About

Home Sweet Home—Life in Leelanau
There is no place in the world quite like Leelanau County. Nestled among trees, lush farmland and dotted with fresh water, lucky doesn’t begin to describe the way we feel about living life Up North.

	As Leelanau County natives, an appreciation for the Good Life came early. Curt grew up on a dairy farm just outside Cedar, where between bottle-feeding calves and making hay, he discovered his roots. Forever on the lookout for the perfect beach, Melissa feels most at home surrounded by water—it’s just that now there’s always a bit of knitting tucked into that beach bag. Graduates of Glen Lake High School, both moved to western Michigan to pursue higher education; Curt received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Grand Valley State University and Melissa graduated with a degree in English from Hope College. They had typical college experiences—roommates, classes, parties—and a few more. Curt rowed with the crew team for three years and spent a summer studying in London, Ireland and France, while Melissa worked for Hope’s renowned Visiting Writers Series and spent her last semester in a remote academic community along Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou range.
	Although they love to travel, after graduation, moving home was the only logical next step. A self-described romantic, Curt proposed in 2004 atop Sugarloaf Mountain, undeniably the best aerial view in Leelanau County. They married a few months later and have spent the past several years renovating the historic farm that has been in his family for nearly a century. When Inish Knits was put on the market in 2006, they jumped at the opportunity to purchase the flourishing small business—one that contributes so much to the county’s unique charm.
	These days, you’ll find Curt in his classroom of fourth, fifth and sixth graders and when he’s not shaping young minds, he’s either out in the field cutting hay or tending to his little piggies. Melissa is at the shop, fifteen projects deep, and at night, she drags her spinning wheel out to the porch where together they sit and admire the beauty of it all.

What’s in a Name?
Inish is the Gaelic word for "island", most specifically the three Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland—Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer. The knitting styles and methods developed by these coastal fishermen in the mid-17th century serve as the foundation of modern hand knitting today.