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Jared Flood
Good things come out of the northwest……Boeing, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Russell Investments, Costco, Nike, and Jared Flood. It’s true! Although Jared Flood currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, he actually grew up in Puyallup (pew.al.up), Washington.
Although he was taught to knit by his mother as a boy, he found his inspiration to knit again while attending school at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. His inspiration was sparked by a friend on campus he occasionally saw knitting. Though she taught Jared the basics, through books and the internet, he was self taught the rest of the way.
How did he end up in Brooklyn? He spent his third year of college abroad in Rome, where inspiration took hold for bigger things in life to come. Returning home to a life he felt uninspiring, he graduated from college and headed east to New York City. Looking for further inspiration, he started his blog, ‘Brooklyn Tweed’ to bring him back to his two favorite things, photography and knitting.
With the blog up and going, Jared realized there weren’t a lot of men’s patterns that he liked, which pushed him to create his own designs. As readership grew, he was encouraged to start submitting designs to the magazines. Jared had two back to back issues featuring his designs – the fall issue of Interweave Knits with the Cobblestone Sweater, and the holiday issue of the same magazine featuring his ever famous Koolhaas Hat. This would be the start of the fire storm popularity for the young designer.
Jared’s original passion is photography, which is what he studied in school, and received his Master of Fine Arts degree in, Photography & 2D Media. This is apparent when you visit his blog, where he showcases his photography. This is where the irony comes in…now he is a photographer because of his blog about knitting.
I asked Jared what it was like being a guy in the knitting world. In his own genuine way, he told me that it was “ok”, “fine”, and that he got lots of different reactions. At times he felt observed, and sometimes scrutinized, but also said that being a guy in the knitting world was rather rare, and “fun to challenge the stereotype”.
Jared & I had a great conversation, talking about everything. We discussed basic knitter things like too many projects, finishing what you start, and having an addiction to yarn. Jared’s thoughts and ideas on the matter were clean and honest:
“You change as a knitter, your sophistication changes, some things don’t need to be finished.”
“I flush as much as I can. Mentally, I’m more flexible that way.”
“Three times a year, I have to be honest with myself, do I really want to be knitting that project; get better at saying no!”
“You should be knitting what excites you!”
“It’s always good to assess the situation.”
All good ideas to keep in mind while managing your projects.
When I asked Jared about Brooklyn, the first word out of his mouth was “crazy”! He went on to describe this borough of New York City as crowded, with 2.5 million people and loud. Having said that, he likes it a lot, saying it’s a very diverse place to live and very inspiring. He says you never know what to expect – good or bad, and it feels like a very “real” place to live. The neighborhood in which he lives is a polish neighborhood with lots of privately owned businesses that have been there for years – no chain stores. “Brooklyn is fascinating and frustrating at the same time. It’s extreme, but you thrive on the energy. It’s like you have a love/hate relationship” says the Brooklyn Tweed.
Jared’s current project is his booklet of patterns, “9108 Made in Brooklyn”. This booklet can be purchased at your local yarn shop, and on-line, as well as individual pattern purchase through the Brooklyn Tweed blog. Jared is pleased with this project, as he looks forward to bridging his on-line following with the yarn shop crowd. Jared will be on the road throughout the fall with his book and trunk show – and also will be teaching. He’s excited to get to know shop owners and see the different communities. All the projects in his book were knit using Classic Elite Yarns and the photography you see is by Jared himself; he wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s on the horizon for Jared Flood? He wants to do a lot of designing and he would like to try self publishing in print to get his patterns out to the knitters. He would also like to work more with the yarn shops, and possibly have a yarn line of his own.
My hour long interview with Jared Flood was a fun experience. He’s down to earth, an exceptional knitter, great blogger, fantastic photographer, and a dear young man that was a pleasure to meet. If you have the chance to get out to a book signing, see his trunk show or possibly take one of his classes – DO IT!!
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