The earliest memories I have is leaning on to my grandma, while sitting and feeling the rhythmic clicking of her knitting needles.
The love we had for each other had no boundaries and most things she knitted were for me. When I was older we would walk to the yarn store and decide together on the favorite yarn for the next wonderful thing she would be hand knitting. These memories have more and more meaning to me as I get older. I cannot explain the internal joy that invades me when I see in stores rows and rows of multiple color yarns, that simple and orderly space provides me with the sense that all is OK and a peaceful feeling takes over.
While attending an exhibit in Santiago, Chile; where many artisans were showing there skills through a variety of products, I came across a small group that was doing wonderful things hand dying wool and felting it. Irresistible. The research that followed our initial meeting, resulted in the creation of a unique, versatile and feminine scarf called “ItsATwist”. What is unique about it is that by putting your arms through it and opening them, you will make “ItsATwist" very wide and you can wear it as a cowl, a shawl over your shoulders, etc…then you take it off and pull from both ends and make it long to become a scarf over a coat or however you want to use it. The wonderful thing is that it can go from wide to long to wide to long endlessly.
We created three groups:
Indulge, with 3 natural shades of soft organic alpaca
Adventure, with 18 of the most beautiful hues of hand dyed wool
Spirit, with eight options hand knitted with man made fibers for those who do not care for natural wool.
They are all trimmed with felted puffs that add playfulness and warmth.
Thinking that this is a product that would appeal to younger and older women, that it would be flattering to all sizes, we concluded it would make an easy and special gift.
As a gift, it had to have a fun box!
We came up with an elegant dark chocolate box that opens up in a way that presents the puffs as a bouquet.
We also have a gift for you!
This Holiday season we are offering 50% off the "ItsATwist" so you can give one to a friend and give a gift to yourself while helping women artisans!
Meet Vivien and the 3 choices she made after loosing the first Twist she purchased:
Hi,Your scarfs are amazing! I bought my first one on Fab but unfortunately lost it. :-)
...
Please feel free to share my comments because it is so true! I've got so many compliments about your 'twist' that you won't believe how sad I was when I found out I lost mine in Vegas!!!
Best,
Vivien
There are so many ways to wear the Twist!
Pick your Twist and be sure to share your stories and pictures!
Isabel Garretón: Founder, Itsatwist – San Pedro, CA
For more than 20 years, Isabel Garretón has used her passion for fashion to help underprivileged women support their families. In doing so, she supplies them with “a dignified work opportunity.” After facing challenges balancing work and motherhood, she realized how hard it must be for women without all the advantages she had to do the same.
She started her own fashion company and hired women from her native Chile who were skilled at sewing and embroidery but had trouble finding jobs. Women in Chile have been underrepresented in the workforce, with most household responsibilities still considered as their duty. Garreton designs dresses, coats, dolls, scarves and more. All of the proceeds from her newest venture, Itsatwist, go back to the women who help create them. Over the past two decades, her team has grown from 21 women to more than 100. Her products have been featured in Vogue, Town & Country Weddings and Parenting magazines.
IG: There are always women in search of an opportunity. Our goal is to provide each person with a constant flow of work so they can rest assured that they will have a steady income. By allowing mothers to earn a living to care for their children, we give families a chance for happier, healthier lives.
LPB: Where did you acquire capital to start?
IG: Initially, funding was a challenge and I faced a lot of rejection. I finally got a local small bank to listen to my cause, and they provided a loan. The money allowed the company to grow, and we kept our business at that bank for more than 19 years until it was acquired by a larger, impersonal institution. I started searching again until I found Union Bank, which offered the support I needed.
LPB: What’s been your proudest moment?
IG: When Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile, came to visit President Obama. She brought the Obama girls two of our dresses! Well aware of the social impact the company has made, President Bachelet also invited our workers to visit her at the Government Palace. Another one of my proudest moments was just a couple of weeks ago, on the day before Thanksgiving. I received an email from the company that said, "We know that in your country, this holiday is when people say thank you. So we wanted to join by saying ‘thank you’ to you.” No words can express where my heart was taken by this message.
A Twist is a wrap, is a top, is a skirt, is a hood, is a belt, is a shawl, is a gift
...It's all in how you put your Twist on it...
The surprise came when the fun design of our versatile shawl/scarf/hood design in the Fall/Winter 2011 Collection for Kids became what store owners wanted for themselves and for gifts…
The enthusiasm was impossible to resist and so "ItsATwist" for women of all ages was born.
We got started and while we were having fun designing the gift box, the models in our photshoot kept playing with new ideas on how to wear the Twist.
We developed four unique lines using different materials:
IG: Initially, funding was a challenge and I faced a lot of rejection. I finally got a local small bank to listen to my cause, and they provided a loan. The money allowed the company to grow, and we kept our business at that bank for more than 19 years until it was acquired by a larger, impersonal institution. I started searching again until I found 
