Submitted by Jorstad Creek
Jorstad Creek announces the grand opening of their new dye studio, open to the public to individuals, groups, and scheduled tours on Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m, beginning July 24. Located behind the Fish Tale Pub at 414 1/2 Legion Way SE, Jorstad Creek has converted this former espresso stand and dance club into a beautiful new location for their yarn manufacturing and retail outlet.
Jorstad Creek formed as a business four years ago, and made its debut with hand-dyed and locally grown wool yarns at the Madrona Fiber Arts Festival in Tacoma, Washington. Since then the company has focused on building a market of enthusiastic knitters for locally grown yarn from nearby farms as well as luxury imported artisan dyed yarns. “Stepping in to having our own public location is huge for us. Until now we’ve been traveling the state to fiber shows and meeting people in their communities. Now we will be able to show our own community we are happy to live and work here. I am also hoping the many friends made at these shows will come to Olympia to see the studio, try the yarns, see new seasonal colors, and knit awhile in the knitting lounge,” stated Kerry Graber, owner.
Jorstad Creek yarns can be found in three yarn stores in the northwest: Yorkshire Yarns in Tacoma, Maker’s Mercantile in Renton, and Bazaar Girls in Port Townsend. The company expanded into wholesale with the help of these three local yarns stores, and looks to expand into more stores with the much larger studio space for production. “The knitting community is very networked and supportive of local businesses. More than that, knitter’s encourage each other and provide a creative energy that fuels enthusiasm for this craft. I hope the new studio space inspires visitors as well as the local designers I work with to create knitting patterns through the BK Collective. We work together to publish inspired projects for knitters,” added Graber.
Individuals or groups interested in visiting the studio can drop in during regular hours, or schedule a tour by contacting Jorstad Creek at jorstadcreek@comcast.net or 360-451-4146 during business hours.
