By Avery Maier ’13, and Caroline Gentile ‘13, Co-Editors-in-Chief

When Amanda Cohen ’08, came home last year from the University of Virginia for winter break, she taught her sister, Lily Cohen ’12, how to knit. Initially just a past time, knitting became one of Lily’s favorite hobbies and she spent much time over the course of the next few months knitting headbands for friends and family. But after receiving numerous requests for headbands, Lily had the idea to turn something she loved into a business. Since then, Needles & Co. has been open for business, making “hand-crafted knit headbands” that are “cozy, practical and cute,” Lily said.

For her senior project, Cohen knitted with her friend Audrey McCartney ’12, making scarves headbands, and a variety of other things. “That’s when I really started getting good and quick at knitting,” said Cohen.  For more advanced knitting techniques, like, cabling, Lily turned to YouTube.

After this project, many people started asking Cohen for headbands of their own. “I first got the idea to start a business because so many people at school were asking me for headbands, so I thought it’d be a good idea to start selling them because everyone loved them so much,” said Cohen.

Since the founding of Needles & Co., Cohen has made numerous headbands and a profit of $1500. “It takes me about 45 minutes to make one headband… give or take a few minutes depending on the type of headband and how distracted I am, said Cohen.

“Needles & Co. has been demanding because you have to keep the customers happy,” but Cohen does not see this as work: “I find it relaxing and an easy pastime that doesn’t need a lot of attention, and I can socialize and do other things while I knit.”

While Needles & Co. features only headbands, Cohen has thought about expanding. “I have thought about making scarves because I also know how to do that, but they take too long [to knit.] In order for me to sell those I would need to charge a lot to compensate for the time I put into it. Selling headbands is much quicker and my customers LOVE them.”

Originally Needles & Co. was only publicized on Facebook and through word of mouth, but it was instantly popular.  As soon as Lily created a Facebook page for her company, it received 100 likes within the first two days of its creation.

This past summer, Needles & Co. was featured on Wanelo, a site that gathers unique products for people to browse through and purchase.  This opportunity “really made my name big, and to know so many people had heard about my company was beyond exciting,” said Lily.

While Lily, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, is busy with school work, she still finds time for knitting in her busy schedule. However, Lily says business in Wisconsin has slowed down because many people already have similar headbands.

Needles & Co.’s headbands are very popular at Cincinnati Country Day.  Katie Barton, ’14, raved that the headbands are “so fun to wear throughout the winter because they’re really warm and trendy.”  Senior Julia Murphy added that she really likes the uniqueness of the headbands; “I ordered a bunch and they’re all different in color and style.”  Both girls added that the best thing about Lily’s headbands was that they came from someone they know.

Check out Needles and Co. Facebook page at www.facebook.com/needlesandco. There you can see pictures of all Lily’s available styles and colors. The price per headband ranges from $15-20 and is based on personal order.