What Pride Month Means to Me in 2025 - As a Mom & Shop-Owner

What Pride Month Means to Me in 2025 – As a Mom, and as a Shop Owner

Every June, I return to this topic with the same deep heart—but new layers of reflection (in reality, I visit this topic daily).  Since I first wrote about Pride Month as both a mother of a gay daughter, Carolina, and the owner of Fuzzy Goat in 2022, more has evolved in the world, in our shop, and in me. But one thing hasn’t changed: the importance of showing up.

This year, I want to talk less about what Pride means to me and more about how we show what it means to us—as a business, and as a community.

You can read my 1st edition here. 

Being an Ally Isn’t Passive

As a mom, I learned quickly that love isn’t just about acceptance—it’s about action. It’s about sitting beside your child through hard conversations, helping them feel safe in a world that doesn’t always make space for them, and standing visibly beside them when it matters most. Even if they are 33 years old. When she tells you that she can't safely hold her wife's hand on vacation, that's the time to listen even though your heart breaks. It's the time to think about how to be an even better ally.

As a business owner, that same idea carries over. Fuzzy Goat isn’t really just neutral ground; it’s a space that declares, again and again, you are welcome here. We see you. We celebrate you. 

That’s why we put together our curated box: Y'All Means All that highlights LGBTQ makers with our purchasing power; we're now selling our 4th edition because of your popular demand! We've collected these Y'all Means All Makers so that you can shop them anytime and individually. And we host events like Pal-entines and  Crafter-Hours for Y’All, where we make friendship bracelets as symbols of allyship and inclusion. That’s why our shelves highlight independent makers from diverse backgrounds. That’s why we speak up, even when it might be more comfortable to stay quiet.

And we also welcome our friends who may have a different world view; we believe that in making space for them as well, that community can happen. We are super proud of unlikely allyships that are formed among our Fuzzy Fans. All who walk into our shop or online know that while in this space, civility and compassion reign.

Progress Doesn’t Happen on Its Own

Over the past year, we’ve heard from so many of you who say Fuzzy Goat feels like more than a yarn shop. It feels like a gathering place for hope and belonging. That means the world to us.

We've been decorating our shop windows for Pride Month for several years. Madelyn does a great job creating our yarn rainbow. We just recently realized that we are the only shop in our small Southern town with this visible display of support. We do like to be politely subversive, even (or maybe especially? :) when it's not easy.

But we also know that progress isn’t a straight line or a rainbow window. It’s not enough to hope for a better world, we have to keep knitting it together—one relationship, one act of courage, one scarf (or sock!) at a time. We need to speak up for loving each other.

So I invite you to do what you knitters and crocheters do so well: bring warmth, care, and intention into your corner of the world. 

And if you’re looking for a place to start, come visit. We’re always crafting something new here—with yarn, yes, but also community. 

With love and yarn,
Cadence