Issue No. 1: Nisha Blackwell of Knotzland
“I hope that each Knotzland wearer feels like a confident, empowered advocate for change while supporting this Black woman-owned business.”
“The art of expression is really important to me,” says Nisha Blackwell, the founder of Knotzland, a bowtie company in Pittburgh’s Wilkinsburg neighborhood. She recalls going on family vacations as a child and not being able to get a magnet or T-shirt with her name on it because it was so unique. “I wasn’t able to just grab something to bring home as a souvenir,” she explains. Because of that, Nisha’s mother would often get her something custom-made.
“That made me feel seen,” Nisha says.
Today, Nisha brings that same ethos to Knotzland, where she uses discarded textiles to make custom bowties that are beloved by everyone from local couples looking for unique wedding accessories to celebrities like Danny Glover, who wore one to receive an honorary Oscar and humanitarian award in 2022. She’s also a major champion of Pittsburgh’s small businesses who’s been featured on NPR, CBS, The Verge and Inc.; a graduate of The Advanced Leadership Institute’s inaugural class of Emerging Black Leaders; and one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s “40 Under 40” honorees.
On a personal note, to say I’m grateful that Nisha agreed to be part of this series is a major understatement. I’m a Knotzland customer and was thrilled to be able chat with her for The Interview, and I’m pinching myself that she’s the inaugural feature. So, without further ado, here’s Nisha. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Full name: Nisha Blackwell
Age: 37
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
You grew up in Pittsburgh. How have you seen it change over the years?
“I grew up in Homewood, in Pittsburgh’s east end, and wound up boomeranging back there after college. I lived in Homewood until I was 30, then moved with my now-fiancé to Wilkinsburg. During most of my time living there, Homewood was a rough, disinvested community, even throughout my childhood. When I began looking for a space for Knotzland in 2019, the efforts around revitalizing it began ramping up, but unfortunately, there wasn’t anything move-in ready yet.”
You’ve talked about how you used to remake thrifted clothing into totally new outfits. Were you a sew-er and crafter from a young age?
“I grew up thrifting with my mom and grandma and would remake and restyle clothing to make it feel more fitting for me, but I never sewed a stitch before starting a business.”
Did the women in your life play a role in your journey to entrepreneurship?
“I grew up around women who started businesses. My aunts were hustlers! They’d sell art, purses, dinners, Italian ice. I existed around the entrepreneurial spirit. I remember seeing their different business ventures and thinking to myself, ‘How could I make these better?’ ‘What could I do differently to make them more successful?’ Entrepreneurship was definitely within me in that way.”
You founded Knotzland in 2015. Tell us about its beginnings.
“I started in the kids’ market with a hair bow business for girls in 2014 and began making bowties as a response to requests for boys. I have a little boy and shop for him, so I totally get it now!
“In 2015, I incorporated Knotzland. In the years leading up to opening our storefront in Wilkinsburg, we were working in a small manufacturing facility in Homewood. It was a little dustier and more industrial than I would have liked for our delicate fabrics, and also a bit harder find—more of a warehouse vibe. At the time, were also inching into the wedding market, and I thought it would be a better fit to move into a space that could accommodate our wedding clients and folks who may have had issues accessing the space.”
You hand-sew all of your bowties from recycled materials. What made you decide to do that?
“I didn’t have money growing up and have always had to be resourceful. My family has always been resourceful, and my culture has always been resourceful and connected to the land and the gifts it provides to sustain us. It was in me to look around, see what I had, and make something out of essentially nothing—and do so in a way that was respectful of resources.
“To this day, I challenge myself to develop, design and create new products from things that already exist. It’s certainly not the easiest way of doing business, but there is an intimate connection in making old materials into something new. It’s a different way of thinking as a designer. It’s also cool because, even if we have a yard of fabric, none of the bowties will be the same due to pattern placements, the scale of the piece or the things we choose to highlight. It’s truly wearable art in this way.”
The space you’re in on South Trenton Avenue in Wilkinsburg has such a great vibe, and it’s tucked into a block full of cool businesses. How did you find it?
“I have several connections to Wilkinsburg. I lived there as a tiny child before moving to Homewood, and in my early 20s, I had a best friend who lived on South Trenton Avenue. I’d walk from Homewood to his house and past this block of shops, and I’d look into them and wonder what was going on inside.
“Later, when I moved to Wilkinsburg with my fiancé, we found out a shop had become available in that row. I thought, ‘No pressure. I’m just going to go check it out,’ and it turned out to have the vibe, the feel and the vintage aesthetic that felt like Knotzland—including tin ceilings. We moved in September 2019, as my memory very clearly recalls. It was months before Covid.”
How did the pandemic affect Knotzland?
“We had to completely shift our operations. We couldn’t open our doors for patrons to come in. We ended up shifting our production to making masks and giving those out to the community for quite a while. Selling masks was what carried us through Covid. We didn’t receive PPP or any financial support. The community showed up for us.”
What’s the best part about running a business in Pittsburgh?
“We have a lot of support around creativity and the arts, and that has allowed us to continue to grow and explore new avenues and spaces—for example, our museum partnerships. You wouldn’t traditionally think that bowties would be a popular fit for museums, but we have engaged and showcased our work in almost every [museum] the city has to offer. The institutional support has given us a level of credibility and validity in the market as a whole.”
How about the most challenging?
“[Pittsburgh has] come so far as a city, and we are often supportive of new businesses and ventures and fresh, innovative ideas. But there’s often a lack of visibility or understanding about how to support businesses that have been around for a while—those of us weathering the storms and resilient enough to still be here. I see this with my business owner peers as well. Once you’re out of the starting phase, there’s not as much thought put into supporting existing businesses that have been resilient for years.”
As an extension of the work you do at Knotzland, you're extremely involved in the Pittsburgh business community.
“I’m very driven to look beside me, and at folks who have come before me and may come behind me, and find ways that make sense to support them, whether that’s through coaching, mentoring or offering support. I spend a lot of time outside of Knotzland identifying gaps in resources. I want to help people navigate and persevere. It’s a lot of work, but it’s in me to be a helper. It’s also a way of fulfilling something that business sometimes doesn’t give you when you’re doing numbers, sales and marketing. I fulfill other avenues in my being by making sure I’m pouring back into the community.”
And you involve the community in creating bowties, too.
“We have a community of people in and around our community to help with production. Twenty-nine people have gone through our training program, and when we have big projects, we have trained individuals who can make our products from the comfort of their home—moms, retired women, sewing enthusiasts. That has been a constant area of growth, especially in terms of managing quality and schedules.
“More recently, we’ve started to explore outsourcing to other community organizations and people who do this work. We love having people we can support and bring into the fold.”
Climate change disproportionately affects Black communities. A major part of your mission at Knotzland is to bring awareness to the need for sustainability. What’s your advice for people who want to become more environmentally aware?
“Don’t overwhelm yourself with the thought of being perfect. Just start. A lot of people think sustainability is about consuming and buying, but it’s a state of mindfulness—mindful consumption, mindful production, mindful existence. All of those things.”
You have an almost 1-year-old son. How has motherhood changed the way you think about work?
“Motherhood is made of many moments of unpredictability, euphoria and exhaustion I’ve never been more grateful to have built a life that is flexible and can be adaptable to this beautiful baby I’ve been blessed with. It allows me to spend a lot of time with my little one. While pregnant, I had running thoughts like, ‘Will I still be able to nurture my creativity and operate my business as a new mom, or will I have to let pieces of me go?,’ but we’re coming up on a year of learning and navigating it all in our own way. I have an extremely supportive partner, family and friends, which helps a lot. I’ve been able to—somehow, some way!—continue to do the things that I love so much. It’s all about managing my own expectations, clear communication with customers and clients, and often going with the flow of my new little boss. There’s so much learning and growing occurring over here.
“Motherhood has also made me more aware of the importance of being a model for doing good. None of us are perfect, but I do want to be sure that my Black son sees a mom who is powerful and strong and also empathetic and working hard to be a positive member of the community.”
Tell us about this month’s Black Love collection. What does it mean to you?
“It’s a small collection that feels very connected to the principles of Kwanzaa to me. It has the colors of our cultural flag—red, green and black—and fuses fabrics that are not usually blended, like cotton, satin and quilting, into one piece that we can work with and structure to make a bowtie.
“The collection has also allowed me to reflect with our customers on Black sustainability and how that shows up in many contexts—from the environmental implications of climate change on our communities to how we celebrate our resourcefulness, practicality and sustainability and everything in between. We fused ideas, fabrics and the celebration of Black History month and Valentine’s Day into the Black Love collection.”
How do you want someone to feel when they’re wearing a Knotzland bowtie?
“I hope that our customers feel like they’re wearing a truly unique piece that expresses who they are, and that each Knotzland wearer feels like a confident, empowered advocate for change while supporting this Black woman-owned business.”
Nisha shares three tips for people who want to start their own small business.
Just start. “That’s the first step. A lot of people will think that they can plan everything down to the tee, but most of the time it’s about just starting. The universe and God will collide to make sure you have the things you need to be successful in your own right.”
Define your own version of success. “It’s easy to look around at everyone else’s success but not truly know what our own version of success is. Comparing ourselves to others is unhealthy and not very beneficial.”
Build your community—and don’t be afraid to step outside the box. “Build your network around what you’re passionate about, but also network beyond folks that you think that you would be most drawn to.”
Love this interview. Ms. Blackwell’s vibe as a human, and business woman shines bright. Women supporting women, is tops!
Inspired interview—-including the insightful questions that make me feel I know Ms. Blackwell personally. Can’t wait to pop into her shop!