SHINING A LIGHT

The Fibre Co. has explored creative, innovative ways to support knitters and yarn stores during the pandemic, as Daphne Marinopoulos explains

- Daphne Marinopoulos

THE PAST two years have been tough for everyone, with the Covid-19 pandemic bringing lockdowns, social isolation, anxiety and economic problems. Many people have relied on their knitting to bring them comfort, while others took up the craft while stuck at home. Like everyone else, the team at The Fibre Co. had to find new ways of working during a succession of lockdowns, and to support their yarn store stockists and the wider knitting community around the world. We spoke with The Fibre Co.'s founder, Daphne Marinopoulos, about how the company rose to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and its exciting plans for spring-summer 2022 and beyond.

How did The Fibre Co. work to support its customers and the wider knitting community during periods of isolation?

"A strong sense of community has always been at the core of our outreach programmes. Would it be any different in the middle of a pandemic? After all, we had diligently spent time crafting our online presence and building relationships with knitters, local yarn shops, independent designers and influencers. At the same time, we had spent years showing up at festivals and trade events to connect with the community in person, to learn and bring back ideas to better meet their needs.

"While we felt confident in our approach to connect in a digital world, what really drove our work during the pandemic were the key mantras that we used to get us through the challenging period - simplify, focus, and choose well. We simplified through a slow and steady pace of releases over the course of the season. We focussed by concentrating our design programme on steady consistent releases. And lastly, we chose to work on projects that would be fun to make and easy to wear with a strong feel-good factor. This approach allowed us to be there for our stockists and the greater knitting community in a time of great need.