Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Jones.
Hi Carolyn, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I have been a crocheter off and on since I was 10 years old and have dabbled in painting, drawing, and other artistic endeavors throughout my life. I have always found that art, in any form, is a great stress reducer for me, especially since I work in a high-stress, detail-oriented, deadline-driven profession. I work as a paralegal in commercial and business litigation. I have found hand knitting and crocheting to be meditative and relaxing, with the rhythmic clicking of needles against each other or the slide of yarn off the hook to be calming. I became obsessed with knitting as a way to release the tension of my day at work. I used knitting as a way to stop smoking, a horrible habit I had picked up in my twenties that I was happy to relinquish.
When I first started delving deeper into my obsession, I realized that the tools and yarns available at the big box hobby stores were great for certain projects and, price-wise, great for learning the craft, but I yearned for something more. I wanted to use pure animal fibers and pure silks. I started looking for yarn shops. I found my first “LYS” (knitting parlance for “local yarn store”) outside of Downtown Dallas, located right on the edge of Uptown in the State-Thomas district. That shop, The Shabby Sheep, was a very cute and quaint yarn store located in a refurbished house. The owner, Rhonda, introduced me to pure merino and merino blended with other animal fibers. I learned about alpaca and how it knits up into a soft, very warm fabric but doesn’t have the “memory” of a good wool and has quite a bit of drape. While frequenting her shop, I had the opportunity to sit and knit with other patrons and begin learning about the bigger community of knitters, crocheters, weavers, and spinners in the DFW area. Unfortunately, Rhonda closed her shop as the various buildings and houses on the street where her shop was located were sold to developers. Today, her street is a string of townhouses.
I looked towards Arlington and Fort Worth looking for a yarn store. The first shop I visited had an owner that was the antithesis of Rhonda. This owner eyed me with suspicion the minute I walked into her shop. I noticed that many of her higher-end yarns were zip-tied to her gridwall, she followed me around her shop as if to make sure I wasn’t going to shoplift. I actually felt profiled, being African American frequenting shops that typically do not have a large African American clientele. I eventually found in shop in Fort Worth, owned by Amy Hendrix, was the brick-and-mortar store for her indie-dyer business, MadelineTosh yarns; I saw her work and became inspired. Although she has some great colorways and a nice variety of yarn bases, many times, I couldn’t find the colors that I wanted for the projects I had in mind. Eventually, this yarn shop closed as well.
By this time, I had found out about the DFW Fiber Festival that was held yearly and offered a variety of classes, and had an extensive market hall of yarn and fiber vendors from around the country. I decided to attend. It was eye-opening. First and foremost, I met other like-minded hobbyists, and we talked nothing but the craft. I eventually met the people that led me to my first knitting group. Eventually, I began participating in other crafting events, such as the DFW Yarn Crawl, which is an annual event where fiber artists and crafters visit each of the yarn stores in the DFW metroplex over a period of 2 weeks. There are prizes, trunk shows, and other fun activities during this period as well as sales.
While delving deeper into the fiber community in the metroplex, I found several things that were lacking. First, there is no local yarn shop south of I-30 in Dallas County. There have only been 3 shops that have existed south of I-30, one in Duncanville that closed long before I even became aware of the crafting community in DFW, another in Lancaster (that eventually moved to Red Oak) that really catered to weavers and spinners but was a lovely shop that closed due to retirement, and one in Cedar Hill that was only opened for about a year or two before closing. Currently, the only yarn shop south of I-30 is in Waxahachie. Second, there are only a handful of African American and other people of color who like to craft with fiber and who are connected with the fiber community in the DFW area. There is little awareness in the minority community of this huge group of crafters and the wonderful resources available to expand your knowledge of the craft. Lastly, and this led me to dyeing yarn, I found that I couldn’t find the vibrant, saturated colors that appeal to me at yarn stores. So, I decided to learn how to dye them myself.
The more I dyed, and others saw what I was dying, friends started asking me to dye for them, too. As these requests grew, I realized I could dye yarn as a means of supporting my increasing hobby expenses – better quality needles and hooks, a spinning wheel, a weaving loom, etc.
I had met, through my knitting group, a wonderful woman who is a Duncanville native and had been dyeing yarn as a business for some time. I approached her and asked her if she could give me tips on the business side of a yarn business. Not only did she give me tips, but suggested that I dye up enough yarn to fill a gridwall and come with her to a fiber festival being held late fall in Tyler, the East Texas Fiber Festival. It is a smaller, regional festival that pulls clientele from all of East Texas, parts of Louisiana, and Arkansas. I learned booth set-up, point of sale issues, and all the retail side of a business. The fact that samples of knitted items sell yarn. She and I are good friends to this day and go to many fiber festivals together. We always ask to be next to or near each other’s booths so that we can help each other out, covering each other’s booths for restroom breaks, food breaks, etc. I had another friend who helped me set up my first webpage and Etsy shop. I have since moved off Etsy and sell online exclusively through my website.
At the time I started my business in earnest, I knew several things: first that I wanted to really participate in the crafting community in the DFW area and be supportive of the art. I joined the Dallas Handknitters Guild to not only increase my knowledge of knitting and crocheting but also being able to give something to the community. I knew that I wanted to participate in all the local fiber festivals so that I could provide a face at these events to the African American community. As a result, I participate annually in the DFW Fiberfest, the East Texas Fiberfest, and the Houston Fiberfest. I plan to, as time allows, to participate in other fiber festivals outside of the State. Lastly, and most importantly, I wanted to provide a quality product and a reasonable price point in colors that speak to my aesthetic.
The last two years have been challenging for me and my business. I have lost my oldest sister to cancer, and my husband has suffered with several medical issues and several surgeries. I had to cut back on my dyeing and on the taking of wholesale orders. The Covid pandemic caused the postponement of all of the in-person fiber festivals across the country, and these events are just re-opening this year. I will participate in the DFW Fiber Festival this September for the first time since 2019. Following this festival, I will participate in the East Texas Fiber Festival and plan to pursue wholesale accounts beginning 4th quarter this year and leading into the 1st quarter of next year.
We live on a few acres at the edge of Dallas County and raise a small herd of Rambouillet sheep. I have their wool processed and sell a limited edition of yarn spun from their fleece. I am currently working with a mill to develop a unique blend of fiber to brand and introduce next year as my signature yarn base.
How did I get to where I am today? I’m really only at the beginning of my road, but I got here with the help of a lot of friends I have developed in the fiber community right here in Dallas. It is a warm, welcoming community that I would like to extend to the far reaches of the southern portions of the metroplex. I’m still a work in progress, and I am still trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this goal.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, the road has not been smooth. My kids are adults, and my husband is retired. So, I was in a good place to start this business. My business is self-funded. I knew that I didn’t want to go after any loans, SBA or otherwise because I knew that I had to make this little company stand on its own and be self-sufficient; otherwise, it would be nothing but a hobby. As a result, I have had to grow slower than I would have liked. I have had to continue to work in my profession so that I could nurture my business. I am hoping to retire in about 2 years or so and work this business full time. I had planned to retire in 2020, however, the Covid pandemic, sister’s illness, and husband’s illnesses negated that. from happening.
I have been faced with issues, and negative feedback based on race and politics on my company’s social media account and have been threatened about losing followers based on race and politics. I have been told in social media that as a company, I should take no positions politically or racially, or I will lose followers. What I have learned from all of this is, like Martin Luther King said: “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” I learned that I have to be true to myself. I don’t back down from that type of negativity, but I address it with calm and kindness. I want to deflate the hate. My following continues to grow.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a dyer of yarn. I dye mostly animal fibers: various types of wool, as well as alpaca, yak, and silk. I am known for dyeing vibrant, saturated colorways with an eye to unique combinations of colors. My dyeing style is variegated – with multiple colors and tones on a single skein of yarn; tonals which are semi-solid colorways; and speckles where many colors are speckled onto a skein of yarn. I am known for dyeing yarns based on themes that I put into a kit. My kits contain several skeins of yarn, some notions, and usually a project bag – a unique bag to carry and store the project that is currently being worked on while it is still in progress; every year, many indie dyers put out Advent kits, where over the course of Advent in December, the purchaser gets to open up a small, wrapped package containing a mini skein of yarn each day. These little bundles of yarn can be used in a larger project, such as a shawl. I decided to do something a little different. I created a Kwanzaa Box. Kwanzaa is a predominantly African American non-religious celebration of community. It begins on December 26th of each year and runs through January 1st. My Kwanzaa Box contains a minimum of 7 full-size skeins of yarn, knitting and crochet patterns, fun notions, and gifts for the purchaser. Typically, the box contains approximately 3,000 yards of fiber. I always include luxury fiber that many knitters and crocheters don’t typically purchase; I have people asking me throughout the year when the box will go up for sale so that they don’t miss out. This is the box that I truly enjoy creating, and I like to include products from other makers of color in the box.
My yarn has been published in several magazines, including Interweave Knits and Nomadic Knits, Issue Ten: Texas.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I am always looking for other indie makers – everything from people who like to sew to create the project bags that I include in my kits to jewelry makers because knitters and crocheters like “knitting jewelry,” i.e., stitch markers made with bling. I like to collaborate with knitting and crochet designers by providing yarn support for their design process and also to wholesale purchase patterns to include in my kits.
I would love additional support! You can support me by following me on Instagram at @chickencoopdyeworks, follow me on Facebook, visit my website at https://coopdye.com to fulfill all of your yarn needs, and to sign up for my newsletter and emails. Come visit me at DFW Fiber Fest, East Texas Fiber Fest, or at any of the trunk shows that I attend.
Pricing:
- Prices for a single full skein of yarn range from $27 – $42
- Kits begin at $36
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coopdye.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chickencoopdyeworks/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/coopdye
