Shannon Okey

I'm an event organizer, knitwear designer, fiber artist and book publisher. I own and operate Cooperative Press, an independent publishing company. My knitting site is Knitgrrl, and it's also my nickname in the fiber arts community. I use it as a username most places online, such as Twitter, Facebook, Etsy, Tumblr, Ravelry, etc).

I founded Cleveland Bazaar in 2004. It’s northeast Ohio’s longest-running indie retail popup event series and has well over 35,000 social media followers (2022). In addition to organizing events I mentor and provide learning opportunities for small maker-focused businesses in all stages of development who work with Bazaar.

I've taught all over the US, in Canada, and even on a cruise ship that was rocking from side to side! I love speaking to all kinds of groups, and have given presentations, lectures and workshops in a wide variety of venues, such as South by Southwest, O’Reilly’s Tools of Change publishing conferences, CHA (the Craft and Hobby Association trade show), guilds, and small business groups.

I've written (at last count) 13 books, 12 for major publishers such as Random House and Interweave Press, and many more for my own company including The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design, is the first-of-its-kind business text for independent designers and creative businesspeople.

If you want to get in touch, email's usually the best way to go about it: admin [at] knitgrrl [dot] com will get to me consistently.