Come visit us at 651 Addison Street, Suite B.
We're open 11-6 Tues.-Fri. 10-6 Sat. & 11-5 Sun.
What is The Black Squirrel?
The Black Squirrel is a small, independent, woman-owned yarn and fabric shop located in Berkeley, California, near the 4th Street shopping district. It's unlike any local yarn shop you've ever visited - the space is bright and open, the selection of items for sale has been carefully curated, and most importantly, it doesn't take itself too seriously. The core values of the shop include supporting other US-based woman-owned businesses, buying products with sound and sustainable manufacturing processes, and creating an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment for all. Every item has been chosen with the utmost care - yarns are purchased from small, independent, and local dyers whenever possible. Each skein of yarn and bolt of fabric is seen and touched in person before we order it to make sure it lives up to our standards of softness and quality. All of the tools and gifts are carefully chosen for quality and pure loveliness. But besides the incredible products we carry, the main focus of our shop is the crafting community:
Our number one goal at The Black Squirrel is to encourage people to keep crafting!
We want all of our customers to feel welcome, regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, age, or economic status.
They should ever be afraid to ask questions or get help, and they should always feel encouraged with enthusiasm no matter their skill level or craft.
Our History
The concept for The Black Squirrel started back in August of 2014. Chase Clark, the owner and curator of the shop, had always wanted to open a retail space that would be filled with inspiring fabric, yarn, and craft supplies, with a fun workshop area, to inspire creativity in her local community. The plan had taken various forms over many years, but really came together during her time in the South Bay, where black squirrels played on the fence outside her studio window. The black squirrels were a lovely personification of crafters - who always tend to stash supplies for a rainy day, and who regard their skills as something to rely on in tough times. The acorns in the logo not only represent the squirrels, but also the roots of the shop's owner in Paso Robles, CA (which translates to Pass of the Oaks).
In October of 2015 The Black Squirrel launched an Indiegogo campaign, raising enough money to open the online version of the shop, which launched in March of 2016 with a select few indie dyers and unique tools and gifts. In August of 2016 they partnered with PopupHood, a small business fostering program, which helped them find an amazing shop space and a supportive environment for launching our shop. On November 4th, 2016, The Black Squirrel opened its doors, and the rest is history.
We are Building a Shop for the Crafting Community.
We have a large classroom space in which we host all kinds of affordable and fun craft classes, from basic knitting, crochet, and sewing, to soap making, quilting, yarn dyeing - the sky's the limit! In the coming months the space will be outfitted with sewing machines, spinning tools, a lending library of vintage books, and so much more, so that it can be used as a workshop for community members when classes aren't in session. The walls of the space are used as a gallery space for local artists, and the space itself is available to rent for private crafty parties for a very affordable rate!
If you're interested in either showing your work in our gallery space, teaching classes here, or renting the space for parties, please email us at hello@blacksquirrelberkeley.com!
In the future we hope to encourage independent designers to create exclusive fabric and yarn collections for our shop. Click on our social media links in the top right hand corner of this page to get involved, suggest products or classes you'd like to see in our space, and receive updates on new items, classes, giveaways, and events. We want to interact with the craft community at large and your opinion is our most valuable connection. We hope to see you soon!