How I fell down The Rabbit Hole

The Rabbit Hole started with people I love.

Needlepoint has been special to me for as long as I can remember. A dear family friend, Sally Nichols, stitched Christmas stockings for our family growing up, and I was completely mesmerized by how special they were, the detail, the love stitched into every single piece she made. I remember telling myself I would learn how to do that someday.

Over the years, Sally continued the stocking tradition with wedding gifts and baby gifts for so many people she loved. In 2019, she stitched stockings for my middle sister and brother-in-law when they got married, gifts that mean even more to our family now.

As I got older, another dear friend, Kathy Perry, taught me how to stitch myself. Not to brag, but to this day, she lovingly refers to me as her “most accomplished student.” Though I’m pretty sure I’m also her only student.

Then in 2021, Sally suffered a medical event that made it very difficult for her to stitch. My younger sister had an engagement on the horizon, my middle sister was pregnant with my nephew, and I suddenly felt this deep pull back to needlepoint after taking more than a 10-year break. I wanted to continue the tradition Sally had created for our family, to gift them the same special love-filled pieces that she had given all of us for so many years.

Since then, I’ve stitched stockings for my sister and her husband, and for my nephew Oliver. Still some of my proudest accomplishments.

What started as picking an old hobby back up quickly became so much more than that. Needlepoint brought me creativity, community, friendship, and connection during a season of life when I really needed it. Somewhere along the way, The Rabbit Hole was born, the kind of place I always wished existed here in Columbia. Warm, welcoming, fun, and fabulous.

The name itself felt especially fitting. My nephew Oliver lovingly calls my mom “Bunny,” and she has quietly been behind so much of this journey from the very beginning. She has patiently fielded approximately one million “should I do this pink or this other pink?” questions (they always basically look the same) and has always supported me, no matter how far down the rabbit hole I go. It only felt right that a little piece of her would be part of the name, too.

She was also the very first person I called when the idea for the store popped into my head. I remember saying, “I have this idea... have I lost my mind??” After spending my career in banking, real estate, and now the commercial insurance world, opening a needlepoint store did feel slightly unhinged. She lovingly encouraged me to go for it anyway.

And if you know anything about needlepoint, you know it truly is a rabbit hole in the best possible way. You can’t stitch just one canvas. There’s always another project, another fiber, another color palette, another idea, and honestly, that’s part of the magic.

The Rabbit Hole is a place where longtime stitchers and complete beginners alike can gather, learn, laugh, create, and maybe leave with one more canvas than they planned on buying.

I’m so glad you’re here.