Simply Knitting - UK (2020-01)

Subscribe at http://www.theyarnloop.com/simply-knitting 55

indiedyers,crochetdesignersandothersworkingwithfibre.The
responsetothelistwasoneofoverwhelminggratitude.It brought
practitionersofcolourtothepublicgaze,enablingmagazinesto
diversify their contributors and raising the profile of those on the list.

Timetodreambig
Jeanettewaspleasedwiththispromisingstartbutfelttherewas
stilla lotmorethatneededtobedonetohelpthecommunity.
Herdreamwasthatthelistcouldbetransformedbywideningthe
rangeoffibre-baseddisciplines,includingcreatinga websitethat
wouldbecomeaninteractiveonlineresource.Alongsidethenew,
broaderobjectivetherewasa namechangefromPOCDesigners
andCrafterstoBIPOCinFiber.It wasdecidedtousetheterm
BIPOC,notonlybecauseit ismorewidelyusedgloballythanBAME
(BlackandMinorityEthnic)butalsoasa wayofmorebroadly and
accurately including those of mixed, non-white ethnicity.

TheBIPOCinFiberwebsite will contain:
A searchabledirectory
Photographicgallerystylelistings
Twelvemonthlyin-depthBIPOC in Fiber profiles and interviews
writtenbyJeanetteSloan
Learningresourcesdesignedtoenablefurtherpaid
opportunitieswithin the industry for BIPOC makers and
educators

ThecreationofthewebsitewillenableBIPOCworkinginthefibre
industrytofindandseeoneanotherwhilstenablingeventplanners
andpublicationstobemoreintentionalwhencuratingeventsand
issuingsubmissioncalls.It willpoolresourcesdesignedtoimprove
accesstoopportunitiesforBIPOCworkingwithfibreand also raise
theinternational profile of BIPOC working with fibre.

TheDreamTeam
Fortheprojecttobecomea realityJeanetteknewshewouldhaveto
assemblea team,andbecauseshefelttheinitiativeshouldalways
beBIPOC-ledshecalledonmetodesigntheBIPOCinFiberlogo
andAlysonChutobuildthewebsite.Workingwiththesupportof
trusted allies who shared the vision for what the site could achieve

theteamstarteda Crowdfundercampaigntoraise£20,000inorder

to pay for the branding, build and maintenance of the new site.

Makingit allreality

On7 Septemberthefundraisercampaignwaslaunchedandfive

dayslaterthetargethadbeenreached.Thespeedatwhichthe

fundswereraisedshowedthelevelofsupportfromwithinthe

knittingandcrochetcommunityforthisinnovativeproject.Whenthe

Crowdfunderendedon4 October2019,animpressive£32,039had

beenraisedfrom 533 supportersin 28 days.Supportcamefrom

well-knowncompaniessuchasStylecraftYarns,SimplyKnittingand

LaBienAiméetonamea few,butjustasimportantwasthesupport

givenbymanyindividuals wanting to do their part to support this

important project.

ForindividualbackerssupportingtheCrowdfundingcampaign,

‘rewards'(aselectionofexclusivefibre-relatedgoodies)were

curatedbycollaboratingwiththefollowingBIPOCmakers:

SurayaHossainofMahliqa– designer and maker of hand knitted

andhandcrochettextilejewellery

LolaJohnsonofThirdVaultYarns– IndieDyer

Leila Bux of The Urban Purl – Indie Dyer

SupportBIPOCinFiber

Raisingfundshasbeenarduous,butnowtherewardingtaskof

buildingthewebsitecanbegin.If youwishtosupportthisproject

financiallynowtheCrowdfunderhasended,youcanstilldoso

throughtheBIPOCinFiberPayPalMeaccount.Youcanalsohelp

byspreadingthewordabouttheprojectviasocialmedia:youcan

findusonInstagramas@bipocinfiberorsimplyusethehashtag

#bipocinfiber.Lastly,if youareBIPOCworkingwithfibreandwish

tobeincludedonthewebsite you can registeryour interest now at

http://www.bipocinfiber.com.

GOOD READ

HOWYOUCANHELP...

If youwouldliketosupporttheBIPOCinFiberproject,head

overtowww.bipocinfiber.comformoreinformationand

follow them on Instagram to help spread the word.

OneofJeanette's

gorgeous designs

TheBIPOCinFiber

websiteiscurrently

underconstructionand

promisestobea vital

resourceamongthe

knitting community