Why should you work with US?

• We have an active client list of nearly 40 companies in the yarn industry including yarn companies, distributors, yarn shops and knitwear and crochet designers. This allows us to NETWORK easily between clients to create collaborative, mutually beneficial programs for all involved.
  
  
• We keep tabs on what's happening in the knitting and fiber world--both at the retail and consumer level. We listen FOR you because we know sometimes, you don't have time to access or process trends from all the incoming information.
  
  
• We know you know social media is important-- but we also know some of you don't care if you ever Tweet in your lifetime. It's OK to confess, we hear it all the time...... Our feeling is you should spend time on what you do best, which is run a great company. We'll help you do it even better.
  

Leanne Pressly, is jokingly referred to as the "Boss Lady" around here. She's the one who stays up at night brainstorming about new and innovative collaborations between clients and putting together a proposal that fits your needs and your budget.

Leanne has 18 years in sales and marketing (the last 4 at Interweave Press in the yarn group). She owned a website design and hosting business for 10 years and holds a master's degree in Sociology. She's been a knitter for 22 years so she behaves like, and certainly thinks like your crazy customers. (ie, she has yarn in every corner of the house and appreciates a good yarn-sale stampede).

Stefanie Goodwin-Ritter picked up a pair of needles in 2003 and taught herself how to knit from a book - which she doesn't recommend, by the way. Since moving to Chicago in 2005, her passion for all things fiber-related has been fed by the wealth of yarn-centric events the city hosts every year.

Having spent four years hand-dyeing yarn for Lorna's Laces, she likes to think she knows a thing or two about yarn, but is always ready to learn more. She's been blogging about her exploits for several years and is very excited to put the sum of her experiences to work for fellow yarn enthusiasts who are just as passionate as she is about yarn & fiber.

Stefanie is our Senior Account Manager, responsible for.... well..... overseeing everything...... AND she helps us grow our latest venture, Yarndealer.com,

Though Stefanie Berganini's first yarn-related memories are of watching crocheted afghans fly from her grandmother's fingers, it wasn't until college that the fiber bug really struck. A rediscovered interest in knitting and crochet (and a closet crammed full of handmade scarves to go with it) led her to take several semesters of fibers classes while completing her graphic design degree at Colorado State University.

Those classes opened her eyes to even more of the fiber world (weaving and dyeing and screenprinting, oh my!) and led to an internship at Interweave's Fiberarts magazine. Stefanie worked at Interweave for several more years as the Assistant Editor of Spin-Off magazine and later as the Managing Editor of Stitch magazine and the Sew Daily online community.

After a foray into the non-profit world, Stefanie now lives in Seattle and is happy to be back talking about yarn every day. She considers herself an intermediate knitter, spinner, seamstress, weaver, crocheter, dyer, felter, and general all-around fiber dabbler. When she's not locked away in her crafting room, Stefanie spends her time with books, bikes, video games, vegetarian cooking, and trying to wrangle her small herd of pets.

Rebecca Huben is a self-taught left-handed knitter.  Her ambitious first project was a full-sized garter stitch afghan for her boyfriend, who is now her husband!  As a science geek for almost as long as she has been dabbling in arts and crafts, she obtained her master’s in chemistry fully planning to become an Environmental Chemist.  She could not resist the classroom though and ended up back in the classroom as a middle school science teacher.  When the time came to seek out other opportunities she dove into the fiber world, test and sample knitting for yarn companies, tech editing and dabbling in design.  She is looking forward to formulating creative ideas for Wool Wide Web clients. 

Lizz Lewis began knitting in 2006 when she spotted a co-worker making fingerless gloves during a boring summer job.  She was introduced to Stitch n' Bitch and hasn't been without yarn or needles since. After churning out afghans, sweaters, shawls, socks and baby booties, Lizz started spinning in 2010 when her darling now-husband gave her a spinning wheel for her birthday.  She will occasionally make her kitchen smell like hot wool and Kool-Aid when the dyeing bug catches her.  When she isn't knitting (a rarity), Lizz is found on her yoga mat, walking Jack the Dog or coaxing Clio the Cat out from under the bed.  Also an amateur sewer, Lizz realizes that it's only a matter of time before crafting supplies are in every room of the house. We're thrilled to have Lizz on board!

Mari Luke learned to knit while serving in the Peace Corps. During the long cold winters she would curl up in a ball and try to stay warm, then she learned to knit and knit herself a blanket. She began designing while living and teaching English in China and has recently been published in Interweave publications including Fall 2013 and the Special issue, Harry Potter Knits. The Wool Wide Team met Mari at the last TNNA show in a cloud of cashmere, quickly realized she had some amazing sales skills (Yes, she sold us a lot of yarn we didn't need) and we quickly scooped her up. Mari is excited to join the team as an account manager.

We work with some fantastic subcontractors who specialize in just one area for ALL clients:

What can we say about Liz Gipson that you don't already know? She's a dynamo in the industry, author of Weaving Made Easy co-host of Knitting Daily TV for its first three seasons, and past president of the Spinning and Weaving Association. Liz brings a background in sales, content marketing, training, and editing that reaches across the media spectrum from traditional to new. She's worked for industry leaders such as Schacht Spindle Company and Interweave Press. Liz brings her deep knowledge to guide our clients in the area of video production.

In 1973, Laura Farson took a beginning frame loom weaving class at the Springfield Art Association. Almost immediately, she spotted a 4 harness Harrisville loom while on a trip and bought it. Furthering her weaving education through classes and workshops, she maxed out its capabilities. Woven through this history, are a series of real-world jobs to fund these acquisitions including a 7-year stint as owner of a health food store and bakery.

Currently, Laura loves to teach new versions of traditional Scandinavian knitting techniques using two yarns worked independently. As a designer for Cascade Yarns, she develops new patterns for nifty accessories. She is the author of New Twists on Twined Knitting from Martingale and Knitting Scandinavian Slippers and Socks. In her free time, she loves to hike, bicycle, and travel the world with Russ. Laura joins the WWW team as a weaving content consultant.

Loose Chicken Software Development

We stumbled upon Loose Chicken right in our back yard and discovered small town attitude with big city skills. WOW can these guys program! This husband and wife team (along with a brother) tackles our largest website projects including the custom relaunch and Shopatron reconfiguration of Tahki Stacy Charles. We think Tony is even learning how to knit!

Wiard Web Works-Mark Wiard

Mark and Leanne have been working together in the web world since the mid 1990's when she was a website designer. Mark is a master at Wordpress and our go-to guy for anything related to Google (adwords, webmaster tools, analytics etc). When we need Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that really works, we rely on Mark.

Sadie, our "Official Mascot"

Behind every successful venture is an office mascot who serves to provide a furry back to pet and an alternate perspective when things get a little crazy (and they do!). We have a dog, cat, fish and three chickens in the backyard. Sadie was the only one willing to pose on picture day!