Knitting and other fiber arts are having a 21st Century resurgence. And small businesses are getting in on the action. Nearly 50 million Americans knit, crochet, or craft with yarn. These crafters contribute to a global market value of $17.18 billion. These five small businesses seek to improve consumer options with high-quality, small-batch yarns.
Anzula Luxury Fibers
Located in downtown Fresno, California, Anzula Luxury Fibers is owned by Kalliope Sabrina Famellos. A yarn-maker for 22 years, Famellos has been in the industry for quite some time, and she opened Anzula in 2008. What was a challenging time for most presented an opportunity for her creative side hustle to become a full-time affair.
For a few years, Famellos ran Anzula out of her home, but she eventually moved into a 4,500-square-foot space where she and her team hand-dye yarn made of luxurious fibers such as tussah silk, cashmere, and alpaca wool. The small business carries 25 lines of yarn with each available in 140 custom colorways ranging from boysenberry to creamsicle. All of the in-house dyes used are citric acid– or vinegar-based to protect the environment, handlers, and wearers of the materials from unnecessary chemicals.
Anzula’s yarns and spinning fibers are sold in about 200 stores nationwide and in Canada. The small business is slowly branching out into Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Lambstrings Yarn
What started as a way to fill down time during art school turned into an obsession for Shanna Felice. She turned her paintbrushes into makeshift knitting needles and made scarves for her family. After college, she continued pursuing this newfound passion, studied color theory, and began dyeing yarn. Felice dug into designing patterns and continues to run Lambstrings Yarn out of her home kitchen in Selkirk, New York.
Felice compares dyeing yarn to the melding of painting and knitting, creating colors that she wishes were more widely available. She gravitates more towards darker colors but typically ties in hints of vibrancy. The small business carries eight fiber bases, one of which is called Corrie-Spun, a combination of Corriedale sheep’s wool and other rustic yarns that was created by Greenwich fiber mill Battenkill Fibers.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Brooklyn Tweed began in 2005 as a blog for knitters and has grown into an all-encompassing yarn and pattern design house.
The Fiber Seed
Lindsay English earned a degree in the arts from the University of South Florida in 2008 and established The Fiber Seed four years later. This small yarn-dyeing outfit was the fourth business to operate out of her grandparents’ home. Lindsay gained her entrepreneurial prowess from her grandparents and father, who guided her path. In 2019, operations moved to Blanchester, Ohio, where the dye studio is currently located.
Lindsay’s husband Jordan is also her business partner. He left his job in 2014 to help her with everything from shipping orders to balancing the budget. Other family members and friends have pitched in over the years too, including their kids. Settled into its new neighborhood, the company has gained a new community that includes other businesses and suppliers that have lent support.
Working only with domestic farms and ranches, The Fiber Seed has created its signature blend called Sprout, which is 90% machine washable merino wool and 10% nylon. The wool is cleaned and superwashed at Chargeurs Wool USA in South Carolina, and fibers are milled in a 200-year-old facility. Partnering with these local companies has maintained the mission to produce hand-dyed contemporary yarns with heirloom quality.
Weird Sisters Wool Emporium
They may not actually be sisters, but they feel connected in so many ways that Chelsea Barr and Megan Blackburn named their yarn shop Weird Sisters Wool Emporium. Blackburn opened an Etsy shop in 2017 while Barr started one in 2019. Both found success separately during the pandemic when people turned to fiber arts as a way to pass time. In October 2020, they joined forces with an online shop and brick-and-mortar location in Aberdeen, Washington.
Blackburn’s affinity for crafting began at age five or six when her mom taught her how to hand sew. She designed outfits for her Barbies and later made them with a sewing machine. Then she graduated to crochet, knitting, and dyeing yarn, which culminated into her small side business. Barr also learned to hand sew and cross stitch in her formative years. Multiple jobs led her back to yarn time and time again, guiding her to become an indie dyer.
Weird Sisters Wool Emporium showcases hand-dyed yarn featuring over 200 original colorways, some of which are kept in stock while others are made to order. The store is open four days a week with Thursday allotted as the designated dye day.
Brooklyn Tweed
Based in Portland, Oregon, Brooklyn Tweed began in 2005 as a blog for knitters and has grown into an all-encompassing yarn and pattern design house. Partnered with suppliers throughout the United States, Jared Flood and Luigi Boccia strive to support the American textile industry.
Since 2010, this small business has expanded its manufacturing network, spanning several regions. Wool is sourced from a few western states, cotton is obtained from Texas, and everything is scoured in the South. The prepped fibers are then sent to the East Coast for spinning and dyeing. Breed-specific wool and organic cotton yarns are available in a combination of nine weights and several colorways.
Brooklyn Tweed also sells handmade garments and patterns and offers resources for people to learn how to knit. These resources cover everything from the fundamentals to language and abbreviations. Sticking to its roots, the company also shares tons of tutorials for everyone from novices to more advanced knitters.
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Published
Emily Iverson