At Postcard Row, one of our main goals is to create a needlepoint community in SF and Northern California at large for people looking for a hobby and looking to disconnect from their screens. We have already gotten several of our personal friends into needlepoint and are hoping to establish a steady presence in the Bay Area, which has historically been underrepresented in the needlepoint community (as it's most popular in the South and Northeast).
To that end, we have grand plans to start and host a San Francisco Stitch Club where stitchers of all types can come together, have a few laughs and drinks, and most importantly get some stitching done!
When planning our first stitch club, we had a few things in mind for what we needed the location to have - it had to (1) be free, (2) have great lighting, (3) have space for the hordes of people we were anticipating would join, and (4) be in a central area to make it easier for people to attend. Bridget was getting drinks with her husband at Holbrook House when she noticed that the atrium of One Sansome in downtown SF had ample seating and amazing lighting! It's also central to anyone working in downtown SF and close to BART. The Atrium is open to the public and guests are able to grab food & drinks from the bar at Holbrook House while in the atrium.
We used Eventbrite to keep track of stitchers who might be joining, and had around 20 people RSVP, with only about 4 of them being people we already knew! We were excited, although we knew that there would likely be some attrition given that the event was free and people would have to be putting themselves out there to meet strangers (albeit in a public place). We actually had 7 people attend total (including us) but it was the perfect amount for our first stitch club so we could really get to know the attendees!
We are hoping to host this stitch club every third Thursday of the month, at Holbrook House. Let us know if you're interested in coming, and if you have any other tips for hosting a stitch club!