Yarn store more a social than retail outlet

By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY Acorn Newspapers PUTTING A SPIN ON IT-Rockin' Rose yarn store regular Vicky Cohen, a Westlake Village resident, winds knitting yarn at the store on Via Colinas last week.

The room is an airy, comfy one. Large fluffy sofas line the walls. Baskets of yarns rolled into balls sit on tables and on the floor. On one wall, long streams of yarn dangle like willowy fingers in colors and textures that invite touching. Women sit in groups and chat as they knit or crochet.

It’s like home here at Rockin’ Rose, a Westlake Village retail yarn shop that’s a throwback to the sewing circles of the 1800s.

Women and girls of all ages—even some men—come in for knitting supplies and end up staying for the social atmosphere, said owners Stacey Rocker and Erit Rosenthal.

The two women started Rockin’ Rose about two years ago as a clothing store for tweens—girls 11 or 12 who were too old for children’s clothes but too young for teen fare. With clothes occupying the back half of the rectangular store, Rocker and Rosenthal didn’t quite know what to do with the front of the store.

They settled on adding a sofa and selling skeins of yarn. People soon came in for the yarn and stayed to chat.

The yarn business has never needed advertising, Rocker said–– it’s grown through word of mouth.

"We hit it at the right time," Rosenthal added.

Customer Kelly Gregory first came to Rockin’ Rose about three months ago. She said she’s addicted.

"It’s fun here," the Agoura Hills resident said. "You get to gab and if you make a mistake there’s someone here to help.

Gregory, like other fervent customers, often enlists the help of employee Naomi Wachtler. Wachtler runs the "emergency room"—a large table in the back where she helps customers fix knitting goofs.

Knowing she’d get help at Rockin’ Rose emboldened Marilyn Brack to take up knitting a year ago. She feels there isn’t any knitting project she can’t tackle.

"I tell everyone about it here," Brack said.

In the last few years, interest in knitting and crocheting, once thought of as a pastime for grandmothers, has surged. The recent sighting of Martha Stewart wearing a crocheted poncho has inspired even more interest in the humble hobby. The poncho pattern is a popular seller, one of many patterns found at Rockin’ Rose.

Another surprise you’ll find here is professional makeup artist Barbara Fonté-Kunkel.

You’d think a yarn store and makeup studio would make strange bedfellows, but they work together here.

Fonté-Kunkel is a studio artist with years of experience enhancing some of the most famous faces in the world. Her work has been seen on celebrities at the Academy Awards, Emmys and at other venues. She’s also one of the makeup artists on the TV show "Reba."

"I enjoy it so much," said Fonté-Kunkel, Rosenthal’s longtime friend who opened the shop-within-a shop last October. "The energy in here is wonderful."

She said her clients love the calming atmosphere of the shop, and the knitters are happy to have a top makeup artist so close at hand.

Located at 31139 Via Colinas, Suite 201, Westlake Village, Rockin’ Rose also offers a range of classes. For more information, call (818) 597-1002. To reach Fonté-Kunkel, call (818) 577-9696.