EPISODE SIXTEEN :: Sarah Belcher of Blue Highway Hand Dyes - 'Comparison is the thief of joy', creating a local yarn, and exploring natural dyes

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The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

In episode 16, I spoke to Sarah Belcher of Blue Highway Handdyes. Sarah lives in Texas, where she creates naturally dyed yarns from locally raised animals. We talk about her journey into dyeing, and how she couldn’t imagine acid dyes in her home around her family so she looked for an alternative and found natural dyes. She then went on to create her own yarn bases for her natural dyes fromTexas -raised merino and mohair. 

 

Sarah is a a self-described "yarn sniffer"  - which of course we bonded over instantly. She wanted to make her own wool and realised that there was a ton of merino and mohair in Texas and most of it was being sent abroad in bales. That led her to create her Tex Ranch yarn base - from Texas, and spun in Penn. 

When I asked her about how she went from the idea to make a local yarn to actually doing the thing, she told me that she  first just googled american mills, she knew about green mountain spinnery from when she lived in vermont, and mountain meadow mills, and coincidentally there is someone very close by making a small mill. Those guys would take a smaller minimum of fibre so that meant she could get small amounts processed more easily. She was able to figure it out by asking and the fibre community has been so open to sharing knowledge.

We also discussed many of the larger mills are often not aware that there is a huge market for farm to needle and lament the mass textile market that all of the wool goes overseas automatically. 

Sarah is a process knitter - she just knits to knit for the sake of it. it quiets her mind,  and she knits a little bit every night to wind down. It's like meditation. 

Sarah's biggest bit of advice:

"comparison is the thief of joy. look long enough to get inspired, but not so long to feel less about your own efforts." 

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

Find Sarah: website | instagram | facebook 

Want more? 

Like what you're hearing? 

Awesome! I'm glad you've found your way to this podcast. Please feel free to subscribe, leave a review on iTunes (this makes all the difference to reaching more people!) and share with your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in.

Until next time! 

xx

Ani 

EPISODE FIFTEEN:: Kylie Norton - Embroidery Artist - Exploring Intersectional Feminist Theory, Menstruation, and Indigenous Culture and Traditions

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The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

Kylie Norton is an embroidery artist from the south island of New Zealand, who presently lives in Melbourne. She makes large scale embroidery with wool yarns, one piece takes her 4 to 5 months to make. Kylie goes through an incredibly time intensive process of cutting up the yarn and re-raveling it together to get the colours she wants.  Taught by her mum to cross stitch with kits as a kid, she experimented with colour blending and learnt how to re-ravel yarns to get a more full colour palette to work with. 

Kylie found her way into large scale fibre art rather recently, after earning her masters in Art History and wondering how to apply some of what she'd learnt there to her art practice. She searched for a while and couldn't find anything like what she imagined, so she just figured she'd try it herself. A friend of hers with excellent taste wanted to buy it, so she decided to continue pursuing these large scale embroidery pieces. 

We speak about how she uses her art history background in her fibre art - specifically indigenous culture and women and menstruation. Her work is about how different cultures celebrate (or do not celebrate) women's cycles and she's continuing to explore themes around this intersectional space Growing up in New Zealand, indigenous culture was celebrated and taught in school, and she found that it was very much a part of her life. We compare and contrast Australia, the US, and Canada and how these communities have emphasised or de-emphasised Indigenous culture and knowledge.

Kylie has loved how the fibre arts community has been inclusive and open to her and we chat about her inspiration in the community. 

Kylie's Biggest Bit of Advice

"don't ever doubt your own skill...[and] don't let anyone belitte you...if it's a serious art form for you, then let it be. Give it a go and see what happens - the worst is it doesn't work out, which is not a big deal" 

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

  • Louise Jones - draws illustrations and stitches onto paper and stitches directly onto high fashion magazines 
  • Suzanna Scott  - fibre artist creating vaginas and vulvas out of fabric. 
  • Danielle Clough - embroidery artist using interesting objects to stitch onto 
  • Australian Tapestry Workshop - massive group collaborative weaving projects 
  • Craft Victoria - excellent resource for VIC based crafts people. 

Find Kylie: instagram 

Want more? 

Like what you're hearing? 

Awesome! I'm glad you've found your way to this podcast. Please feel free to subscribe, leave a review on iTunes (this makes all the difference to reaching more people!) and share with your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in.

Until next time! 

xx

Ani 

EPISODE FOURTEEN:: Jacinta of Plump and Co - Finding Your Way as a Tactile Person, and The Roller Coaster of Starting a Business

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The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

photo cred: Kate Claridge

photo cred: Kate Claridge

In Episode Fourteen  of the Close Knit Podcast, I speak to Jacinta of Plump and Co. Jacinta is a knitter who developed Plump and Co, a company that sells beautifully giant, felted yarn made in New Zealand. Growing up in New Zealand and studying textiles there, Jacinta became enamored with all of the incredible fibre around her and the community she lived in, so she sought to make a product that really celebrated her community. We talk about her love of all things tactile, how she began her business, and the roller coaster that running your own small business can be. 

photo cred Rachel Dobbs

photo cred Rachel Dobbs

Jacinta tells me about how she made the move from the corporate world to making felted yarn - and how after university she was always being drawn back to textiles, even when her work life took her elsewhere. We discuss how the majority of folks in her graduating textiles class didn't end up in textile jobs, but many have gone on to start their own amazing projects like a favourite of Jacinta's -  The Neighbourhood Studio. 

And my personal favourite part of this conversation, when Jacinta opens up about the realities of running a small business, and how it has not all been easy. She tells us about her journey from working on a project at uni to realising she wanted to make felted wool on a larger scale but also keeping it local to NZ. She wanted to share it with her community, to be able to get all different generations of knitters involved. She explains how she went from working a corporate job doing plump and co on the side to working on Plump and Co full time with the financial help of her husband. Now, she's hired a friend to help her with her business and she talks about how important that has been in her journey. 

Jacinta's biggest bit of advice? 

"stop talking about it, and go do it. " 

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

  • Nikki Gabriel - jacinta's biggest inspiration, hugely talented knitwear designer 
  • Forever Farmhouse - lovely friend of Jacinta, talented knitter, lovely lady 
  • Little Loom - lovely and kind weaver friend Julie from NSW 
  • Wool Days - incredible new Australian merino yarn with a beautiful aesthetic and message 

Find Jacinta: instagram | website | facebook

Want more? 

Like what you're hearing? 

Awesome! I'm glad you've found your way to this podcast. Please feel free to subscribe, leave a review on iTunes (this makes all the difference to reaching more people!) and share with your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in.

Until next time! 

xx

EPISODE THIRTEEN :: Rhiannon Owens - The Next Step - Finding and Celebrating Sustainability in Craft

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The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

In this Episode of the Close Knit Podcast, I chat to Rhi Owens of The Next Step. Rhi is a versatile crafter who knits, sews, crochets, and more. She's a prolific knitwear designer of clothes for women and children. We talk about Rhi's love of natural fibres and dyes, and how her family lineage of crafters has influence how and why she crafts. As a sewist, Rhi uses the process to create garments that truly fit her, and we discuss how empowering that relationship can be. I cannot recommend Rhi's blog highly enough for resources for sustainable and ethical fibres, as well as some really inspiring blog interviews. 

Rhi tells us about how empowering she finds making her own clothes - having the ability to make shapes that are for your own body and fit you perfectly - and what impact it's had on her own relationship to her body. 

She is really excited about the slow fashion movement and minimalism in craft and how it is gaining momentum. This interest led Rhi to start The Next Step - a directory of fibres and fabrics that are ethically and sustainably made, with price points listed to make it easy for folk to find the fibres that suit their needs.

Her grandmother is an artist and crafter throughout her life, and she taught her daughters who taught their children (rhi included). All of her aunites are creative and work with fibre in some way, she always made her own stuff. Her mother always said to her, "you can make that yourself" and that's become something of a family mantra. 

3 generations of crafters :) 

3 generations of crafters :) 

Rhi mainly sews and knits - though she sews not for the love of the process, but the love of the finished product, and for knitting its both the process and the final outcome. She buys op shopped sheets to make dresses for herself and her daughter. 

Rhi's biggest bit of advice? 

"Buy quality, because when you've got a supply that is really special to you... you really want to do a good job with that so you will put in the extra effort and Google the tutorials that you need, and make sure that you do a really good job with it.... The other this is to surround yourself with as many people who make as possible, whether that's online or in real life, that will be really inspiring, and will get you through those tough beginner times" 

"and with knitting using natural fibres because they hide a multitude of sins" 

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

  • Knit FM Podcast - Pam Allen and Hannah Fetig's Podcast in which they discuss tons of cool stuff related to knitting, but we referenced the episode about linen fibres. 
  • Andy Sutherland - Agatha Cardigan - Rhi's first knitting project (!!) 
  • Danielle - lunarknits - taught Ani about the magic of blocking 
  • fav blog - the craft sessions, Felicia has excellent practical advice for making quality but also making lots of kids' clothes. Rhi loves the stash less project and her simple sewing posts. Definitely read her post on slow fashion. 
  • Seamwork Podcast - craft as healing, and making clothes that fit your body
  • Pomcast from the makers of PomPom Mag
  • Natural Dyers: Gregoria Fibers and Fern Fiber
  • LollyMolly Sweets - Rhi's aunite who dyes and handspins 

Find Rhi: instagram | website

Want more? 

Like what you're hearing? 

Awesome! I'm glad you've found your way to this podcast. Please feel free to subscribe, leave a review on iTunes (this makes all the difference to reaching more people!) and share with your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in.

Until next time! 

xx

EPISODE TWELVE :: Nadine Hulme - Adagio Mills : Crowdfunding + Starting from Scratch

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The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

In Episode Twelve of the Close Knit Podcast, I speak to Nadine Hulme of Adagio Mills. Nadine and her husband Andrew started their alpaca mill after moving to a semi-rural region of New South Wales, bringing alpacas onto their property, and attempting to get their fleece processed (to no avail). Nadine recounts how difficult it was to find someone semi-local to process their fibre, and how that led them to the conclusion that they'd just have to process the fibre themselves - thus Adagio Mills was born. 

We chat about her experience running a kickstarter campaign to fund the scouring facilities for the mill, as well as their experience writing the business plan and seeking funding from more traditional sources. 

 They've had to learn quickly to improve their products, and take on feedback from their early customers. Both Nadine and her husband Andrew have backgrounds as engineers and have found these skills remarkably transferrable. 

Nadine's biggest bit of advice? 

"Believe in the dream, and work out hoe you're gonna get there. Write that business plan... talk to as many people as you can... know what you want to try to achieve...and work out what advice you should listen to" 

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

  • Georgie of Tikki Knits - Australian knitwear designer and rad lady working with aussie fibres, knitting everything from baby cardis to art installations of australian fibres (not mentioned in the podcast but worth checking out- a project she contributed heavily to on climate change "warm" 
  • Ambah O'Brien - Aussie knitwear designer who plays with colours and shapes 
  • Lucy from Attic 24  - works with Yarndale

Find Nadine: instagram | facebook | website

Want more? 

Like what you're hearing? 

Awesome! I'm glad you've found your way to this podcast. Please feel free to subscribe, leave a review on iTunes (this makes all the difference to reaching more people!) and share with your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in.

Until next time! 

xx