Business
Danielle Chiel Found KOCO (Knit One, Change One) How does someone with a PhD in Musicology end up handknitting the world together? Danielle fell in love with the art of handknitting as a 10-year-old. Her great-aunt Pearl taught her the craft during a day off school and it was love at first stitch. After a career as a teacher and earning a PhD in musicology, Danielle turned to her love of knitting and fashion to open a retail knitting store in Brisbane called Threads & More. In 2012 industrial legislation changes made producing our garments in Australia untenable so we sought out creating knitting hubs in rural India villages. The first knitting hub began with a group of ten women and has grown to become , KOCO – Knit One (garment) Change One (life). KOCO employ a lady, train her in the art and science of handknitting as well as reading English and mathematics. Danielle’s goal is to employ more women and reawaken the fashion industry to the human and commercial potential of how handknitting can change the world. Highlights: KOCO garments have three big promises- Experience the garment Transform women’s lives Connect the wearer to the maker Growing from 200 to 1000 knitters in next 12 months up to overall vision of 40,000.