Sigh...some people just don't get it.
Most people just don't get it. My mother has very diplomatically tried to explain on her blog why our yarn is so expensive. She tries her utmost to be gracious, even when people question her ideals or express doubt in her abilities...
Five years ago, Mom had a dream. A dream that she'd been slowly working towards for several years on her own. After I graduated from college, I moved home for a little while while trying to find a job. During those few months, I learned how important spinning and fiber arts were to my Mother. It gave her an identity other than "Mom" as well as a constructive outlet for her energy. She loved it and it was more than a hobby; it was an opportunity to be independent. As someone who had been a full-time Mom for more than twenty years, an empty house was disquieting. No one needed her help, no one was asking her to fix things or cook things or fold things. No one except fiber owners, that is. Locally, she had started to earn a reputation for being a very fast, high quality spinner. People started to bring her fiber that they didn't have time to spin. Fleeces in various stages of cleanliness started to crowd the garage and Mom began to become overwhelmed with the washing and carding of other people's Unfinished Projects. In addition, after delving into the business end of all these arraignments, I found out exactly how many people were taking advantage of Mom's talent and kindness. They begrudged her the little amounts she charged. She did her best to spin the fiber exactly how they had described they wanted it, then, after they saw the finished yarn, they would argue that it wasn't what they wanted at all and couldn't she charge them less for the mistake?!? After hearing all this, I was livid. Finally, I sat her down and asked her a very simple question: "Mom, if you could do anything you wanted, what would it be? What..do..you..want?" She didn't even have to think about it. Her reply was: "I want to start my own yarn business and sell beautiful handspun yarn to knitting shops all over the world." So, I said "Ok! Let's do it!"
That summer, we built a very small inventory of Superwash in five colors: Northwest Summer, Northwest Winter, Northwest Autumn, Northwest Spring, and Newport Rocks. We only had three dye pots and Mom worked around the clock in a sweltering carport to dye up what we needed. Each pot was an original creation of color. No dye pot is ever the same, even when you're
trying to create the same color. A dyer is an artist who uses Jacquard Acid Dyes instead of paint, fiber instead of a canvas, and a plastic bottle instead of a brush!
We pounded the pavement all summer long, going from one yarn shop to another. We even had to offer to sell on consignment, just so they would let us leave the yarn in the shop. Eventually, we gathered enough spinners throughout the country to start really making some serious yarn. Spinners who are artists in their own right. It's not an easy hobby to pick up and it takes a very special kind of spinner to want to spin for money. They have to be good AND fast, not a common combination. In addition, each of our spinners are real people with real lives and jobs of their own. Tanglewood Fiber Creations has to fit in between their other responsibilities. Their spinning is as individual as they are themselves.
Since that summer, our yarn has become more popular and the number of spinners has grown as well as the number of customers. We have to hire help to keep up and more fiber has to be bought now than ever before. We occasionally order so much that our supplier runs out! It has not been easy to resurrect a business that went extinct over a hundred years ago. There are no people to ask for advice, nor business models to follow. Mom and I have gotten where we are from hard work and perseverance and lots of help from our friends and family. It has been, and will continue to be, a long road.
So, I say, to those who balk at the cost of our sweat, blood, and tears:
Our yarn is
not like $4.99 Red Hart; dyed in huge vats of bubbling chemicals, hundreds of pounds at a time. If you want that, go to Wal-Mart.
Our yarn is not the same, skein to skein. It never will be.
Our skeins are not 4 ounces exactly. This is impossible since it comes from spinners all over the country. However, we try our best and get pretty damn close!
Our yarn has the combined efforts of over a dozen artisans in each skein and all dozen put forth their best efforts with each step.
Admittedly, our yarn is a luxury item that not everyone will be able to afford. It's like Mercedes vs. Volkswagen, Scharffenburger vs. Hershey, or Payless vs. Dolce and Gabbana. It's something special, one-of-a-kind, and worth saving your money for. When you knit with our yarn, you can honestly say you're using the best. It's a Birthday gift, or a Thank-You present, or a lavish Self Indulgence after that particularly helacious week.
It's art that keeps you warm.
It's quality.
It's love.
