Years ago, Stacy Boese never imagined that she would own and operate a craft store. But there she is, right there on Owen K. Garriott, welcoming folks to the brand-new storefront for Cozy Corner Knits, Enid’s only yarn shop. Originally from Kansas, Stacy used to work at the sheriff’s office near her hometown of Hayesville. She was good at her job, but fate had other plans. One day her husband Clay went up to Kansas on business. The two met and hit it off, and the rest, as they say, is history. Stacy and Clay have been married for over three decades. Their children include Christina, John, Alessia, and Nickolas, and they have been blessed with five grandchildren.
Cozy Corner Knits didn’t happen overnight. Before settling in Enid, the family lived all over the country, moving with the demands of Clay’s job. During that time, between raising a family and making a home wherever they lived, Stacy fell in love with knitting. According to Clay, Stacy got into knitting “through some friends in a couple of the different communities that we lived in,” but she really got into it when they lived in Tulsa. And then when they moved to Enid, Stacy said, “There’s no yarn. What are we going to do?”
So, she started Cozy Corner in the Heritage Hills shopping plaza on Willow, but when the opportunity came to move to Owen K. Garriott this past winter, they took it. Clay good-naturedly claimed that it was “the girls in the shop saying, ‘We need a bigger shop!’” But the increased visibility has had a terrific impact on the shop, and Clay reports that “her classes are way up now since we moved over there.”
For Stacy, one of the most important parts of the yarn shop is creating a sense of community. According to Autumn White, a local knitter, Stacy has created “a very welcoming environment,” one where you don’t have to be an expert. Autumn didn’t know how to knit when she first found the yarn shop, but that was no barrier. Stacy said, “What do you want to make? If you can knit and purl, you can make a sweater.” Under Stacy’s wing, Autumn learned the basics, and for the past two years has been knitting up a storm. The shop has a variety of classes, but Autumn says one of the best parts is “Therapy Thursday, where we all just kind of sit, eat, and knit.”
Clay says that from the beginning, Stacy “wanted a place for women to be able to go and feel safe and be able to express themselves and enjoy themselves and create a community.” It’s safe to say that Stacy has accomplished that and more, and for that reason, she is definitely a local legend.
