Hannah Silva-Breen is a Gustie who has transformed one of her favorite hobbies into a way to improve other’s lives, with her newly opened Etsy shop “Hannah’s Helping Hats.” For every knitted hat, scarf, pair of mittens or socks sold, Hannah creates a similar item to be donated to those in need in the Mankato/St. Peter area. With her business, she has begun to help those in need stay warm during these freezing Minnesota winters one cozy hat at a time.
How long have you been knitting? How did you learn?
“I can’t remember exactly what age I was, I was probably about seven or eight, but I got one of those ‘learn how to knit yourself’ books, and I knit a really terrible teddy bear. Then, I stopped until late in high school when knitting started to be all the rage again. I began knitting scarves because they were super easy, and recently, I’ve learned how to knit other things. Since that first book, though, I’ve mostly just been learning from YouTube videos and online patterns, so I’m very self-taught.”
How long has your Etsy shop been open?
“Officially, it’s been open for about two weeks, however I’ve been planning it for about a year. It’s still kind of under construction. I just published a Facebook account for it and created an Instagram about a week ago, so it’s fairly new.”
What was your main inspiration for creating the Etsy shop?
“Last year, I was knitting during J-Term and thought, “Wow, this would be a lot more fun if I had friends to do it with.” It really came from the thought of creating a knitting club, as nerdy as that sounds, but eventually I began to think that it could be used in a much more productive way. I have a lot of friends that are involved in Love Your Melon, which got me wondering what I could do to help in a way similar to that. I had recently learned about the homeless and impoverished populations that live in St. Peter and Mankato. Knowing how terrible Minnesota winters are, I thought of how easy it would be to just knit two hats at a time and help someone while I’m doing something that I enjoy.”
What’s your favorite part of doing what you do? What keeps you motivated to continue knitting for your shop?
“The main thing is how relaxing knitting is. It’s definitely a way for me to control my anxiety because it’s very therapeutic and meditative. I definitely do it a lot for myself, but then I end up with a whole bunch of products that I don’t know what to do with, so I want to sell them and give them to people. I still have yet to find a donation place that will take my stuff, so I still have a big pile of products. I can’t wait to be able to bring all that to whatever place I end up donating it to and knowing that someone is a little warmer during the terrible winters.”
How long does each piece to make for you?
“Hats are actually pretty quick–probably a day or two. Mittens take even less time, but scarves can take forever, depending on the size. The one that’s currently listed on my shop took a couple of months, especially because I worked over the summer so I didn’t have as much time to devote to knitting.”
What are your goals looking forward into the future? What do you want your business to accomplish?
“I’m really inspired by Love Your Melon, and I hope to gain more knitters in my company so it’s not just me. Then we could not only sell more and give to more people, but also be able to donate outside of just the local area. The dream is to be able to ship anywhere and everywhere that needs the products, but I currently don’t have the time or resources to do that. My hope is just for my business to grow and reach more people over time.”
Besides the specific products listed on her shop, Hannah also takes on custom orders! If you’d like to request a product, be sure to check out her Custom Order Request Form found on her business’s Facebook page.
Make sure to like and follow Hannah’s social media accounts for updates on products and giveaways!
Hannah’s Helping Hat’s Facebook Page: @hsilverbeans
Link to Etsy Shop: hsilverbeans.etsy.com
Instagram: helping.hats