LAURIE THOMAS (owner and corporate escapee) has been knitting since age 6 and wrote the business plan for Sticks and Strings when she was in 8 th grade. A guidance counselor told the class, "Lucky is the man who can combine his vocation with his avocation ." After looking up both words in the dictionary and broadening the message to include women, Laurie knew her answer was "Yarn Shop.!"

That was a loooong time ago and the plan, and the love of knitting stayed with her during her career as retail, manufacturing and newspaper operations, strategy and human resources executive. Sticks and Strings is the yarn shop she always wanted to shop in and hopes that everyone who walks through the door experiences the warmth and fun that are central to the Sticks and Strings mission.