Fiber arts is more than a hobby. It’s a form of self-expression — a way to slow down, create something tangible and explore hand-making traditions passed down through generations.
Shannon O’Brien, owner and founder of The Common Thread Yarn and Coffee shop, says fiber arts is not a “new-fangled trend.”
“This has been around for millennia, something that our ancestors did,” O’Brien said. “Part of my mind wants to be like, its yarn, it’s not that deep, we like to make things. And part of me is like, no, this is an act of spiritual creation that ties us to our lineage and our matriarchs. It’s the animals that give us the wool and the plants that give us the fiber.”
O’Brien’s vision came from the idea of a “third space,” a place between home and work where people can find a cozy spot to create and connect without feeling “transactional” or “introverted” in social environments.
“If they have something to do with their hands, it’s easy to have a conversation and takes the edge off of that social anxiety,” she said. “It’s almost like a safety blanket for forming those human connections.”
Located in the Warehouse Arts District at 2462 Fifth Ave. S., The Common Thread is a yarn boutique combined with a coffee bar serving locally roasted coffee and pastries. The shop offers a wide range of yarns, tools and accessories, while classes cover knitting, crocheting, embroidery and techniques like brioche stitching, sock knitting, rug tufting and needlepoint.
O’Brien said the shop isn’t a production house for finished items to sell, but samples are on display for inspiration.
“The joy comes in the journey of the making, not just the finished project,” she said. “If someone gives you a knitted object, it’s really a testament to how much love and respect they have for you because it takes a very long time.”
O’Brien is a certified crochet instructor with the American Crochet Association, and her workshops focus on guidance without judgment, where everyone feels welcome to learn, create and connect.
She described times in fiber arts retail, where buying materials and learning the craft can feel intimidating.
“I want people to walk in and feel like all of the knowledge is accessible,” she said. “We’re not here to play yarn snob. I want people to feel like a kid in a candy store. Know that we’re your friends and we’ve got your back. There are no hierarchies. We’re here to enjoy something together. Let’s just have a good time. That’s ‘Good Fibes Only’ for me.”
Making mistakes is part of the process, she said, and she has had projects she’s “frogged” — the term used for ripping out work.
“It’s a fallacy that we should be good at every hobby that we pick up on the first try,” she said. “Release the expectation that you have to be good at everything right from the jump.”
Originally from San Francisco, O’Brien spent years in marketing and launched Apothecary at Home, an e-commerce subscription service teaching people to grow and make their own herbal remedies. The business has been operating for five years.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she came to St. Petersburg to complete an herbal apprenticeship at Traditions School of Herbal Studies and bought a house in 2023.
Though her two businesses are separate, O’Brien says they share a common thread: a love of hands-on creation.
“People want to make and feel things with their hands,” she said. “It’s a very sensory experience — to make herbal tea, work with wool, make a garment. It’s kind of this primal desire that people are really attracted to. I love all those cozy hobbies that make me feel self-sufficient.”
She feels younger people have been robbed of creating something with their hands and seeing it through to completion.
“There’s something about doing that that really anchors you to the moment and your body,” she said. “That can be a lifeline in a world that is rapidly becoming very two-dimensional.”
O’Brien said that while she has an e-commerce business, she’s never had a brick-and-mortar shop, and building one came with uncertainty.
“At the beginning, you’re just sort of feeling around in the dark,” she said. “Any time you take a big swing, especially if you’re investing in an idea and you don’t see that working, it’s like, am I on to something, or am I totally delulu (delusional)?”
Pushing through “the fearful voices,” she kept moving forward.
O’Brien stumbled upon the website of Cleo’s Yarn Shop, a modern fiber arts cafe in Brooklyn, New York. She reached out to the owner for guidance and developed an “informal mentorship.”
From there, the pieces fell into place, and the yarns that once sat in boxes in her home finally went up on the walls of her storefront.
She recalled a moment during the soft opening in August involving a friend and his teenage daughter who learned to crochet together as a way to bond. It was then she realized she built The Common Thread for the next generation as well.
“It felt almost like talking to my inner child,” she said. “It feels like what I’m exactly supposed to be doing right now. I could sit alone with yarn in my house for the rest of my life, and it wouldn’t be as fun as sharing it.”
For more information, visit commonthreadstpete.com.