PITTSBURGH — Nisha Blackwell looked up from a pile of fabric as the door to her small business — Knotzland Bespoke Bowtie Studio in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania — swung open to admit both a customer and frigid February air.

As Blackwell rose, the customer said she was looking for an electric blue bow tie as a gift for her friend, "a bow tie wearer," in Washington, D.C. He had been impressed by Knotzland's bow ties when he saw them at a retailer Downtown and mentioned the brand to her.

Knotzland has limited in-person store hours — noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays and appointments only on Thursdays and Saturdays — but Blackwell goes out of her way for customers in need of quick assistance.

"We get a lot of bow tie emergencies around here," she said, chuckling.

Blackwell stumbled into entrepreneurship.

As a student at Edinboro University in 2014, she created a hair bow on a whim as a birthday gift for her friend's young daughter.

"I had never sewn before, but I wanted to make something really special, so I pulled out [a] sewing machine and taught myself," she said.

The bow was surprisingly popular with parents at the party, and Blackwell soon found herself taking requests.

"I left that party with customers," she said.

When the next school year started, those same customers requested items for their boys. So Blackwell made the easy transition to bow ties — which have become her most popular item.

After years of bubbling success, she left nursing school to pursue her growing passion fulltime.

It was a risky move that left her family stunned.

"I knew it had to work," she said.The 'haves' and the 'have nots'

When she was a child, Blackwell viewed the bridges connecting her historically Black neighborhood of Homewood and the landscaped yards of historically white Point Breeze as the dividing line between the "haves" and the "have nots." She initially named her business "Have Notz," to remind herself of where she came from.

But as she worked around the clock, doors kept opening.

And her business grew.

She was invited to an artist residence program at Radiant Hall, a nonprofit facility for creatives in Lawrenceville, where she landed a studio.

Then came a hard choice: Her mentor at Radiant Hall said she needed to change the business's name. "Have Notz," it seemed, was already taken.

Soon after, and shortly before incorporating, Blackwell sat on a hill near her grandmother's house and looked out over Homewood, pondering a new name.

She ruminated on how close she was to achieving her dream: Becoming both a self-made business owner and a standard bearer for "have nots" looking to make their mark.

That was the inspiration she needed.

"A light bulb went off," she said. "Knotzland."'Just do it and learn'

Knotzland sells more than 1,000 bow ties a year, at prices ranging from $65 to $115. The customer base is broad, with regular orders from as far away as California.

Blackwell attributes her success to word-of-mouth marketing, but notes that she sells well in D.C. because of the formal wear requirements there, and in California because of the state's embrace of sustainable brands.

Some of her customers are collectors who have followed Knotzland for years and buy several bow ties at a time, she said. Others, including the customer Blackwell served on this recent winter afternoon, just know where to go when they need a bow tie in a pinch.

As her business grew, Blackwell moved into a bigger studio at 303 South Trenton Ave. in Wilkinsburg. She then cut her space in Radiant Hall in half — to share with Black and other minority artists from her neighborhood.

"I realized quickly that I have the desire to give back and be a meaningful part of [my] community, but I couldn't do it all through business operations," she said. "That's one of the ways that I contribute both time and resources."

Her Wilkinsburg studio has a roughly 950-square-foot showroom. On this day, she is preparing for her first major exhibition outside of the Pittsburgh area, in Baltimore.

"I'm super nervous, because it's huge," she said. "But also, let's just do it and learn."

Knotzland has two employees on the payroll besides Blackwell: An administrative assistant and a part-time sewist. Her bow ties are primarily produced through a collaboration of local women she refers to as her "social network," which includes students, retirees, and mothers who pick up materials at the store and sew in-person or at home. The women are paid as they produce, allowing Blackwell to manage large orders, like entire weddings.

"The goal has always been to create flexible work-from-home opportunities, but also flexible income opportunities in this economy," she said.An 'environmental and social mission'

Blackwell is herself still very much involved in the production process.

"People always say, 'Oh, Nisha, you should be working on the business, and not in the business.' But [my] passion is not me orchestrating or just directing traffic, I want to also be sewing," she said between clicks of her machine.

Blackwell's creative process is to "go with the flow" and test out different materials. While on maternity leave, she found herself designing bow tie collections entirely in her head, then translating her vision into real-life products.

"That was the first time I noticed I could do it in that way," she said.

Knotzland acquires its materials from various sources, including leftover fabric from The Minnesota Opera. The tag of every Knotzland bow tie thanks customers for supporting the company's "environmental and social mission." Blackwell views "upcycling" as a responsible strategy that satisfies her three bottom lines: People, planet, profit. She feels validated by her success in California, which she calls "one of the peak sustainably minded states."

Now Blackwell has designs on expanding Knotzland's reach.

She's had conversations with Pittsburgh International Airport about opening a space in its new terminal, "so that everyone who enters and leaves our city can take a bow tie home with them." She also believes that Knotzland is poised to thrive in an era of increased focus on American-made products.

"We're taking back responsibility of our consumption," she said. "In our little, tiny space, we're doing what we can to educate and to be an example."

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