Who is Keely?

One would expect that owning your own business would come with a glamorous job title. As reality would have it, the position requires the wearing of many hats, such as Chief Financial & Janitorial Officer. Or there is the President & COE (as in-Charge Of Everything). Multi-tasking is a must, leisure time is a mirage. So who is Keely? Well in a nutshell, Keely is SWAK.

the salad days...
Keely wasn't happy sitting behind a desk all day counting other people's money. While her office antics (ugly earring contest, hip-hip-hooray the boss is away parties) gained her much popularity with her co-workers, she found the stuffy environment of an accounting office lacking in humor and style. Navy blue, after all, was not her shade.

At the same time, mom Sherry (a life-long knitter and crocheter) was wanting to knit her dear daughter a sweater. One trip to the local old-lady yarn shop had Keely begging for a trip to the mall instead. As a compromise, Keely started designing and the rest is history.

and then there was SWAK...
Sealed With a Kiss (or SWAK for short) begin in a tiny bedroom in the family home. It was the early 1990's and themed picture sweaters were all the rage in the boutique stores. This was Keely's most prolific designing period, producing dozens of new designs each year. SWAK's mail order pattern and kit business flourished. Keely was a CPA by day, SWAK designer and mail order person by night. . . until one day when something had to give.

In the spring of 1997, Keely got this hair-brained idea to quit her paying job as a CPA and open SWAK to the public as a full-service yarn shop. Many gasped "has she lost her mind?" at this prospect, but it was too late. Keely had her mind made up, and purchased a tiny little house for SWAK's new home. Growing up in her mother's needlework shop, Keely was more than familiar with the routine of owning a yarn shop, and wasn't disillusioned with the sit-n-knit all day myth. Hard work wasn't something she feared . . . mice and crickets, well that's another story.

movin' on up...
Her hard work paid off. It wasn't long before SWAK outgrew the little house, and in January of 2001 SWAK moved uptown. Now located in a large historic building, SWAK encompasses over 6,000 square feet on two levels. The main store and classroom are located downstairs. Upstairs you'll find pattern production, a photo and film studio, the main offices, an overnight suite, a secondary classroom, one ghost, and a Bruce.

Over the years SWAK has endured many ups & downs, fun folks and strange folks. There was the mad pooper (covered the bathroom from ceiling to floor), the psycho-stalker, the small child who gave Keely chicken pox one Christmas, the couple who brought their pet bugs along, the road trip to market with the employee who didn't bathe for the entire week. . . in the summer, oh what memories! Along the way Keely acquired one husband (Keith) and a very, very cute boy named Mason.

it takes a village...
While Keely ultimately is the COE (charge of everything) person, she is surrounded by a great group of support staff who make all the magic possible at SWAK.

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE
Mom (aka Sherry) - SWAK's on-site technical guru, queen of all things knit, headmistress of the classes, and "meme" to Mason.

Jane - person in charge of the peeps (SWAK slang for customers). aka Buffalo Jane, Calamity Jane, Janitor Jane (oh, don't call her that), or Just Jane.

Heather & Haleigh - it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. They take out our trash, run errands, vacuum, and any other jobs requiring a young mind or body.

Laura - teacher and master of all things artful or creative.

Catherine - resident crochet guru and mom's assistant teacher.

Anna - the ultimate volunteer. She's been helping us teach beginners for years.

Lisa - aunt to Mason. The sister-in-law every entrepreneur needs. When not entertaining Mason, she is always glad to pitch in and help however she can.

Russell - while Keely likes to play self-taught computer whiz, younger brother Russell is really the brains behind all things computer.

Dad (aka Dick) and Keith - Mr. fix-its, and in charge of mouse and big ugly bug removal.

what next?...
Stay tuned - Keely always has a trick or two up her sleeve. With her Lucille Ball meets Donald Trump business style, anything is possible!