Nickel City Gritty: The Knotty Buffalo
I’ve always appreciated the art of knitting. My brother taught me how to knit like ten years ago. And when I say taught, I mean I fumbled my way through knitting a quarter of a scarf before I got insanely frustrated and gave up all hope.
I first met Imani, who owns the local business The Knotty Buffalo, at the Horsefeathers market earlier this year. She hand-dyes yarn in small batches and sells them to the knitting community all over the country. She creates the most vibrant colors and that is what has attracted all of her customers over the years.
I sat down with Imani recently to chat in her apartment where she does all of her dying, and I got to play with her ADORABLE animals which was an added interview bonus. Listen to her playlist below while you read all about her!
This is Nickel City Gritty, and this is Imani of The Knotty Buffalo.
How did The Knotty Buffalo get started?
Basically I have been knitting since I was in second grade, I’m very Type A and super picky, so trying to find what I want in JoAnn Fabrics is next to impossible. I like to touch things, so trying to order yarn from somebody offline didn’t really work out. So I ended up dying it myself! I wanted to open up a yarn shop at first, but even then I was like, “Well, I actually am looking for this color and I don’t see anybody selling it.” I started dying in the end of 2018, and then I started selling my dyed yarn just for side money at first. I figured that I wasn’t going to keep all of the yarn, and to buy it economically, you have to buy it in ten packs which is expensive. Nobody needs ten packs of yarn at any point in time! *laughs* So I ended up selling the rest, and it went from a few people to everyone beating down my doors! I sell through my website knottybuffalo.com and I've done markets- I was at Horsefeathers and I was at The Foundry for a little bit, but it is hard to dye there with all of the other businesses going on. I also signed up with the Buffalo Knitting Guild. I’ve shipped all around the country- Alaska, I’ve sent yarn to Vermont and Oregon…Hawaii is my next goal. All 50 states plus everyone else!
How would you describe your personal style?
I would say definitely pretty preppy and relaxed. I had the realization that I did not like dressing up, I thought that dresses were “dressy,” but I was working at Abercrombie and my boss was like, “Think about it, you wear a casual dress and you don’t have to worry about matching.” and I was like, “SOLD” and now I have twenty dresses *laughs* I like some edgier things, but I usually gravitate towards stuff like Abercrombie and Gap.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Music and nature a lot. Even my own mood, I’ll just be feeling something and be able to see sounds, like I get a very specific feeling from different music lyrics and stuff like that and I’ll just run with it.
Does that effect what colors you are working with?
Yeah, definitely. It can get really moody, like “2AM at the Pink” was really just a moodier mauve pink and I didn’t really know what to call it, and then three different people from three different generations in Buffalo were talking about, “Oh, you should name it after the Pink!” So I had to name it that. And funny enough, I can’t keep it on the shelf. First time I did it, it was gone in an hour.
What were you like in high school?
I was super shy. I was a scene kid, believe it or not. I had the crazy hair and the crazy eye makeup up until the end of sophomore year when somebody thought I was pretty enough to work at Abercrombie and I dropped that whole act real quick! I literally just walked in there, because they had the jeans that fit me in high school but I wasn’t wearing any of the makeup, and they were like, “Do you want a job here?” I was like, “Yes. Yesterday I wanted a job here.” *laughs* But I was super quiet. I didn’t even really come out of my shell until college.
What is your biggest fear?
I guess not really making it to where I want to be, especially after putting this much effort into literally everything I do. That and having to work for somebody else for the rest of my life. I can’t. Actually, that is the biggest thing. Nothing drives me more insane than working for other people. Especially now when I’ve gotten to this point where I can make my own schedule and decide what I’m going to do for myself instead of being nitpicked all day and punching a clock. I’m not a morning person so if I decide I want to work until 2am I’ll work until 2am.
What is one of your favorite smells?
I like lavender a lot. Lavender tea or rose is a really good one. Either those or mint. I like food. Food things!
What is your spirit animal?
I’d have to say that I’m definitely a cat person despite the fact that there’s two dogs in here and only one cat. Because I like attention…on my terms. I don’t always want to be bothered, but when I want to be bothered *makes meowing sound* Play with me!!
What is on your playlist? What do you like to listen to?
I’m all across the board. I was super stoked about Old Town Road, because I really kinda like country, but I like the daisy dukes and red boots party type, but I also like R&B and rap so it just kind of meshed everything together. I honestly still listen to that like every day! I can’t let it go. I like mixey meshy stuff. So even like Doja Cat is fun for me, all the way down to even stuff like screamo if I’m really in the mood. Depends on the day!
What are some of your favorite bars or restaurants in Buffalo?
Oh man, what place is not my favorite? Mes Que, I’m a huge Manchester United fan, so I’m there all the time. Community Beer Works is amazing. I go there for every single release. I’ve missed like one release since like 2017. I’m a little bit of a fan girl. We like to eat at Sato a lot on Elmwood. I used to live across the street from there and used to order from there almost every week. Or maybe twice a week. We’re huge into sushi so we love Wasabi. Love Allen Burger Venture for burgers. Those are my top choices.
And sticking with food, if you could only eat three foods for the rest of your life what would they be?
Definitely ramen, like real ramen is REALLY good. Next would be Oreos, weird about eating all of the Oreos. And then, I eat a lot of cheese. I’m a little lactose intolerant, but I’m a glutton for punishment so I’ll eat cheese anyway!
What role do you play in the group of your friends?
I am definitely the person who is always pushing everybody to do stuff. I don’t necessarily like to make the decision about where we go, but we’re just doing stuff, we’re doing things, and everyone is going to get along and/or tell the truth! So I’m very straightforward and also the group organizer for sure.
What fictional place would you most like to go?
Fictional place? Too bad Boston is real! *laughs* Hmmm, I never even really thought about that. Where would I go? I almost want to be basic and say the world of Harry Potter. But that might be only cool for like a day, I don’t know if I’d want to stay any longer than that! It depends, can I be a witch if I go?
Yeah, of course!
Oh well then yeah let’s choose that, because then I can make it what I want. I’d just have to learn all of the spells first.
What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
Probably this! Taking the leap and starting my own business, especially with people saying, “No you can’t, no you shouldn’t, no you won’t.
And then getting there and people being like, “That’s not real.” This is definitely going against the traditional, “Grow up, go to collage, be a doctor or a lawyer” thing. I had to do something different. Defying everybody, basically.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
My own boss, in a pair of So Kate Louboutins in nude. Specifically those. When I open a yarn shop, when I’m cutting that ribbon I’m turning around and lifting the back of THAT heel so that the news can get THAT picture. The one in the So Kates. The shoes that cost more than the car payment *laughs*