Knitch Magazine

Introducing Barbara Barry, the creative genius behind The Knit Kit

Each January, yarn vendors throughout North America meet in California to present their summer yarns and patterns to eager shop owners who are intent on finding the newest, big idea. The retailers are seeking products their knitters will consider the season’s must-have item. Sometimes it’s a gorgeous new yarn fiber or color that has never before been seen. Sometimes it’s a style that they know will get their knitters clicking enthusiastically. But this year, everyone at the show was talking about an interesting little gadget that was so obvious – and brilliant in execution – that everyone had to have it.

The Knit Kit has taken the knitting community by storm.

The Knit Kit is a little gadget just 4 ½” x 3 ½” in size, absolutely packed with handy tools no knitter wants to be without. It has a tape measure, thread cutter, stitch counter, crochet hook, scissors, stitch markers and point protectors all in one convenient tool. It’s perfect for traveling because it has TSA approval, or for carting around in your knitting bag whenever you want all of your tools in one lightweight, compact collection.

The Knit Kit is the brainchild of Barbara Barry, who started her company in July of 2008. Barbara is a dynamic woman whose career is as varied as her talents. In the past she’s been a bilingual elementary school teacher, owner and director of preschools, chef and owner of a restaurant, a certified yoga instructor and a real estate agent. She’s got an entrepreneurial spirit and enough optimism and energy to do whatever she sets her mind to.

Although she’s been knitting for just a short time, she quickly saw the need for the product she was soon to design and introduce to a very receptive market.

“I started knitting just two years ago, and have been knitting voraciously since then,” Barbara tells KnitchMagazine. “Every time I would learn something new, my knitting teachers would send me back to the store to buy something else -- like a crochet hook or stitch markers. I would place them at the bottom of my knitting bag and never would be able to find anything. I decided to go online to find some combined accessory to make my knitting life more organized and I couldn't find anything.”

“I searched and searched online and realized no one had ever done this. It was the single moment in every entrepreneur's life when you say this just hasn't been done!”

Before she went any further with her idea, she did what every successful inventor should do: she conducted market research. “I polled a ton of knitters to see if they thought they would like something like this and the response was overwhelming.”

She had an idea; the market seemed to respond positively to it, and now the hard part was about to begin. She had to design the Knit Kit. Her story of how it took shape is the story of the classic American inventor: it started on a paper napkin.

“I drew my design concept on a napkin. I then went online to look for a prototype maker. I worship the Internet” says Barbara , who insists she’s never invented anything before in her life. “I found a prototype designer, Paul Berman of T2 Design, who had made the prototypes for American Inventor, a show on NBC.”

“I figured that if Paul were good enough for NBC, he was good enough for me!” Barbara talked with him briefly on the phone and quickly realized that, like the majority of men on this planet, he knew nothing at all about knitting.

“I purchased all the accessories I wanted included in The Knit Kit, flew to California and so it went.” Paul must have been impressed with Barbara’s idea and boundless enthusiasm because he acted as a liaison to help her find a manufacturer.”

She tells us that she didn’t make a lot of changes during the development process because she knew what it was she wanted, and she also knew the high cost of alterations once a prototype was developed.  She worked with a manufacturer to create a few samples and introduced them to an eager audience of local yarn shop owners who attend the TNNA conference.

“The launch of The Knit Kit was absolutely the hardest part of the entire process,” she tells us. “I spent two years of my life creating it and had used most of my money. I loved it, my family loved it, my friends loved it. But would the knitting world? That was the free fall moment.”

The free fall soon had her flying high. Her samples were quickly snatched up by eager store owners and the orders were fast and furious as potential buyers flocked to her booth at the trade show.

“I brought my mom and best friend with me to the show for support -- in case I was a dismal failure. I knew that I had tried my best and that was all I could do.”

Within a few weeks, the Internet was buzzing with glowing recommendations for the Knit Kit, and shoppers were clamoring to purchase the items that weren’t yet readily available. Before Barbara knew it, 300 shops worldwide had ordered her product and were anxiously looking forward to delivery. Some shops created waiting lists. Yarnmarket.com put the item up for pre-sale, with the promise of sending the Knit Kit to their customers as soon as the shipment arrived. Those lucky knitters who’ve received their purchases are proudly showing them off to their friends.

Barbara Barry is delighted with how quickly her product has been accepted, and is now working on improvements for a 2010 edition plus the introduction of a Quilt Kit. What gave her the courage to make a personal investment of time and money to leap from an idea to a prototype?

“I had a very unusual upbringing,” she said. “My father was a game show creator and producer. He would dream his shows in his head and play them at the breakfast table with my brother and myself. They would then appear on television.  I had the great fortune of being brought up to reach for the stars. I have been knocking at the entrepreneurial door since I was 23 years old. So I have taken many leaps of faith just hoping that one day my dream would become a reality. It looks this time as though it might.”

Barbara Barry has made a quick and profound mark on the knitting world in a very short time, and she says she’d like to continue creating and contributing in her own unique way. “I hope to have a long and lasting place in the knitting world where I can do what I love and pay the bills, too!”

Given her personal philosophy, we expect to see her succeed for a very long time to come.

“When I jump I just remember that if I fall, my family and friends will pick me up and it won't be the end of the world.”

We think that’s great advice for everyone.