Hecho en Nuevo México: Our Story
My first fiber project was a purple wool scarf knitted with enthusiasm in all its lumpy, dropped and added stitches glory when I was seven years old. My mother taught me to knit, as she had been taught by her mother in turn, throwing style on straight wooden needles. When I had finished my wobbly-edged scarf, my mom lovingly folded my creation length-wise and crocheted the edges together, effectively tidying up my scarf into usable, wearable art. We hand-tied the tassels together, and that scarf still resides amongst all my other outwear.
Between my mom, Girl Scouts, and my Waldorf-infused summer camp, I learned to knit, sew, embroider, and clean, card, spin, and dye wool. I was forever sitting in front of my mom’s avocado green Kenmore “portable” sewing machine dreaming up fantastic projects and experimenting. Like many, my fiber journey hasn’t been linear; however, my love affair with all things fiber has been deep and enduring and seen me through so much over the years.
Every project has a backstory and a season or a trip associated with it. I do enjoy my fiber-based travel souvenirs and have some exquisite Moroccan tapis and Icelandic wools and some precious memories of doggedly hunting yarn in the non-touristy sections of Cairo, Egypt and Heredia, Costa Rica.
Thankfully, I have had fiber as an expressive and consistent outlet over the years. I believe fiber is both a craft and an art form. While deeply skill-based fiber provides me with a deeply creative outlet that I relish.
I moved to Santa Fe during the pandemic and spent 5 happy years teaching Humanities and fiber arts at the Santa Fe School for Arts & Sciences. I retired from teaching middle school history and English in the spring of 2025 and pivoted to a long-held aspiration, opening a fiber shop where people could buy high quality natural fibers and yarns at a variety of price points and also a community space where people could take classes and learn from and with each other.
With a decade-long dream, a lease, and keys to a new shop at 213 E. Marcy street, I started making that dream a reality in June of 2025. Over that summer, a mutual acquaintance put Laura Martin Basman and I in contact and the rest feels like pure magic. Hacer Santa Fe re-opened Labor Day weekend of 2025, and I am proud to be Hacer’s new owner and honored to continue Laura’s legacy.
Whether you’re an experienced fiber artist or just starting on your crafting journey, I hope you can find something to inspire you at Hacer! Let us know how we can make your project dreams a reality.
— Jessica Friel Patti, Owner
Shop Employees
Lucia Valdez-Stewart
Lucia comes from a legacy of fiber artists in New Mexico. She is a passionate and experimental knitter and crocheter. Since her first year of college at UNM, where she is earning a Bachelors of Art focusing in photography, textile art, and creative writing, she has worked at Hacer, Santa Fe sharing her love of fiber and making. Her journey with fiber started at a very young age helping wind, tag, and dye skeins of yarn after school for her mother’s small business.
Instructors & Group Hosts
All instructors are available for private lessons and consulting by the hour.
Rachel Donner
Ceramic artist by day, sewist by night, Rachel Donner is a maker through and through. Rachel was inspired to learn how to sew by a dream of making clothes that fit her body and personal style. Since taking the plunge into the home sewing hobby, she has become passionate about sharing it with the community through teaching.
Deborah Grossman
Deborah has been knitting and crocheting since she was a child -- from knitted chokers in the 70s, to bead crochet, to hats and garments (with a brief and clandestine foray into doilies). She loves to share her passion for fiber arts through teaching, and always tries to use her creative powers for good.
Wendy Rose Jenner
Wendy is an award winning artist who has been doing fiber arts since early childhood in New England, having learned to knit, sew, quilt, crochet & tat from the distaff side, and to make fishing nets, rope fancies & wire work from the men. She is fascinated by all aspects of fiber, from growing flax and raising sheep, through dying, spinning and fabric design. She studied weaving in Scotland in the 1970’s, where she also developed her passion for stranded knitting and color play in fiber. Through the magic threads of her art, she seeks to connect back to the beauty of Nature.
Katie Peplinski Coffin
Katie started learning to sew at about 10 years old in small town Wisconsin. Since graduating from college with a degree in costuming, she has been making clothes for live productions, television, film, and most recently at the Santa Fe Opera. She looks forward to sharing the practical magic of sewing with you!
Liz Gaden
Liz had been an avid knitter for over 15 years and always has a few sweaters on the needles. She's also owner and natural dyer at Pyramid Dyeworks as well as a spinner, weaver and sewist.
Owner Emeritus
