Today on the show I have Shelley Brander, the mastermind behind so many things. She owns a fantastic yarn shop in Tulsa, Ok called Loops, she runs Loops Club, a monthly yarn subscription box and she’s the creator behind Knit Stars. Just saying it all, I have no idea how she manages to get them all done and so beautifully. We have a juicy conversation about how she got started and the twists and turns her business has taken since it's inception. I find her path fascinating and her happy, generous energy contagious. I hope you will too!

There are many favorite parts of our conversation but this concept of empathy was mind blowing to me. It was so interesting to learn about how empathy has helped her business grow. She puts herself in her customers shoes regularly and tries to feel what they’re feeling. What a great quality to have as a business owner but I think beyond goes beyond that and extends into our family and friends too. When we can empathize with others around us in a better way, then we connect with them more deeply too. And I know that’s something I want a heck of a lot more of in my life. Tying into this, she says that people come to her for the yarn or a teaching product but they stay for the community. From what I heard, I can make a pretty good bet that the community at her shop is based on empathy too, how wonderful is that?! She definitely sold me on this idea and my mind is spinning with ways I can bring more empathy into my own life and business. 

There’s just one more thing that I wanted to touch on in this convo. Shelley mentions that when she was going through a tough time managing both shops, she was operating from a place of fear and negativity. I’ve been there and it sucks. When you’re in that space it’s really hard for good things to happen or reach for happy thoughts. I talk a lot about intuition and following your gut on the podcast. I think that’s what got Shelley out of that tough spot. When she opened the new store she felt so much better and then right around the corner other exicitng ideas like loops club and knit stars were lurking. Things just seemed to have clicked and sky rocketed since then. The lesson I get out of it is to get out of those bad situations or relationships that we feel are bad in our guts more quickly. Even if we’ve put a ton of work or money into them already. Who knows what's waiting for us when we put those things behind us.

If you're interested, here are the books Shelley recommends: What alice forgot, All the light we cannot see, daring greatly, and the subtle art of not giving a f*uck. I definitely want to read all of those!

To find out more about Shelley visit Knit Stars, Loops Club or her Tulsa shop website. You can also find her on Instagram @loopsyarn and check out the beautiful photos of her, her family and shop below.

Shelley in her Stargazer Sweater (a yarn we made especially for her!) talking about the amazingness of Knit Stars.

Shelley's stunning shop in Tulsa, Loops.

All the Loops Club kits going out to subscribers. Pretty mind blowing!

Shelley and her daughter in Paris during Knit Stars 2.0 filming. Wish I could have gone with her!

Lastly, I am thinking about making every 10th episode a wildcard episode, so this could really mean anything. To start I think it might be fun to do a question and answer element and then perhaps I'll talk about an inspiring book, podcast I'm into right now. I'd love to hear about what YOU would like to hear. Leave me a comment below!