12 • Thursday, June 23, 2016 • BAY STATE BANNER
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Growing a yarn business
Jamaica Plain woman finds niche with younger knitters By YAWU MILLER
In the knitting yarn world, where muted earth tones reign supreme and colors like “antique rose,” “oatmeal” and “terracotta” dominate catalogues, Diane Ivy’s street art-inspired colors seem a bit out of place with names like “hot chocolate,” “dynamite” and “bloody Mary.” But Ivy is banking on her yarns’ appeal to the looming legions of younger, more diverse knitters and crocheters. Her Lady Dye selection of yarns, launched in 2013, has steadily grown from a part-time preoccupation to a budding enterprise. The Hyde Park, Illinois native had been working in the nonprofit sector with stints at City Year and The Boston Foundation’s StreetSafe Boston initiative when her creative urges became too strong to ignore. “I found my passion to be in the arts,” she said. She took inspiration for her yarns from street art she has encountered locally and in her travels. The saturated, vibrant colors of murals and graffiti are blended together in solid and multi-colored skeins. “I mix colors people wouldn’t assume go together,” she said. She often begins a color scheme by photographing a mural, then picking out the colors for her yarns. “Street art is very bright,” she said. “You can see it from miles away. It’s something people recognize.” Ivy’s inspiration could come from graffiti in San Juan or a mural in Halifax, like one she photographed while teaching knitting on a cruise to the Nova Scotia regional capital. Ivy started by dying her yarn in her Jamaica Plain apartment and selling skeins (wrapped bundles) in local stores. She supplemented her income teaching knitting in the Boston area. But the yarn business wasn’t taking off. “It wasn’t profitable,” Ivy says. “I was selling it on consignment. I realized that in order to grow, I needed to do more trade shows.”
Getting started
In 2013 Ivy enrolled in an accelerator program, put a business model together and learned how to make a pitch for her venture. Using an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, she was able to raise enough money to go to the National Needle Arts Association’s annual conference — her first trade show. There, she obtained $10,000 in orders for her yarns from stores. She also contracted with a sales representative who helped her get her product out to 35 stores in the southeast. Yarn shops typically place orders with yarn suppliers by advancing cash. That practiced has helped Ivy to scale up to meet the demands of her growing orders. Ivy also reached out to Glynn
See LADY DYE, page 13
BIZ BITS TIP OF THE WEEK
Non-traditional students a ‘new majority’ in college classrooms When most people hear “college student,” they likely envision an 18-year-old who is fresh out of high school. But the student body on America’s campuses has evolved. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 75 percent of undergraduate students today could be considered “non-traditional.” These non-traditional students are often career-changers, entrepreneurs and parents who are balancing the demands of school, work and family life. They want the skills and knowledge required to demonstrate capability and value to employers immediately, not after a few years of learning on the job. These non-traditional students are the “new majority,” and as they pursue the right resources to succeed academically and navigate the responsibilities they carry outside of school, they are reshaping the future of education. Who embodies the new majority? Students like Thomas Wolfe and Felipe Dugrot — both recent DeVry University graduates who set out to pursue their career goals with a very specific set of criteria in mind. A father of four, Wolfe worked full time at Sapa Extrusions while taking classes. He earned his bachelor’s degree in technical management with a specialization in business intelligence and analytics management, and is a plant controller at Sapa. Dugrot, a father of two with a busy schedule, wanted a school that would offer him flexible online courses and the expertise that is essential for a career in technology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in network and communications management and is a solutions support engineer for GE Healthcare. “To me, a bachelor’s degree symbolized freedom and opportunity,” he says. “I’ve made my family proud, and have new skills that I plan to continue to hone.” — Brandpoint
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Diane Ivy markets brightly-colored yarns to the growing segment of younger knitters through her Lady Dye business. Her color schemes are inspired by murals and graffiti she encounters in her travels.
According to Thumbtack’s Small Business Friendliness Survey, the top 10 cities for millennial entrepreneurs are: 1. Birmingham, Alabama 2. Boise, Idaho 3. Boulder, Colorado 4. Nashville, Tennessee 5. Manchester, New Hampshire 6. Charleston, South Carolina 7. Knoxville, Tennessee 8. Austin,Texas 9. Durham, North Carolina 10. Richmond, Virginia
NUMBER TO KNOW
24.7
percent: The most recent index from the Kauffman Foundation reports that 24.7 percent of all entrepreneurs are age 20-34.
TECH TALK Facebook will now let advertisers know if their ads generate foot traffic to their stores. The social networking site can track whether (location sharing enabled) users who look at ads on a mobile device visit the stores featured. Advertisers are also now also able to include an interactive map of nearby brick-and-mortar stores within certain ad types. — More Content Now