YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — An Ohio entrepreneur is creating one-of-a-kind gifts using an old-fashioned hobby.
“I made so many bad rugs and blankets for my friends,” she said. “And they were all wonky, and the stitches didn’t make sense.”
Her stitches have improved since then, to where she started making clothes from scratch during the pandemic at the request of some friends.
“But I started thinking about how much yarn I was buying and how my scraps were going to landfill,” she said.
That’s when she said she started noticing blankets at thrift stores that had seen better days. The damaged yarn creations were being thrown out.
“And I was like, I bet I can use those squares and take them apart and create them into something else,” she said.
That “something else” includes scarves, sweaters and dresses. She hand makes a variety of items and sells them in-person at regional markets and through her online shop Atomic Tangerine.
“I just got really great feedback, and I was like, if this is something that I love doing and people seem to like it too, I could just keep rolling with it,” she said.
She works part time for a nonprofit and spends the other half of her time designing custom creations for her business.
Her grandmother first introduced her to the hobby that’s blossomed into a passion.
“I send her pictures of everything that I finish as soon as I’m done with it,” Green said. “And she is my biggest fan, but also my biggest critic.”
With each blanket being unique, Green said it’s a challenge to make sure each piece is perfect.
“I only have one chance,” she said. “I’m never going to find this exact blanket made with these colors, made this way, ever again.”
She said it can take between three and 20 hours to make each piece, depending on its size. She saves each scrap of yarn and fabric along the way, letting nothing go to waste.
Enjoying the chance to help the environment and create a cozy clothing collection at the same time.
“It just fills my heart with so much joy,” Green said. “I never see this feeling getting old.”
