that are also for the benefit of employees, e.g. masseuse, manicurist, tattoo artist, psychologist(for after the news incident above), etc.
A place to drop off kids so that mothers and fathers can go into the main shop and spend a few hours shopping, knitting, etc…
Love the idea of a private retreat center, stocked with books and wifi and comfy chairs.
Overnight visitor’s B & B for someone wanting to visit the shop from out of town and/or take a class!
I vote for personal yarn stash storage (PYS). Storage units here are in high demand and very profitible so one for all that yarn you feel so guilty for not using yet would provide a valuable service. And a lovely cocktail bar would also help.
How about a “Little Schoolhouse” where you could offer classes, people could attend online classes together and maybe even make it available for local knitters to meet?
I would put my Circular knitting machine, plus a comfy chair for hand knitting and plenty of lovely plants!
The runaway hut. Every employee at sometime needs to runaway occasionally- be alone, have a cup of tea and knit a few stitches
it is beautiful and rustic (at least the picture is ….), would be perfect to store large skeins of yarn, wool. That is , as long as you don’t have resident mice. (sigh). Perhaps people, knitters could just drop in a sit a spell, bring their knitting, crocheting along and just enjoy !
Sounds like a great place to put an intern or two.
I’m sure even in the yarn business, people have bad days. Throw up some soundproofing and use it for primal scream therapy?
I love the idea of a “maker” space, to be rented for commercial kitchen space, dye studio, woodworking studio, etc. More spaces for making more creative endeavors come to life.
Knitting classes? Time out space for employees who need a knit break? Residence for visiting teachers?
The perfect venue for classes and meetings for a variety of knitty folks: spinners, knitters, crochetists, dyers, weavers and assorted other artists.
Covid vaccination hut
Since my daughter is getting married next weekend, and I am taking over her room for my craft room/hideout, that’s where my brain is heading… a nice little getaway, whether for a coffee break or nice cup of tea when the workday gets too hectic!
I love the knitting library idea! With classes, preferably.
A knitting nook! A place where one can hide away for a few moments, take out their knitting and breathe.
Take a page from Lucy Neatby and paint it all kinds of wild, bright and cheery colors and put large planters out front and do seasonal plantings (it doesn’t get that cold in Nashville, right?). A nice table and chair set up with an umbrella for sun-shade (when needed). Put cushy interior furnishings like couches and comfy knitting chairs and invite staff and customers to eat snacks and knit…..! in all kinds of weather.
Im already subscribed, but I’d call it the Knit-Away Nook and use it AirBnB style for traveling knitters with MDK as a destination. I know of a few Alaska knitters who’d be thrilled with a set up like that!
A small knitting house for retreats
How about using that cute little hut for a “Sit & Knit” for locals periodically?
With some comfy seating, great, calming paint on the walls and open space, I can imagine a retreat center for knitting classes, some yoga included when the group requests it and a spot for tea, coffee and a basket of light snacks or home made cookies. And of course, calming music and at a minimal volume and bouquets of lavender would add to the ambiance.
Time Out Hut. We all need one….life is hard these days. 🙂
Cryotherapy chambers for people who insist on knitting wool sweaters when it never gets cold where they live.
Make it a Knit Night Hut!
An inspiration and Zen spot.
Name it the Place of Possibilities. And do whatever is right at the time-rent it sometimes, classes sometimes, a place to gather & enjoy one another….
I think it would be a great teaching area!
It’s a time-out hut. Feeling ornery? Time-out hut. Somebody hurt your feelings? Time-out hut. You get the idea. Make it comfortable enough so that the time-outer isn’t tempted to come out before he/she is all sorted.
I think a nice use for the hut would be a charming little samples boutique. It could showcase all kinds of projects knit up with your yarn and a help table where patterns could be purchased and a materials list could be written up for the project.
I like the idea of a pop up shop space—but also to make it available as a rentable-short term studio space. And i’ve never been to Nashville but i’ve seen small cafes in strange industrial corners of places in LA (hello, “Arts District”) so ya never know!
A pop up with Nashville made items and music.
A place for classes. I’d love to learn with you…
VRBO…can you imagine how fun it would be for someone to say “I stayed at the MDK Campus”?
Small classrooms or knit groups
Knitting library of yarns, books, and knit samples…a place for inspiration
How about using it for classroom space. That way classes could be held on campus without interferirring with store business. I taught inside a store and always felt that students would have been happier in a dedicated space.
When not being used as a classroom, it could serve as a library of knitting, crocheting, etc craft books.
Snooze Shack for MDK workers needing a respite from the daily grind.
A Yarn tasting room for a fabulous retreat
Cast-on Cottage where beginning knitters/experienced knitters can go for tea and tutoring.
Why so staunchly against a retail shop!? Retail with coffee shop, used book store, and finished fiber goods for sale from MDK and other local knitters, what a dream space indeed! (Just like the tiny, cozy cafe/bookstore on campus at Stirling College in Craftsbury Common, VT )
But if retail isn’t allowed, what about a local crafters multi use space: rotating classes can be held in one room, private crafters rental space (also on rotation or seasonal schedule) in another (like the art house in Bend, OR). Each crafter has their own little booth area to work and sell their wares from, such a delicious and inspiring energy found in these spaces!
you could always rent it out for friends/knitters get a-away. my sister and I would love to go to a place where we could meet up and knit for a few days and explore the surrounding area. (your store)
Nap house!
I love that the name of the road is Atlas. Why not called it The Knitters’ Atlas or The Atlas, and over the walls with yarn swatches and pattern samples? And books galore. It’s an atlas of where one can go on their knitting adventures.
It’s be great to outfit it as a filming studio if you ever do video/podcasts (or your 1,000,000th Zoom) and a studio space that can serve as an Airbnb with a Murphy bed.
*cover the walls!
Put a mini frig and a microwave in it and rent it out exclusively as an exclusive air B&B for knitters who want to come explore the MDK campus but who don’t live close enough to just stop in. (Full disclosure, I’m in Colorado. And I’ve never been to your neck of the woods.)
Hmm…might need actual dimensions, but we’ll persevere. Consider renting out as a maker space – you’d need large tables and some shelf space and outlets. But what if you need a big sink outside of the bathroom? That could be an add on later. Would you provide some things like sewing machines and looms and wheels that are bulkier to bring along? Or is there a need for a filming area to have an add on for all the MDK field guides? Or does someone on the team get a quiet office? (depending on the person it would be a reward or a torture). Staff meeting area? Does it need to make money or does it just need to help makers and progress ideas that then turn into something bigger? Sorry, supposed to offer ideas but I seem to be full of questions. But sometimes asking a question leads someone to an idea…
Maybe a hut for pups. It can sell dog treats, lotsa knitted sweaters and other items for our 4 legged friends.
A YUGE pattern library with “look up” stations (desktop computers) for that next project! Or, I agree with Lin, kind of… a “rage room” to pound pillows when you discover a mistake, or your toddler/pet/whomever destroys part of what’s on your needles. Once recovered, a nice cup of chamomile tea and you’re off to conquer yarn once again!
Or, maybe a museum with all things yarn?
A show room, a retreat, a library, a studio, or a place to rent all sound like great ideas. But what might be helpful for local knitters is a space to rent to store new stash. A pretty locker space where you can house those enthusiastic purchases from a fiber festival. It would give the owner some time to figure out how to integrate the new loves into the stash at home. Or it could be a spinning wheel or loom that needs a temporary home because it won’t fit under the bed or in a plastic tub and you can’t keep it in your car trunk. What a great service that would be. But you are on your own if you bought a sheep, alpaca, or angora rabbit.
Make it a place for lessons and help with projects gone awry. A “knit and tink” space.
Sounds perfect for a “time-out” space….you know, when everybody else is crazy except you?!
I would turn it into a tiki bar – great for happy hour!
Love the idea of a studio, especially one for dying yarns.
So many great ideas..how about an indie button maker that is willing to provide chocolate and coffee (in that order most days) while button browsers consider the options. I’m guessing adding wine to the above list is not an option, but just a thought (-;=
A shelter from the storm (both literal and figurative).
Classroom space and space for knitters to gather seem like great use of the space.
An incubator for small entrepreneurs, a popup at weekend and maybe self care, yoga, mobility, barre?
How about using the space to showcase all the great places one can travel to and do things related to knitting. Even organizing trips as well. Someway to showcase knitting around the world with info on places to visit. There could even be a rotating focus each month for example knitting in the Shetlands with various tours.
A small space to use to grant someone a little retreat when they have hit bottom just trying to make it one day at a time. A special lifesaver of time ! A retreat.
A Cat Cafe / adoption center. Settle in a comfy chair with your knitting and favorite beverage, and see what kitty will come warm your lap.
Yarn B (bed—sounds like you have to get breakfast elsewhere), meditation space, and knit gatherings. A Close Knit Space!