Talk Shop with Kohl Crecelius, CEO and co-founder of Krochet Kids intl. and KNOWN SUPPLY

Through hook and yarn and a desire to help people, Krochet Kids intl. has empowered over 200 women in Uganda and Peru through meaningful employment. CEO and co-founder, Kohl Crecelius began the apparel company 10 years ago, using his knowledge of crochet to teach women in developing countries how to make and sell beanies, scarves, and shirts. In November, Kohl expanded his efforts to launch essentials apparel line KNOWN SUPPLY, where each garment is hand-signed by the maker of the item.

Come to Talk Shop on Thursday, April 26 at Lumi HQ, to ask Kohl all about building a social and ethical fashion brand. Before then, get to know him in this Q&A and RSVP for Talk Shop here.

Krochet Kids intl. just celebrated its 10-year anniversary — congratulations! What is one of the hardest lessons you had to learn to get here?

There have been many lessons learned along the way, but one that sticks out at the moment was the realization that my own hard work wouldn't directly correlate to success. I am someone who has always met challenges with more work, more hustle, but every entrepreneur eventually learns that their dream has to grow beyond them if it is going to do truly meaningful work. It's painful, but it's so important to learn.

Why was transparency an important distinction you wanted to make with KNOWN SUPPLY versus what you were already doing with Krochet Kids?

Transparency isn't a distinction between the two brands, it's actually the constant. Every product made across both brands is hand-signed by the person who made it and this concept was introduced through our work with Krochet Kids intl. and it's being taken to the next level with KNOWN SUPPLY. The main point of distinction is that KNOWN SUPPLY focuses on creating apparel that we sell in bulk so others can share in our social mission. We are providing anyone the opportunity to be a social good brand.

What do you want people to realize about the impact of their purchases?

We want to help shoppers realize that their purchasing decisions impact actual human beings. The things we wear are made with human hands and we believe this is something to be celebrated. We should know WHO makes our garments and seek to create a positive impact on them and their livelihoods. What a beautiful exchange that can be.

In an age of fast fashion, how do you stay motivated to bring a human aspect to the fashion industry?

Fast fashion is one of the main motivators because it has trained shoppers to devalue their clothing, to make it seem trivial and disposable. This is creating great problems for the garment producers and our planet as consumption reaches unsustainable levels. It's a daunting task to try and reverse this, but we had a unique opportunity to jump into this complex issue and begin providing alternative, positive solutions.

Do you still find time to crochet?

I do not crochet much anymore. I have, however, picked up macrame as my latest crafting hobby and I am outfitting my house (and the houses of my friends) with endless plant hangers. Ha!