Meet Pam, a maker who loves to create with fabric and yarn in every way possible. While she’s best known for her handwoven wool scarves and practical tote bags, she also turns unexpected materials like old VHS tapes and plastic shopping bags into something new and useful. Pam’s love for making things began early with the encouragement of her artistic parents, but it was inheriting her grandparents’ old rug loom that sparked her passion for weaving. Today, her workspace is filled with different types of looms, each one helping her bring new ideas to life. Drawing from her 20+ years of experience in environmental protection, Pam finds creative ways to make beautiful things while being kind to our planet. Through a series of questions, we got to know Pam and a bit about her business.
What do you make?
I sometimes wish I could briefly answer this question, but I haven’t been able to so far. If it involves fabric or yarn, I have probably tried it. My favorites are wool scarves and useful things like tote bags woven with repurposed fabrics on my rug loom. Lately, I’ve been exploring fabric-wrapped clotheslines. I haven’t mastered this last one to the point where anyone outside my family has seen any finished projects yet, but eventually, I hope to at least master coasters.
In your own words, tell us about yourself:
After inheriting my grandparents’ Union rug loom, weaving opened up a new universe for me. It also became obvious that my new obsession (or loom) was a gateway drug. My floor loom now keeps company with two tri-looms, two rigid heddle looms, a pin loom, a vintage 4-shaft Strutco tabletop loom, and a second rug loom (this one is 4-shaft) that has yet to be reassembled.
Having spent 20+ years in the environmental field, it is no surprise to family and friends that my material choices are sometimes unconventional. For example, VHS tape can be woven into a surprisingly tough yet lightweight, machine-washable fabric. Plastic one-use shopping bags, worn and faded bed sheets, and faded, stretched-out T-shirts are also favorite go-to materials.
But don’t let my excursions into repurposing lead you to think I’ve forgotten my love of yarn. I still love yarn—the colors, the textures, and the endless possibilities all draw me in and inspire me. Several years ago, I started creating collections of wool scarves using three to five coordinating colors based on patterns for two harness looms that I modified to use on my rigid heddle loom. Watching these patterns unfold was amazing, and I saw how different each scarf was despite coming from the same yarn group.
When did you first discover your passion for making?
That would be hard to pinpoint exactly. Both my parents attended the Kansas City Art Institute, so my exposure to art and creating started early. Coloring books were not allowed in our house. Still, my brothers and I had plenty of other supplies to work with and were encouraged to use our imaginations, including incorporating my dad’s sculpture into our storylines. My exposure to repurposing occurred in grade school when my dad made a large 4×4-ft piece using the skid parts of pallets (the support pieces that the forks of a forklift go between) as the base. The second layer consisted of several colors of plastic jugs that had held laundry detergent and other liquids. He then used a blow torch to melt them onto the surface of the rough wood.
My love of yarn began with crochet and then moved to macrame in high school. At this point, my dad thought I had finally found my medium and encouraged me to scale the size of my work up to large outdoor installations and incorporate natural objects. The large scale didn’t appeal to me, but the turkey vertebrae he collected and bleached for me did and were included in some long-ago lost projects.
Is there a story behind your business name?
There is a story behind my original business name, Tangled Up in Blue Springs, but Lyon Handwovens was selected because it’s shorter and easier to remember and type into a search bar. My logo, a lion against a woven background, is a nod to my husband’s family, who immigrated from Scotland to Canada when my father-in-law was eight years old. I kept the blue color as a holdover from my original business name.
Where do you find inspiration?
There are so many places. Patterns have always fascinated me, and we are surrounded by them everywhere. I can be distracted by the pattern of tiles on the floor of a lobby, by the grids of air returns in old buildings, particularly from the Art Deco era, or by the placement or sequence of windows in a building. At other times, I wonder if something is purposely asymmetrical and, if so, why.
Is this your full-time job?
No, I retired from my job as a supplier quality auditor six weeks before lockdown in 2020, so to say the least, it’s been a rocky road compared to what I expected retirement to look like.
Walk us through a typical day for you:
I try to line out a tentative plan the night before of what I need or want to work on the next day, it doesn’t always work out as planned but it gives me a goal to work toward. Falling back on a habit I learned in my working years is to complete the things you like the least early in the day, so I try to deal with the business part early in the day and do my weaving and sewing in the afternoon when there are fewer distractions from an unfinished to-do list.
Can you describe your creative process?
My creative process is like my writing—I write twice as much as necessary and then edit. So, for a new project, I will pull out all possible materials (yarn, fabric, hardware, etc.), judge each one in relation to the whole, and whittle my way down to what I think will work.
For example, a friend gave me a skein of thick and thin yarn, which sat until I discovered that the primary color matched a jacket I had rescued from my daughter’s donation pile. Now, it was obvious this skein wanted to be the star of a scarf. Then it was off to the yarn stash to see what might work with this yarn; there was one possibility, but the others just weren’t right. A couple of months later, as I was organizing the stash closet after a successful trip to a quarterly “fabric grab” that included yarn, I found two other yarns that were great matches. Now, the first yarn will have to prove itself in a sample to determine if it gets to stay or not. I’m concerned it’s too flashy and will distract from the thick and thin yarn.
What is one tool you can’t live without?
Paper and pencil. I need to be able to make a rough sketch of what may be a vision in my head and, from there, decide what materials (fabric or yarn) would be best suited to this idea. Then comes the math—what size should the finished item be, and depending on the loom, how much waste should be allowed? This leads to how much yardage I will need for warp and then weft, which depends on the size of the warp and weft material.
Where do you create?
I don’t have just one dedicated workspace. We moved a couple of years ago, and I’m still arranging three different spaces that house three different areas of my work. Additionally, we have a covered patio area and a new deck that allows me to work outside with my smaller rigid heddle loom when the weather allows.
Since we’re empty nesters, I’m fortunate to have so many spaces to move around in. On our main floor, I’ve taken over a small bedroom as an office (desk with laptop) and weaving space for the rigid heddle looms. The closet is filled with most of my yarn stash.
Downstairs is a windowless room that a previous owner had lined with cedar wood sections and used for off-season storage. This is where my fabric inventory resides, along with an old kitchen table for my cutting mat and sewing machine. I’ve moved some of the closet rods around and hung my finished items in plastic bags with painters’ tape labels so that it’s easy to find when something sells.
The third area is just outside this room and houses my rug looms. This area, in particular, is still a work in progress, with just one of the two looms assembled and functional.
How has your work evolved since you began?
I will blame my environmental background not only for my initial foray into rug weaving but for how my supply approach has changed over the years. My grandparents did not use old clothing or wool remnants for rugs, so I was familiar with the polyester fabric they typically used. I wasn’t aware of the need for frugality, which was the foundation of traditional rag rug weaving. But I learned and started putting this knowledge together with information from conferences I had attended on landfills. I consciously decided to limit the petroleum-based new materials (yarn and fabric) used in my products.
My focus the last few years has been to repurpose or up-cycle my “raw materials”. Currently, I have enough fabric to last a lifetime, so it isn’t a temptation; however, yarn is another matter, and I try to limit myself to shopping first at one of two non-profits in the area that sell donated yarns. Both venues receive a fantastic amount of quality yarns if you’re willing to take the time to read labels and make educated guesses about those without labels. I also shop online with small US-based mills and outlets for wool and cotton yarns.
What is your signature item or style?
That’s tough, but I think it’s most likely my rag rug weaving as a base for making long-lasting, useful items. For example, my personal tote bags are approximately ten years old and still aren’t showing any wear. I’ve spilled more coffee on and in these bags than I care to remember, but you can’t tell after they’ve been washed. My pillow covers are the same; whether used inside or out, they are made to last.
Do you have a favorite material to work with?
While I just said rag rug weaving is likely my signature style, wool is my favorite material. The selection of colors, sizes (thickness), and feel of wool yarn is unlimited. Weaving a project in wool almost always gives instant gratification as you see the pattern or texture appear.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your craft?
Deciding what my next project will be. I have more new things I want to try than I have time to get to before something new pops up. For example, I have a large quantity of pre-cut fabric for weaving that came with purchasing a rug loom several years ago. I have more than I need, but to sell it, I need to understand what other people would use it for, so I’ve been experimenting with different uses and have a few more I need to try.
How do you ensure quality and uniqueness in your creations?
Uniqueness is a common trait among weavers. Despite many of us belonging to Facebook groups, posting on Instagram, and asking for details regarding a pattern or material, I believe most of us use these posts as inspiration and start thinking about how we can translate this idea based on our signature styles and favored materials.
When did you decide to turn your passion into a business?
The decision to turn weaving into a business has been a slow evolution. Initially, my intention was to have my yarn obsession pay for itself while I was working full-time and traveling with my job. Some years, it did, and some were not even close because I wanted to weave, not manage a business when I was home. Now that I’m retired from my day job, I’m spending more time on the business side and starting to see improvements.
What is one thing you wish you knew when starting?
Friends and family are not your customers. I needed to consider their opinions, comments and criticism with an open mind and think through any advice offered to ensure it aligned with my intent.
How do you balance creativity with the business side of your work?
I don’t think I’ve achieved that balance yet. I’m getting closer by keeping a notebook where I jot down goals, to-do lists for the next day, and ideas for social media posts or a new item. I also try to take care of the business side of things in the morning and reward myself with the creative side in the afternoon.
What are your future goals?
I want to keep learning, whether that is from a business point of view or new weaving techniques. I want to join an online class on rug weaving this winter. Learning and sharing the results of that learning is what keeps me going. I’ve accepted that I will likely never have a specific product I am known for; there’s just too much I want to try.
What is the best piece of advice for other handmade business owners?
Enjoy what you make, but recognize that what you enjoy early on may change over time. It’s okay to make changes, but also acknowledge that your customer base will probably change too. You’ll need to get used to each change along the way.
Why did you choose to sell on goimagine?
I’m a member of Kara Buntin’s e-commerce group. I listened to her interview with Jon Lincoln, the founder of goimagine. While listening, I remembered that I had received an email when Goimagine started up but had set it aside as the lockdown for COVID brought a lot of turmoil to our family as it did for many others. However, by 2023, things had settled down, and my discontent with another platform was growing. So, I decided to take the leap and try something new. Right from the start, it has been encouraging.
Where can we connect Lyon Handwovens
Shop: goimagine.com/lyonhandwovens or lyonhandwovens.com
Instagram: @lyonhandwovens
Facebook: @LyonHandwovens
Stephanie is naturally creative and is passionate about art, design, and everything handmade. She has always enjoyed exploring new techniques and trends in the handmade industry and has channeled this into her role as the Creative Director and co-founder of goimagine. Through her love for creating, she has successfully sold her unique wares, which range from fine art to simple crafts, in both online and in-person markets.