Doing well by doing good for my community

Ali Pate of Road Trip Sock Yarn shares a case study featuring several examples of how her business is doing good for the community- and shares a repeatable framework you can use!

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Handmade Seller Magazine
April 09, 2025

Have you been feeling a sense of loss or disconnection recently? There are so many things that we can’t control right now. However, we can easily lose sight of all the things that we can control. If you feel a missing sense of connection, engaging with your local community could be just what you need.

Many artisan businesses love to be part of the fabric of their local community. It feels good to do good where you work and live. It feels good for us as businesses, but it is also appealing to our customers. If you haven’t recently been connected to your community, how do you start to re-connect?

Ali Pate of Road Trip Sock Yarn has embedded community into her business since its inception. How  has she approached doing good for her community as part of the projects for her company? Here is what she shared.

Can you share the history of your business?

My yarn dyeing business came out of the gate strong in 2018. Considering my art skills, I knew yarn dyeing would work well for my home based business. Academically I earned a BFA and MA, so I know a little bit about a lot of different art techniques. I quickly contracted with a local shop. I set-up a business outline, and trademarked my Road Trip company. I sold all my hand dyed yarns to one shop for 2019. In August 2019, I contacted my local animal shelter. I had an idea for a partnership to raise awareness and funding for their programs. Our first project was called The Herd of Cats collection from Road Trip Sock Yarn. These Herd of Cats yarns were inspired by adoptable pets. It grew to include Meow Mélange and Pupper Patchwork colorways. In 2020 I included Etsy to my sales platform. Once my Etsy page was established, I continued to grow my wholesale accounts. Most of these wholesale accounts focus on custom collections. These are inspired by Road Trip destinations. 

This approach has helped me and my business grow within our community. My Road Trip Sock Yarn established give back/donations and self improvement as core values early in creating my business profile. These core values have carried through my decisions and adventures.  

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