“I stitch for my family,” says Lauren Ryan, owner of Poppypointe, Charlottesville’s source for all things needlepoint. “A lot of what I do is inspired by them and for them.”
Coming from a long line of skilled craftswomen and embroiderers, Ryan sees needlepoint as a bridge across generations. She learned to stitch at a young age with her mother as her teacher. She and her cousins received handmade stockings from an aunt as children, and those cherished keepsakes still adorn mantels at Christmastime.
Ryan wanted to carry on the tradition once she became a mother, so she stitched a stocking for her firstborn—one of many creations she would craft over the years. “There’s this connection I have, like many of my customers, to the next generation,” says Ryan. “Making something handmade with love for them is really what it’s about.”
While she has always loved needlepoint, it had mostly been a hobby in the gaps between demanding careers—working on Wall Street through September 11, 2001, and later as a social worker in New York. After relocating to Virginia and raising her daughters in Charlottesville, Ryan decided to transform her pastime into a profession. She opened Poppypointe, an online and brick-and-mortar shop, in December 2019.
Now a thriving one-stop-shop for needlecrafters of all skill levels, Poppypointe has an abundance of stitching supplies—original canvases, more than 100 different types of thread, all sorts of accessories—and a wealth of inspiration. “I try to create a safe space for people where they can empower themselves to create the work they want to put out into the world,” Ryan says.
The store also provides finishing services, turning stitched canvases into decorative and functional items—from throw pillows and purses to coasters and trays, to treasure boxes and ornaments. There are even options for needlepointed passport covers and flasks.
Needlepointers needing extra support can book one-on-one lessons; there’s an option for beginners as well as another one for experienced stitchers to hone their craft with embellishments. “We all make mistakes. You adjust and keep going,” Ryan says. “There’s no wrong answer in stitching.”
What’s particularly special about the shop is the fiber arts community Ryan has cultivated. Poppypointe serves as a gathering place, offering weekly open stitch opportunities. These no-cost, drop-in meetings welcome needleworkers to share what they’re working on, learn from one another, and form friendships that extend beyond the shop’s walls.
“I’m constantly amazed by the creativity and humbled, frankly, by what people can create,” says Ryan. “I feel very lucky and privileged to do what I do.”