Start Up Spotlight: We Are Knitters

Start Up Spotlight: »We Are Knitters«

• Industry: Fashion, DIY
• Headquarter: Madrid, Spanien
• Founders: Pepita Marín, Alberto Bravo

www.weareknitters.de

So Pepita – who are you and what does an entrepreneur do? Who are your co-founders? how did you find your founding team?

My name is Pepita Marín and I am co-founder of »We Are Knitters« (WAK). I founded WAK with Alberto Bravo. Prior to that, we had already worked together in an auditing company in Madrid.

How did you come up with the idea for »We Are Knitters«? Are you a knitter yourself?

We came up with the idea during a trip to New York. Knitting was a huge trend over there and we saw a super cool girl knitting on the subway. In the beginning, knitting was just a pastime, but it soon became a passion of mine. And when we realised that knitting was not yet that popular in Europe, we founded »We Are Knitters«.

How many people is your team made up of? Is WAK an international company? Where did you start it?

We are an international team of around 30 people, all living in Madrid. We started WAK in Spain in 2011. A short while later, we expanded to other European countries. Now, we sell knitting and crochet kits as well as wool and supplies in over 21 countries worldwide. For a year now our own DIY kits have also been available in Japan, Mexico and Australia.

What do you think was missing in the DIY and crafts community – what is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of »We Are Knitters«?

Us! »We are Knitters« is an international, fashion forward and environmentally conscious company that offers high quality and exclusive knitting and crochet kits containing 100 % Peruvian sheep’s wool and cotton. As a fashion company, WAK focuses on the »do it yourself« trend. WAK distinguishes itself from others through its big international online community, which is made up of more than 1 million »knitters«. We share our community’s projects and DIY inspirations on our Instagram profile .

Which channels do you mostly use to connect with your costumers and followers? Social media, newsletter or rather face-to-face? How did you manage to get so many followers on IG?

I think you need a little bit of everything. We are proud of our strong online community with more than 1 million knitters worldwide and currently have more than 470,000 followers on Instagram. Our international customer service responds to questions in all languages and helps our clients in all areas. With our newsletter, we keep our community up to date on trends, the newest collections and upcoming special offers.

Our huge Instagram community is the result of a lively exchange of everything from different inspirations and new products to beautiful photos. It is important to us to always include our community and I think that is what makes us who we are. Customer feedback is extremely important to us so we can grow together. And that is exactly where our high level commitment comes from.

What does a day in your working life look like? Do you have special team rituals or something similiar?

No two days are the same. Nonetheless, to stay on top of things we have a quick so-called stand-up meeting with all departments each morning where we talk about current tasks and challenges. There is no other routine. We travel a lot, for instance to New York, Paris, London and the like. There are also regular team meetings, talks with partners and suppliers as well as decisions that have to be made.

A few years ago, the topics DIY and crafting experienced a true hype, but were then thought to be over when Dawanda went bankrupt and the German Etsy offices were closed. What is your view on that? Is crafting still a popular topic or less so right now?

We did not experience that development. On the contrary, we continue to grow and find that DIY, knitting, crocheting and sewing are still trends. We rather consider ourselves as the »yoga of the 21st century«. Putting the phone aside, creating something with one’s own hands, relaxing and slowing down. On top of that, we can keep up with the trend sustainability. Our kits contain 100 % natural wool, knitting needles made out of beech wood and are packaged in reusable paper bags.

Who designs your models? How many new models can WAK followers expect each month? Where do you get your inspiration for new models?

The designs are created by our team here in Madrid and in cooperation with international designers. Life is complicated enough already, so we prefer simple designs. We try to create designs that can be combined with any personal style. New York also has a great influence on the designs. Since we discovered the DIY trend there, NY will always remain a source of inspiration…

Do you have a favourite model on WAK? 

I love the Simone Cardigan: a super comfy cardigan which is easily and quickly made!

What are your goals for the next 5 years?

We are working on offering more types of yarn and would like to conquer the Asian market so that »We Are Knitters« is truly a global brand.

And we want to go offline ;-)