Early Life
Nicoletta Quinones was born into an Italian/Spanish family and grew up in a mining town in West Virginia. Her Italian grandmother taught her to knit, and she completed her first sweater in seventh grade with the guidance of her home economics teacher. Epstein's mastery of knitting techniques began, however, when she was fourteen, with lessons from a local Spanish woman.
In 1970, Epstein enrolled at the Columbus College of Art and Design to study fashion design, but switched to retail sales and fine art. She continued to knit in college and earned money for tuition by selling oil paintings.
In 1979, she was art director at a design firm when she entered a McCall's Needlework design contest with a unicorn sweater and won first prize. Since the early 1980s, Epstein has published many knitting designs, sometimes over fifty a year.
She is married to Howard Epstein and lives in New York City.
Read more about this topic: Nicky Epstein
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