KNIT HAPPENS
His B’klyn biz booms as subway pic goes viral
A CRAFTY photo taken by a Broadway actress of a bearded man knitting on the subway has turned his company into a socialmedia sensation.
The first threads of the only-inNew York yarn were sewn on Nov. 21 when former “American Idol” contestant Frenchie Davis glanced at a fellow straphanger sitting across from her on the subway.
The man was wearing camocolored pants and a matching Brooklyn Nets hat — but his clothes were not what caught her attention.
Fixated on the beige scarf sitting across his lap, the dark-haired commuter, it turned out, was knitting.
Taken by the sight of the nimble needler, Davis snapped a subtle photo and posted it to her Facebook page.
“This brotha on the train is my hero today,” she wrote beside it. “#SelfCareOnTheSubway.”
The image rocketed through Facebook, drawing more than 1,100 likes.
It took only a day before one of the man’s friends spotted the photo and posted his name — Louis Boria.
The friend also wrote that Boria had his own company, Brooklyn Boy Knits.
Soon Boria himself learned of his blossoming online fame.
“Hi Frenchie !!!!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for this!” Boria, 42, wrote under her post. “This just made my year!” The sudden attention triggered a surge in orders of his threads. To accommodate them, Boria is in the process of hiring two other knitters and revamping his website.
“For the first time in 10 years, I have pending orders,” Boria told the Daily News.
“I’m a fast knitter, but I’ve been telling customers to give me a three- to four-week delivery time.”
Boria’s obsession with knitting grew out of a dream.
Ten years ago, he awoke in his Brooklyn bed, arms outstretched, fingering invisible knitting needles and yarn.
“It freaked me out because I had no idea how to knit, but I took it as a sign,” Boria said.
He shared his dream with coworkers and later headed to a nearby Michael’s Arts and Craft store for supplies. He also picked up a beginners knitting book that he quickly tossed in favor of YouTube videos.
“I’m a visual learner, so the books didn’t help,” Boria said.
At first Boria was nervous to knit on the subway, but he soon began devoting his daily two-hour commute to perfecting his stitches. It took hundreds of hours, but Boria eventually overcame his biggest challenge and produced his own sweater.
He had noticed that there was no shortage of knitted clothes manufactured for various brands, but it seemed there were a dearth of customized options.
In 2009, Boria launched Brooklyn Boy Knits to fill the specialized niche.
During the colder seasons, Boria — a one-man operation — gives out at least three scarves a day to the homeless on his way to work. He also donated several pieces for a silent auction that fund-raised for the Puerto Rico disaster relief.
With the wave of attention brought to his work through Davis’ photo, he now hopes to weave his passion into a bustling business. “With everything going on, it’s scary,” Boria said.
“But I’m passionate about this and I need to take a leap and pursue this opportunity.”
But first, Boria is preparing to send Davis the scarf that he was knitting when she photographed him.
“I love s--- like this,” Davis, who acted in the Broadway production of “Rent,” wrote on Facebook. “The universe
be workin’.”