Knitting together a real success
She’s already reached a huge audience but an entrepreneur who combined her experience in structural engineering with a love of knitting will represent Cork city at national awards this summer.
Independent knitwear designer Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches will represent Local Enterprise Office (LEO), Cork City at the National Enterprise Awards 2023. She will be up against LEO representatives from all over the country at the prestigious awards ceremony in The Mansion House, Dublin in June.
Incredibly, Carol has taught approximately 250,000 knitters through in-person workshops and retreats and online video classes.
The announcement was made by LEO, Cork City during Local Enterprise Week 2023 last week. Some of the highlights of this year’s programme in Cork city include Chat GPT for Small Businesses, Benefits of Digitalisation for Food Manufacturers, Tips for Delivering Online and Improving the Bottom Line.
Dr Niall O’Keeffe, Head of Enterprise at LEO Cork City said; “I am delighted that Carol is representing Local Enterprise Office, Cork City as I believe her company is forward-thinking, innovative and offers something for everyone, regardless of age or gender. Stolen Stitches is growing from strength to strength and is a great example of how a small business can be successful through hard work, dedication and creativity.”
Carol Feller began creating knitting patterns and teaching in 2008, but her company began to rapidly grow after she started her first yarn line, Nua, in 2017. Carol's designs blend contemporary and traditional styles and are known for clever seamless construction techniques, modern takes on Irish cable knitting and beautifully finished garments and accessories for men, women and children.
Increasingly, her company is focused on ‘full experience’ clubs and subscriptions, where knitters have all they need - tools, instruction, inspiration, and community - to fully enjoy and take pride in both the creative process and their finished knit.
Speaking about being the nominee for LEO, Cork City at this year’s National Enterprise Awards Carol said: “I was delighted and honoured to be nominated. The whole process of the application and presentation to the judges is a great opportunity to clarify the Stolen Stitches message and share our amazing community with a wider audience.
“Over the last several years I’ve benefited from many LEO Cork City supports - mentoring, training, TOV voucher, and business expansion grants – all of which have helped me grow our team and operations.”
Stolen Stitches is located at Tramore Commercial Park, Cork city.