Charlotte Yarn owner is often mistaken as an employee. Why? She’s not elderly or white
Nearly 15 years ago, Remi Haygood was a piece of fabric in the cloth of corporate America. She worked for a bank in Charlotte, but it wasn’t entirely fulfilling.
“I was tired of corporate America and wanted to do something on my own,” Haygood said.
The spark to move on to the next thing came in 2005 from a friend whose godmother worked for the owner of a local business off Selwyn Avenue called Charlotte Yarn. She had been the owner for some time, but suddenly the owner was ready to sell the shop.
Yarn, or the “Fiber Community” as Haygood puts it, wasn’t entirely foreign to her at the time. She started learning how to knit and crochet (she’s partial to the knitting) because it provided a therapeutic release from her stressful corporate job and gave her a break from the long stretches at her computer. At the time, knitting was gaining traction with younger crowds as opposed to being an activity favored only by sweet-natured grannies.
“It’s really not, it’s really a misconception,” said Haygood about the stereotype. Tired of her routine, Haygood decided she would leave her corporate life behind and pursue ownership of Charlotte Yarn. She and her then-husband talked to the owner and worked out the details, and Charlotte Yarn became her very own.
“I didn’t grow up thinking I would own a yarn store. It just fell into place. I just knew I wanted to do something more than work for corporate America [and] I said, ‘OK, why not this business?” Haygood said of her decision to jump into entrepreneurship with both feet.
Ownership wasn’t without its challenges in those early days, though.
“I had never worked retail, so just learning the cash register was difficult,” Haygood said, adding that she also had to learn how to manage a staff.
It turns out, the staffing aspect would become one of the best parts. Eventually, employees became like family, especially during tough times.
“[While] I was going through my divorce, my employee actually lost her husband and we leaned on each other for a lot. They don’t know where they’d be without the yarn store and the people that are united by it.”
There was also the challenge of not fitting the stereotype.
On more than one occasion, sales representatives have entered the shop and told Haygood, who is Black, that they came to see the owner. When she replies that she is the owner, she’s met with a look of surprise.
“It’s the [stereotype] of being an older white woman – not realizing that I was the new owner or could be an owner” she said. “I try to brush it off and laugh about it. I don’t fit that box.”
Customers also occasionally make the mistake of assuming Haygood is an employee.
“A lot of times people would take a class and say they loved it. [My employee] Sandy tells them to tell the owner about it. They automatically think because she’s older and white that she’s the owner,” she said.
When this happens, she waves politely from across the floor. According to Haygood, who is 47 years old, they’ll often respond, “You look too young to be the owner.”
According to the Annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express in 2019, “U.S. women with diverse ethic and geographic backgrounds started an average of 1,817 new businesses per day in the U.S. between 2018 and 2019, down only slightly from the record-setting 2018 number of 1,821.”
The annual report, based on U.S. Census Bureau data adjusted by Gross Domestic Product, further revealed that, “While the number of women-owned businesses grew 21% from 2014 to 2019, firms owned by women of color grew an astounding 43%, and African American women-owned firms grew even faster at 50%. African American women-owned businesses represented the highest rate of growth of any group in the number of firms between 2014 and 2019, as well as between 2018 and 2019.”
As a Black woman in an industry dominated by white women, Haygood acknowledges it can be disappointing when she’s mistaken for an employee.
“Most yarn stores don’t survive. There used to be a lot, and I’ve survived and it’s literally through blood, sweat and tears,” Haygood said.
Despite the challenges, she has nothing but gratitude for the Charlotte area fiber community and all the positivity it’s brought to her.
“It’s given me so many rewards in my life,” Haygood said of her craft. “[The fiber community] is wonderful. People wouldn’t know [it exists], but they’re supportive, they’re fun.”
And when it comes to competition between shops, that sense of togetherness is still the priority. Even Haygood’s competitors have promoted Charlotte Yarn as a Black-owned business amid the recent social movement toward exposing and eradicating systemic racism.
“We’re all supportive of each other, which I think is wonderful. We’re a community, and it’s about helping all of us.”Like many businesses, Charlotte Yarn was also impacted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic but since reopening, business is resuming a sense of normalcy.
“We’re slowly going back to classes but on a smaller scale,” Haygood said. And while there’s currently no “knit-and-sit,” where customers sit around the big tables in Haygood’s store chit-chatting and working on their projects, Haygood looks forward to reconnecting with the community that means so much to her.
“A lot of my customers are my friends now. The shop has created a support system for me,” she said.
The love of her customers has been a secret ingredient from the start, and the community it’s created has been fuel for overcoming challenges.
“That’s what kept me going — I had a dream. I envisioned the store being more than what it was,” Haygood said of its progression.
In the years that have passed since she took over Charlotte Yarn, now located in the Kenilworth Commons Shopping Center, Haygood has had plenty of time to reflect on her mission and intent with the business.
“I don’t ever want to quit,” Haygood said. “And I think it’s because it’s a part of me, it’s a part of who I am. I’ve made friends, and I see how it’s helped people.”
Charlotte Yarn is also a testament to Haygood’s perseverance — something she sees as necessary for delivering dreams to fruition.
“I want people to realize that without risk, there is no reward. I never gave up. Almost 16 years later, and I never gave up.”
Haygood maintains this outlook as she plans for future endeavors. Haygood is now a co-founder of Coolvio – a new company that specializes in technology apparel for animals that helps protect them from the sun’s heat and harmful UV rays. It’s another exciting venture for Haygood, who is again ready to jump in with both feet.
“I am a risk-taker. I believe you have to take risks in life,” she said. “I’m going to put my heart and soul into anything I do.”
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 11:45 AM.
