Hobbies have helped Wisconsinites cope with COVID-19, including knitting and DJing polka records

Stacy Harbaugh told herself at the beginning of 2020 she would learn to DJ. 

Taking a reasonable first step, she began to volunteer at WORT-FM (89.9), a Madison community radio station.  

But then COVID-19 hit. While other plans were put on hold, Harbaugh still prioritized her DJing dreams. In fact, the pandemic gave her a chance to dive deeper into DJing than she had planned. 

After driving four hours through Illinois to get purchase a turntable through Facebook Marketplace, Harbaugh spent hours practicing with her music of choice: polka records.

A survey of 2,000 Americans by OnePoll found that about two in three people said COVID-19 gave them more time to spend on hobbies and odd jobs. The average respondent spent six hours a week working on a hobby or small job they had been putting off. 

For many people, picking up new hobbies was a break from a world going through economic turmoil and a health crisis as the COVID-19 pandemic rolled on.

“It was a delightful distraction,” Harbaugh said. “When you’re playing vinyl on turntables you have to be so present with the music, because you have three minutes. It’s very different than playing a record and listening to it all the way through. You’re not thinking about anything else.” 

Harbaugh uses two turntables to seamlessly have one polka song flow into a new polka song from a different record. 

Through the pandemic, she was able to stay connected to a group of DJs in the Madison area she already knew on Facebook. Harbaugh was also able to learn more from DJs around the world as she watched them on Twitch, a livestreaming platform for gamers, DJs, musicians and others. 

“There is a whole international network of artists who are available on Twitch,” Harbaugh said. “I’m inspired by local DJs and DJs all around the world who I don’t think I would have discovered if it weren’t for the pandemic.”

Harbaugh now considers herself a professional DJ, ready to take on venues that are looking for a polka DJ once places are ready to safely hire her to spin polka records. 

“I would love to play the Old German Beer Hall and at the Historic Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee,” Harbaugh said. 

While musicians had extra time to practice during the height of the pandemic, a local music store didn’t see a huge push in sales. 

“We didn’t have a whole ton of people coming in and saying they want to learn how to play guitar,” said Rick Nelson, general manager at Uncle Bob’s Music Store, 10220 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis. “While we were locked up, I didn’t see a huge swing in the direction.” 

But he said the store did sell many recording devices that produced quality audio through Zoom for existing artists to continue practicing, or for church musicians to play music for virtual services. 

“We ran out of at-home recording devices many times,” Nelson said.   

He wasn’t sure why he didn’t see many new musicians pick up a guitar or keyboard during early days of the pandemic, but thought maybe it was because instruments can be a more expensive hobby upfront, and the pandemic caused economy uncertainty.

“A lot of people were coming in, it was really weird, when they had the first stimulus check,” Nelson said. “A lot of people came again when the $600 came right after Christmas.”

During the pandemic, online retailers also took a strong share of the market. The New York Times reported that Amazon's sales increased 200% from the beginning of the pandemic to January 2021. Amazon sells many hobby items, such as instruments, puzzles, games and more.  

Knitters connected through digital tools

While the digital sphere created competition for some local retailers, others took advantage of doing things digitally. 

Cream City Yarn, 15565 W. North Ave., Brookfield, saw more customers build on their knitting skills during the pandemic. They were able to help their customers grow by holding classes online. 

"It was really nice because we were able to connect with designers and teachers all over the world instead of having to have the class here," said Nicole Mauer, owner of Cream City Yarn. 

She said online classes helped the company reach customers who aren't local. 

"We have to keep our Zoom clubs meeting as we don’t want to lose them as customers," Mauer said. "People have made friends through classes online. Instagram is big a thing in the knitting world, too." 

Also, knitters could learn from YouTube.

Appleton resident Meghan Hendricks started watching YouTube videos during a difficult time for her during the pandemic when she had to care for her wife, who had contracted COVID-19, take care of their two kids, and do her job virtually. 

"We were quarantined and I was pretty anxious about all that," Hendricks said. "I found myself watching knitting videos at night, which is the dorkiest thing I could do." 

Hendricks unpacked knitting needles that she had bought about 20 years earlier, but never had gotten much into knitting until she needed it as a stress reliever. 

Once their quarantine was up, she went to Casting On yarn store, 305 E. College Ave., Appleton, and worked with the owner, Sara Rabideau, to get yarn and advice on beginner-level patterns. 

"When people realized that we'd be home for more than a few weeks, we started to see more orders," Rabideau said. "We definitely saw increases of people coming in and saying, 'Hey, I'm just getting started. What do I need and what should I start with?' "

Hendricks said that knitting was a great escape for her when the pandemic was hard, and the repetitive movement of knitting improved her mental health. 

She said that even though life is getting back to normal, knitting is going to stay with her. 

"I think I want to do it because it had been good for me. It has been very calming for me, and I love the idea of being able to make something when I get better and give it to somebody," Hendricks said. "I’m addicted. I full on will be continuing to do this."

Jordyn Noennig covers Wisconsin culture and lifestyle.  Follow her on Instagram @JordynTaylor_n. Find her on Twitter @JordynTNoennig. Call her at 262-446-6601 or email Jordyn.Noennig@jrn.com.