Sara Heckman could be considered an artist. The proprietor of the Point Loma stitch store would rather describe herself as a producer of beautiful things, ranging from bread and oil paintings to vibrant, hand-knit children’s cardigans.
Heckman wondered what else she might do to satiate her endless creative energy after she had finished her painting career in a second-floor studio in the Arts District of Liberty Station. In 2017, she built her largest invention to date when she moved downstairs and opened Apricot Yarn, a local sewing store in San Diego.
She has learned from the shop’s explosive growth over the past eight years that even artists are unsure of the final product’s appearance.
Heckman remarked, “I’m just a maker.” The fact that humans can produce a garment, scarf, or other useful item out of a piece of string and a tool is one of the things that makes us human.
Local yarns, local color
Today, Apricot Yarn is a mainstay of the city’s needlework scene, having once been a newbie trying to make an impression on the close-knit crochet community in San Diego. Apricot Yarn has flourished in its own niche as physical big-box retailers like Michaels find it difficult to attract knitting and sewing enthusiasts in a time when yarn can be ordered via mail from Amazon.
This is because Heckman’s business is more than simply a yarn store, though you can find almost any hue, strength, or kind of thread you need for your latest project crammed into its brightly lit area.
It is a location that physically displays the threads that make up San Diego’s rich fabric.
The walls are lined with soft braids of yarn splattered with dye and made from the wool of merino sheep and alpacas in San Diego County. On Wednesdays, a local crochet circle meets at a corner table to make clothing and catch up, turning the store like your grandmother’s living room. A skein of yarn dyed in the same undulating tones of blue and gray that adorn Sunset Cliffs’ sea and sky on a gloomy day is Apricot Yarn’s most San-Diego offering, and it’s located just steps away from them.
Knitters can only find the roll of yarn spun for the seaside treasure located a few miles away, on the opposite side of the Point Loma peninsula, at Apricot Yarn. Many tourists visit the store in search of the storm-colored roll of yarn that they may use to create their own keepsakes of San Diego, making it a must-have treasure.
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All of them have distinctive San Diego elements and were hand-picked by an artist who grew up in America’s Finest City. Heckman has lived in Point Loma long enough to recall the days when Liberty Station was a military training facility rather than the busy neighborhood that seems like Main Street and is where her shop is located.
Even when institutional giants like Joann Fabrics have gone bankrupt, customers have continued to return because of that very local atmosphere.
Heckman stated, “I wanted it (Apricot Yarn) to be a part of the neighborhood.” Despite its small size, the neighborhood yarn store plays a significant role in the community.
City s only local shop left
In the past eight years, Apricot Yarn has undoubtedly expanded its market share within the local sewing community. When the store first started as a new addition, breaking into the few local yarn stores in the area, it has gone a long way.
Not all members of the city’s crochet community were impressed by the limited shelves on opening weekend.
“Is this all the yarn you have?” was a question we heard a lot. “Well,” Heckman said.
Thus, Apricot Yarn stepped up to the challenge. These days, the store’s four walls, shelves, and even a leather briefcase are filled with braids of yarn, ranging from alpaca to merino. The store’s new upstairs classroom is lined with colorful garments that Heckman’s own hands knitted to dress mannequins, hang from racks, and serve as inspiration for both novice and experienced knitters wishing to tackle their own projects.
According to the store’s website, Apricot Yarn is available everywhere, not just in San Diego.
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They all contribute to Apricot Yarn’s success in becoming the sole local brick-and-mortar stitch business in San Diego. Earlier this year, Heckman’s store unexpectedly gained the title after Needlecraft Cottage, a longstanding staple of San Diego’s sewing community, was forced to leave the Pacific Beach bungalow where it had been located for more than 50 years in January.
The city’s little stitch scene is now being led by Apricot Yarn. There are currently only three local sewing brick-and-mortars in San Diego County as Needlecraft Cottage searches for a new location.
The county’s crochet culture is being carried by Apricot Yarn, the expansive Eny’s Yarns in Chula Vista, and Yarn & Thread Expressions in La Mesa.
Heckman stated, “I started with the idea that I truly wanted to be a part of the community.” It began very little on the first day, but we have since expanded that community significantly, making it perhaps the most significant item that has accompanied us throughout.
In honor of its anniversary, Apricot Yarn is welcoming the community back this weekend, just as it did when it first opened. Apricot Yarn is expected to continue growing in its seventh year of operation. At the celebration, the business will introduce new summer yarn colors to complement its ever growing assortment. There will also be a knit clothing display, and customers may get $8 off and double rewards points.
