2022 Reflections
The time between the bustle of the holidays and the start of new year can be a welcome pause that offers the chance to reflect on what has been and what we hope for the days to come.
This year, our first in business as a natural dye fiber studio, was a complete whirlwind! Neither of us imagined at this time last year that things would come together so quickly for our joint labor of love - Color Me Happy Fiber Arts Studio. As we reflect on our six months in business, taking stock of our initial goals for the year, and planning for 2023, we have truly been overwhelmed by gratitude at the welcome we have received from fellow fiber and nature enthusiasts (if you are reading this, that means you!) and the opportunities for meaningful collaborations that have always been at the heart of what we hope to do.
Our top ten reflections on 2022, in no particular order, are organized around these amazing organic collaborations and partnerships — we look forward to growing them in 2023!
1-Color, color color. We just had to start with something that represents the colors we coaxed from nature this year! Our most important partnership is, of course, with nature itself as we try to respect, honor, and engage with gifts from the natural world as we dye and eco-print.
This picture also allows us to introduce Ainsley, our delightful intern with an eye for photography and a growing skill in spinning, who helps behind the scenes with photos, packaging, washing, and selecting colors. We are so fortunate to have found someone with a passion for color, art, and fiber and want to give a special shout out to Ainsley for the laughter, enthusiasm, and positivity she brings to the studio.
2-Local yarn! A definite highlight this year was meeting Ty and Lindsey, the owners of Red Hill Fiber Mill in Taswell, Indiana. They are passionate alpaca fiber producers and wonderful collaborators around regionally sourced and spun yarns. When we first started, we weren’t sure if there was a way for us to obtain locally sourced fibers, which has always been a goal for us. But after some long conversations with Ty and Lindsey we realized we had found kindred spirits and began our collaboration with a run of regionally sourced and Indiana spun superfine pure merino. We hope that 2023 brings more opportunities to partner around additional fiber lines, and we look forward to growing our offerings of local naturally dyed fiber!
3-Community. The fiber community is so generous…this picture, taken during our first ever trunk show, is ample evidence of that! On the left is Jean Haley, a natural dyer and designer from Bloomington, who has helped us hone what we were learning through her wonderful classes and mentoring. Jean has been one of our biggest encouragers and supporters, and we are so grateful for her friendship and her spirit of sharing and teaching! Fourth from the left is Kristi, the owner of The Knitting Otter, who welcomed us with an open heart, trusting that even though we were both new businesses we could help each other by our combined efforts—and what a great day we had! We look forward to another trunk show with The Knitting Otter in 2023 (keep an eye out on IG and our Events page for details!). And at the far right is our talented knitwear designer friend Trish, on IG as @phiberopticsknits—she inspires us with her designs, her energy, and her collaborative nature and we hope she will soon be designing one of her fabulous patterns with ColorMeHappy fibers!
4-Partnerships. One thing we often reflect on is how important it is to have a partner—neither of us would have had the courage to start a natural dye studio on our own! Here we are getting ready to attend our first fiber show as potential vendors —the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival in June 2022. We had just picked up our business cards and labels, and were so excited to meet local fiber enthusiasts. We are delighted that in 2023 we will be vendors — both at Hoosier Hills (June 2-3) and the Greencastle Wool Show (April 14-15). We hope to see you there!
5-Growing our own dye plants. We loved branching out and learning to grow new plants! Here Linda, Ainsley, and our new friend from Ukraine, Sasha, are harvesting indigo for some fresh indigo dyeing. We only experimented with three indigo plants this year but loved it so much that we are planning for a full bed of it next year! We also grew marigolds (and foraged them from friends when we needed more!), coreopsis, and madder. And of course we gratefully received nature’s gifts of yarrow, goldenrod, walnuts, birch bark, hickory, sumac and many other things that we responsibly foraged. Gleaning from nature to make something beautiful is both satisfying and grounding.
Fresh indigo dye results—on silk/wool scarves, undyed merino/cashmere/nylon mini skeins, and minis pre-dyed with goldenrod and marigold.
6-Local Artisans. We were delighted when Emilia found us on Instagram and invited us to vend at our first market — the fall Alley Art Market in Noblesville, IN. There we met several local artists and fiber enthusiasts that have led to many new fiber friends, collaborations, and opportunities to grow our new business. Among many people who stopped by our booth, we met Maddie a local knitter who, with her friend Sarah, have RoseGold Yarn Creations (on IG @rosegoldyarns) and have been part of our Learn to Knit groups. We met Elizabeth, a talented crochet artist (egracecrochet) who makes adorable amigurumi. This market also led directly to our being part of the Nickel Plate Arts community.
7. Community art making. While at the Alley Art Market, we met Ailithir, Director of Nickle Plate Arts, a community arts organization in Noblesville. She invited us to be part of the October fiber-themed show and we loved helping community members of all ages make an eco-printed ribbon! We love being part of a local arts community that celebrates and encourages each other.
Paws for Humanity naturally-dyed alpaca
8. Paws for Humanity partnership. One of the things in our business plan was to identify at least two “gifting partners”—like-minded non-profit and community-based organizations with whom we could partner in action and by donating a portion of our sales. Jean introduced us to Beth, the founder of Paws for Humanity, an animal sanctuary and therapeutic farm, who became our first gifting partner. We were so happy to find a kindred spirit who believes in the ability of nature to heal, and were thrilled to be able to dye Beth’s alpaca fiber from her rescued flock so she could sell it at her Fall Festival. We hope 2023 brings more partnership opportunities, including perhaps an on-farm natural dye workshop!
PFLAG Fishers and Color Me Happy Learn-to-Knit group
9-Learn to Knit group. Another wonderful community activity in 2022 was inspired by our second gifting partner, Knit the Rainbow. KtR is an organization that works with local yarn shops in NYC to collect knitted items for donation to unhoused LGBTQ+ persons. KtR encouraged us to do something similar in our community, so we partnered with PFLAG Fishers to start a learn-to-knit group.
In addition to making new friends—both new and experienced fiber people—we made over 20 cowls, hats, and washcloths to donate!
And by years-end, we were able to donate more than $500 from our sales to our two gifting partners—what a great way to celebrate our first year in business!
10-Support. Finally, we want to acknowledge that all of these highlights have been possible only because of the support of many others. If you have encouraged us, invited us to join a pop-up (or a local TV morning show!), explained how to do something on Instagram, purchased an eco-dyed scarf, or made something with our naturally dyed fiber, you are part of our journey and we are thankful for you. Of course, we have to mention our very supportive husbands, Mac and Rich, who have learned to automatically add at least an hour to whatever time we tell them we will be done in the studio :-).
Knitting and crocheting are a wonderful metaphor for how bringing together different threads—of experiences, people, cultures—can make something beautiful. 2022 has been a lived example of this metaphor for us, and we are so glad we could make something beautiful with all of you.
Have a happy, healthy, and fiber-full 2023! With much love…
…Linda and Michelle