Hello y'all!
Whether you've been around for a while or this is your first visit, welcome!
When I first created The Red Pansy in December 2017 I was a seasoned knitter but new to the world of hand-dyed wool. I had fun experimenting with color combinations and learning my own style on this medium of craft. Over the years I let my vision shift to a product/consumer based small business that began to sap more and more of my energy and creativity from me. I did not understand the burnout I was experiencing and feared that I would be seen as a "failed business" if I changed course and stopped making an effort to create sustainable growth in profit. I remembered that I was not originally in this for the money, but for the art.
As I have grown in my healing journey I have released all external expectations and opinions and looked within for what I really want The Red Pansy to be. I want this to be a space to showcase my creations and inspirations. I want to share my creativity with you all! Rather than producing a product, I love making art that can be used by other creators in their own pieces. I love to see what is made with the yarn that I dyed, and I hope that I can continue to be a part of bringing amazing hand-made garments into the world.
I am finally realizing an idea that I had years ago and never actually green-lighted: commissioned orders. Have you ever had a picture, an idea, a song, a poem that you wanted translated into yarn but don't want to learn how to dye it yourself? If so, I am opening commission orders for you. I want to collaborate with people and combine your ideas, my own inspiration and create with my own style. As I am no longer focused on cranking out product and profit margins, I have more time to focus on these passion projects that I've always held in the back of my mind as tiny seeds of ideas. I won't always be able to have my commissions open at all times, but I'll list on my home page when they are open and encourage you to read the info page about customs and commissions if you are interested in learning more!
I have been a part of the social/online yarn community presence for five years now and have noticed some trends and common business tactics for indie-dyers that may be considered the norm or expected from a hand-dyed yarn business. I want to clarify here that I will not be running this space as a small business, but rather a place to share my creations with the world. My colorways will be in limited numbers and may never be recreated. You will not be seeing preorders or multiple shop updates of the same collections here, and if you miss out on a colorway I realize this may be frustrating, but this is the nature of buying limited and hand-made items online. I ask that you respect my boundaries in my space and remember that I am one person just trying to put my art out into the world, not a machine. There is plenty of dyed yarn out there to enjoy and if I cannot produce what you are looking for I am happy to point you in the direction of many other dyers I admire that may be able to help you better!
Running The Red Pansy has taught me many things about myself and I have learned so much over the years that I never anticipated. I am grateful to you all for being a part of this journey and especially to those of you who have shown support in any form. Thank you. I hope that my yarn inspires creations of your own!
- Kelli