KC-native’s new needlepoint shop brings hub of creativity to downtown Parkville
Hidden behind overgrown trees and bushes, a little pink house with chipped paint and a yard full of fallen leaves sat untouched for years, often overlooked by passersby and downtown Parkville shoppers.
But beyond the unruly tree limbs and unswept sidewalk, Parkville native Sydney Kincaid saw a place where her dreams could come to life. A place where people could gather to forget hard times, embrace creativity and find community.
She envisioned hot pink paint, miniature disco balls, baskets of thread, tables full of hand-painted needlepoint canvases and the steady hum of people popping in and out of the little shop.
Kincaid imagined transforming the little house in the center of Parkville’s Main Street into a vibrant hub for creativity and a place where both beginners and experts alike could gather to appreciate the art of needlepoint, a form of hand embroidery that involves stitching designs through a woven canvas.
And last month, after weeks full of long days spent painting, designing and cleaning, she completed the finishing touches, popped a bottle of champagne on the front steps and celebrated the grand opening of the Parkville Needlepoint House at 205 Main St.
“We’re just excited to bring the magic to the space,” she said.
The pink house on Main Street
As a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Kincaid is no stranger to creative hobbies and passions. But it wasn’t until the local design company she works with, Ampersand Design Studio, gained Kansas City Needlepoint as a client that she formed an interest in the stitch-based art form.
In fact, it was Tammy Reid, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid, who really inspired her to get into needlepointing. After seeing Tammy Reid at Kansas City Needlepoint in KC’s Waldo neighborhood, Kincaid was sold on the craft.
“Honestly, just her funkiness and enthusiasm about it really got me pretty hooked right off the bat,” Kincaid said.
This fall, Kincaid decided to finally chase her dream of becoming an entrepreneur by tapping into the art form that has been rapidly growing in popularity over the last few years.
When she walked past the little pink house on Main Street one day in November, she immediately knew it was the perfect place for a needlepoint store. On Nov. 8, she made the call to rent the space. By Dec. 1, she had the keys, and just over a month later the storefront was officially open for business.
Alongside a team of friends and family, Kincaid painted the house a brighter shade of pink, built shelves, purchased furniture, put a fresh coat of paint on the interior and turned the space into a vibrant, unique place while leaving the historic charm of the house, including its stained-glass windows and crown molding.
“It was very fast and furious,” Kincaid said. “We just kind of went for it.”
Kincaid works with small artists and businesses to source all the needlepoint canvases in her shop and is working to create her own in-house design studio, as well. She also hosts a weekly open stitch club on Saturdays, and hopes to expand her list of events in the future.
“Needlepoint is like its own little world and its own little community. And so the growth of what can be taught and what can be learned is just pretty endless,” she said. “It’s made by hand from beginning to end, so it’s really special that way.”
The Parkville Needlepoint House is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Kincaid’s storefront brings a new niche to downtown Parkville and breathes new life into Main Street while still maintaining its historic and local values, according to Kalynn Guffey, the program director of the Parkville Chamber of Commerce.
“New businesses like Parkville Needlepoint House add so much more than just another storefront, they bring creativity, connection and energy to our downtown,” she said. “New store fronts like this help keep our downtown fresh, while still honoring the charm and character that people love about Parkville.”
Since the shop officially opened on Jan. 17, there’s been an endless stream of people coming and going from the storefront, from mothers with toddlers on their hips on an afternoon outing to those looking to start something new and people who have been needlepointing their whole lives, Kincaid said.
As of Wednesday morning, Kincaid had served over 375 customers in the three weeks the store has been open.
“I can’t even imagine what the end of this year will look like, let alone in the next five years,” she said. “We’re happy with where we’re at. We’re happy with our customers, our usuals, and just the people coming in here to start this craft. So we’re gonna take it one step at a time, for sure.”
But for Kincaid, the Needlepoint House is more than just a hobby turned business. It’s an outlet for grief and a place meant to bring light and color back into her life after one of Kincaid’s darkest days.
‘A devastating, life-altering shift’
Life seemed to suddenly stop when they heard the news.
Kincaid and her husband’s best friend had been killed in the line of duty.
Graham Hoffman, a Kansas City firefighter-paramedic for six years, was stabbed in the heart by a patient he was transporting to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. Hoffman, 29, died in the intensive care unit April 27, 2025.
Hoffman was a shining light in the Kincaids’ life, she said. He was the best man at their wedding and their “best, best friend.” They would even spend Thanksgiving evenings at the Hoffman household after their own celebrations. They were inseparable.
Without him, they knew life would never be the same.
“It was just such a devastating, life-altering shift that we still are working through and probably will never get over,” Kincaid said of his death. “This has just rocked us exponentially.”
In the midst of their sudden, upending grief, the Kincaids sought community. They leaned on their own families, focused on their three young children and spent time with Hoffman’s brother and parents.
Learning to live life without Hoffman was unbelievably difficult, Kincaid said. Because she knew they couldn’t go back, she had to find a way to move forward and grow.
And through the dark, winding path of grief came a quaint, bright pink house nestled between a local home goods store and a vintage clothing shop on Parkville’s historic Main Street — creating a stark contrast from the deep sorrow Kincaid and her husband, Michael, felt inside.
“We were genuinely desperate for something to pull us through to the next chapter of life and just grasping at straws to keep moving forward. So, yeah, I would have never expected that that day would turn into this day,” Kincaid said.
The Parkville Needlepoint House became an outlet for their grief and a way to put color back into their lives, Kincaid said.
While Hoffman would “definitely not be a needlepointer,” Kincaid said he would have loved the shop and all of its hot-pink glory. It was simply in his nature to cheer on those around him.
“He would definitely be proud. He always showed up to everything,” Kincaid said as she glanced around her shop with a slight smile on her face.
Kincaid’s village
Every day since Hoffman’s death, the importance of family and community has become increasingly more apparent in Kincaid’s life, and it’s become even more paramount as she began to take on a new business venture.
From the arched shelves displaying thread, canvases and pins inside the small shop to the paint on the walls and exterior of the business, nothing has been accomplished alone. Kincaid had help from her parents, her husband’s family, Hoffman’s family, her book club members and countless friends along the way.
Even her three children aged 5 years, 3 years and 11 months old chipped in by helping paint — even if it meant Kincaid had to touch up the inevitable paint splatters left behind.
The process to turn the old house into a thriving shop involved late nights spent working past 2 a.m. and early mornings back to work with a paint brush in hand by dawn.
“Building that village has paid off, I’ll say that, because everyone has shown up,” she said. “It’s genuinely everything. This would have absolutely never happened without the community.”
For Kelly Putnam, who serves as the director of the Main Street Parkville Association and has known Kincaid since she was a little girl, it has been surreal to see her create her own “unique, woman-owned business.”
“Every time I walk in there, I’m so proud of her. Seriously, so proud of her,” said Putnam, who was among those to help Kincaid remodel the shop.
While it’s special to see Kincaid open her own business, it’s extra sweet that it’s in downtown Parkville, said Putnam, whose daughter has been best friends with Kincaid since they were around 10 years old.
Main Street has always been a special place for Kincaid, according to Putnam. It’s where she frequently visited the Putnam’s own store, Cool Vintage Watches, and has watched the annual Fourth of July parade with her husband and three children from the curbside each year.
“Her heart has always been in downtown Parkville,” Putnam said.
This story was originally published February 17, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
