We had the good fortune of connecting with Sitoë Thiam and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sitoë, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
I’d love to have influenced the macrame art scene with my bright, playful designs! And I’d loooove to have introduced more people to macrame as a medium. I can’t tell you how many times someone has come up to me and mistaken my macrame bag for crochet. Occasionally, they’ll recognize it’s macrame, only to follow up with “I haven’t seen that since the 70’s!”

I’ll be honest, a lot of the macrame art now still looks like it’s from the 70’s to me. It’s the boho, beige look that I can appreciate, but isn’t really my style. I want to teach people that they can break out of that narrow aesthetic and create their own style using the same knotting techniques. I follow several macrame artists that are doing amazing, amazing work to reintroduce and redefine the medium, Windy Chien and Agnes Hansella, just to name a couple. But, the macrame art community is relative small, and the art as a whole, isn’t mainstream. Crochet got a huge resurgence in the last decade. I want macrame to have its moment!! And I want to play a role in making it happen.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m the owner, designer, and crafter of Unknot, an accessories and art brand that specializes in vibrant, soft-structural, and versatile macrame and weaving. Thoughtfully crafted bags are the heart of the brand. Drawing on my engineering background, I design functional features—adjustable sizes, secure closures, and versatile straps—using traditional macrame knots without any hardware. I’m passionate about creating sophisticated all-fiber bags that don’t compromise on convenience, functionality, or size inclusivity!

I started Unknot back in August 2023 after stepping away from my Mechanical Engineering job because I was craving a career pivot. After some years in the industry, I knew my passions lay in sustainability, user-friendliness, and playful design, but I had no clue how to pursue them! At the same time, I’d been obsessively knotting projects for myself, my friends and family for years at this point. I wanted to keep designing new patterns and experimenting with fiber, but was running out of space to put it. My partner suggested I open up an online shop! It was only in the process of finally declaring Unknot an official business that I realized, wait, I can make this the playful, sustainable, user-centered small business of my dreams!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Being absolutely and entirely objective, I would take my best friend to one of the many Adams Avenue artist and vintage markets–Manic Pixie Dream Market, San Diego Vintage Flea, and Hotspot to name a few–because those are the markets where I first started vending. Then we’d head over to Burn All Books, the coolest SD art hub and risograph publishing house where I taught my first macrame workshop. Finally we’d stop by the cutest little sustainable gift shop, Timshel, in University Heights, the first brick and mortar to stock my bags!

In all seriousness, while I love all of those places and would highly recommend, I’m usually taking my visiting friends out foraging in the San Diego canyons and then cooking a meal together with the ingredients we gathered! San Diego has incredible access to nature in so many pockets of the city! If you’re visiting and have a free afternoon, look up the closest canyon or natural park to you! You’d be surprised how many we have hidden around our neighborhoods.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Major shoutout to my parents, who are shining examples of non-traditional career paths! My mom is a homebirth midwife who took some time away from the intense profession to be a serial entrepreneur. She’s now re-entering her birthing work with reinvigorated passion and new wisdom from her other ventures. My dad had studied to be a chemist in school, but took a hard left turn into becoming a professional chef, author, and advocate for sustainable, worker-owned agriculture. I don’t think I’d have had the confidence to start my own creative business if I hadn’t witnessed the struggles and successes of their careers. They’re the blueprint!

I also want to thank my partner, Kelten, for always pushing me to go against the norm, be silly, put myself out there and be assertive in what I want. And I want to thank my friend Leana for being such a steady presence at every milestone of this business, as a supporter, as a hype-man, and as an extra pair of hands. These two have also planted the seeds for some of my best ideas!

Website: https://unknotshop.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/unknotshop

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sitoe-thiam/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@toesmakesthings

Other: Etsy: unknotshop.etsy.com

Image Credits
Sitoë Thiam, Leana Yearwood, Victoria Wheatley

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