Having opened its doors on Main Street Manayunk in September, Hidden River Yarns is the result of what owner Lisa Johnson describes as a “re-occurring dream” to open a yarn store. Hidden River radiates warmth from all the deep, saturated colors piled on the shelves: “I am trying to focus on yarns from smaller companies and hand-dyers, especially yarns from the U.S.,” says Johnson, who began learning the needle arts at age 6. Her vision for her enterprise gets manifest through a large wood table in the store’s center: “Knitting for me is not just about hand-making beautiful objects, but about community and building friendships. I want the table in my store to be an inviting place to stop and knit or crochet for a bit.” Indeed, the other day, a woman walked into Hidden River solely to ask for help: Something had gone awry in her stitches that she couldn’t figure out. Johnson quickly made the fix. You can learn how to do this yourself — take one of the classes that Johnson conducts at the store, or give one as a gift. 4358B Main St., 215-920-2603, hiddenriveryarns.com.
(theresa.everline@citypaper.net) (@citypaper)
ALSO IN GIFT GUIDE 2012:
