How this founder’s hobby (plus a little trouble) became Oak Park retail incubator’s biggest success story 

“Big Chunky Blankets” — soft as a baby’s cheek and custom knitted in any color of the rainbow — folded into the foundation of what would become Maryann Nzioki Hult’s resilient, nearly pandemic-proof foray into entrepreneurship.

They put local Tabu Knits on the online map of must-have-items, and then became the seed of two Johnson County retail shops.

Nzioki Hult took up knitting as a 9-year-old at her mother’s side. She was top-notch by her teens and even learned tailoring.

Big Chunky Knit Blanket by Tabu Knits

“I had a sister who was not interested in knitting. But I was very, very eager and interested in learning,” Nzioki Hult said. “Every time Mami used a new stitch I wanted to learn it.”

She studied hospitality at Johnson County Community College, then earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Missouri in Kansas City. But her fellow students looked on knitting as an “old person’s hobby,” she said, so she put it aside.

But only for time.

As director of sales at the Overland Park Marriott, the always stylish Nzioki Hult would often add to her ensemble a bright scarf she had knitted while watching one of her favorite TV shows. Co-workers noticed and placed orders to give the scarves as gifts to their mothers, to their children’s teachers, and even to wear themselves.

Soon she expanded her offerings to hats, ponchos, and pet sweaters, and started selling them through such online marketplaces as Etsy and eBay.

She called the line Tabu Knits — “Tabu” translates as “little trouble.” It’s a nickname given to Nzioki Hult as a child by her Kenyan father.

At an Overland Park Chamber of Commerce event in 2018, the general manager of Oak Park Mall pitched a new holiday pop-up called Boutique in a Box. Using this concept, the mall would take a retail space and put in a variety of local vendors for the season.

Maryann Nzioki Hult, Tabu Knits, assists customers in her Oak Park Mall store; photo by Joyce Smith

Nzioki Hult signed up as Tabu Knits Boutique, but her stall was tucked away in the back corner. Still, it was so successful that it not only stayed after the holidays, it moved to the front of the space.

“The retail experience — I thought ‘Oh this is fun, this is something I can do,’” she said. “It did well, it did amazing. I was shocked.”

When Marriott put her on furlough twice during the pandemic, Nzioki Hult considered making the boutique her career.

“I was very addicted to my job so it was a tough decision to 100 percent pursue my business,” she said. ”It was a hard choice to take the leap of faith and be on your own as an entrepreneur without a guaranteed income. But if there was any time to go for it, that was the time.”

Running her own business also would allow her to set her own hours so she could be more available to her daughters — Juliet, now 11, and Kamila, now 9.

Orders of Big Chunky Blankets surged during COVID as people spent more time cozying up at home.

“They needed the comfort,” Nzioki Hult said.

Maryann Nzioki Hult, Tabu Knits; photo by Joyce Smith

Tabu Knits Boutique continued to grow. After about three years in Oak Park Mall, it earned a prime spot in the center mall, upper level. The mall has called it one of its greatest incubator success stories.

The store now offers its line of “super cozy knits” including women’s dresses, scarves, hats, custom sweaters, custom baby blankets and booties, pet sweaters and more.

Nzioki Hult also offers knitting classes — one just for the Big Chunky Blankets, others are group classes or one-on-one.

But the shop has expanded beyond knitwear.

She goes to wholesale markets four times a year — in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas — to handpick women’s apparel in a variety of fabrics that will appeal to her customers — typically 28 to 55 years old.

While some customers don’t need or want help, the majority want to work with Nzioki Hult’s stylists.

“I want them to buy an item that they absolutely love, not just to make a sale,” she said. “Our stylists are there to help women feel great about themselves, give them confidence.”

Chiefs-inspired knitwear and goods at Tabu Knits; photo by Joyce Smith

On a Saturday this month, customers ranged from those just seeing what was new to those specifically searching out yellow bridesmaids dresses. But nearly all stopped to take in the red, yellow and white knitwear on the front table — in honor of the Kansas City Chiefs — and oohed-and-aahed over the oh-so-soft material.

A wedding gown on display at Tabu Formal & Bridal in Oak Park Mall; photo by Joyce Smith

Several customers then headed over to Nzioki Hult’s new Tabu Formal & Bridal next door, where one bride-to-be was at a three-sided mirror — checking her white satin, off-the-shoulder mermaid gown at all angles. Other consumers checked out party dresses.

The shop currently has gowns in metallics, sequins and delicate beadwork, showcased on silks, satin and organza. Styles range from a bright scarlet strapless gown to a “mellow yellow” eyelet midi to a long-sleeved velvet “Baby Doll“ dress in hunter green.

Nzioki Hult wants to grow her bridal market and perhaps open another location in Johnson County one day.

But it hasn’t been all plain-sailing. An attempt to expand Tabu Knits Boutique to Leawood failed. It opened in Town Center Plaza in mid-2023 but closed in late 2024. Perhaps she spread herself too thin, she said, or maybe she didn’t know the Leawood market well enough.

“But I think it was the location. I wasn’t getting any new market share. Maybe it is more for big brand names,” she said.

Officials with Town Center Plaza did not respond to a request for comment.

To help navigate that period, Nzioki Hult attended CEO Roundtable monthly events through the Kansas Small Business Development Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. Small business owners meet to network and confer on challenges they face in the free once-a-month event.

“It’s a great opportunity for business owners to learn from peers and share best practices,” said Stephanie Willis, business advisor at the center. “Just letting people know we are here is one of our biggest challenges.”

Maryann Nzioki Hult, Tabu Knits, assists customers in her Oak Park Mall store; photo by Joyce Smith

For Nzioki Hult, the roundtable helped her with restructuring, employee relations (how to let an employee go who wasn’t working out) and marketing strategies.

“Real problems. People give you feedback and you learn from them,” she said.

“Things change and trends change and you have to be able to pivot really fast. To be able to stick around when it is not going good,” she said. “Retail has ups and downs, especially for beginners. You just have to build the resilience.”

Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.