About…
…Viola
Viola Yarn began in Toronto in 2012 (or something like that) when I was working in my local yarn store and decided to give dyeing a try. From that beginning, in my parent’s basement in Toronto, Viola quickly grew in many directions. However, it somehow managed to remain in that same basement for many years. After about three years of full time work, I chose to take a break and move to North Devon, England where I worked for friends at John Arbon Textiles in their worsted wool mill. In 2017 I returned to Canada and Viola, finally leaving that tiny basement behind and settling into a much more comfortable studio space in Mooresburg, Grey County Ontario. Mooresburg is where you’ll find us now, working in a former general store that was built in 1895 that is full of charm, drafts and the occasional bat.
The move to Grey County brought new friends, connections, inspiration and community all of which helped to guide Viola and myself to the present moment. After more than a decade of working with the readily available resources for yarn dyeing, acid dyes and industrially grown and produced yarns, Viola is turning to plant dyes and yarns that are grown and processed locally. You can read lots more about this shift here.
Viola colours have always been inspired by the natural and wild world. In the early years, a constant view of vast Lake Ontario taught me how to observe and appreciate the changing colours in the landscape. My years living on Exmoor in England presented an entirely new (to me) colour palette to study, deepening my understanding and practices of colour appreciation. And now that Viola and I are settled in Grey County, a rolling landscape of forest, farms and dramatic skies, the colours I contemplate have evolved again. I’ll be learning about new colours, techniques and processes as Viola transitions into using plant dyes, a challenge I am keen to embrace.
…Emily
As a stubborn and daydreamy person, I discovered my love of colour and textiles after a brief sojourn into studying archaeology. Returning over and over again to the contemplation of colours and shapes around me, a colourful yarn display in a yarn shop window finally drew me into the world of knitting. Colour has remained a guiding force in all that I do, from weaving to quilting, painting and stitching.
This love for creating has remained a continuous thread through my life, as well as a source of inspiration and contentment. It is also a welcome reminder to commit to regular and non judgmental practice, to work with focus and presence and to be open to whatever comes as a result of that work. Viola is one such creation, and is an ongoing project, changing all the time. Never finished. In this way, creating is so much more than ‘creativity’ as we seem to understand it today. It is the process of bringing something new and meaningful into the world; a gift to everyone.
In addition to this practice of creating, I can also be found swimming, exploring the nearby Krug Forest, tending to a sourdough culture, doodling and daydreaming (again).