Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Introducing Frog Tree Yarns - Pediboo And Kits!

Frog Tree Yarns was on my "to do" list at the TNNA show and I am happy to say that the shipment has arrived and Pediboo Sock yarns and kits are now available here at OPYF.

"Our son and his family had been living in Mexico for many years doing volunteer work. It was during one of our visits to see them, shortly before our retirement, that he asked us if we would help them to help people. We both gave a resounding – YES! Then the question was – how do we accomplish this? Collectively, we decided that we should start an import business. In 1997 we formed our not-for-profit company, T & C Imports. We first started working with artisans/non-profit groups in Mexico, and started to develop markets for their fine hand crafted articles.

We then reached out to Bolivia where our son and his family had also lived, and still had contact with artisans and non-profit groups. We established contact with a Cooperative which produced fine Alpaca yarns, and had also trained hundreds of women to hand knit beautiful Alpaca sweaters and scarves. These hand knit garments became an immediate success in the U. S. Early on, the hand knit items were sold through various charitable events. During one of our visits to the Cooperative, they asked us if we could help them to sell their yarns. Again, a resounding – YES!

Since this was a totally new venture for us, we had to develop a strategy and business plan. After a slow start, the business began to grow. We felt that the sweaters could be enhanced with different buttons. This led us to artisans in the U. S. who supply us with handmade buttons.

Our yarn group in Bolivia has limited capabilities with regard to different weights of Alpaca yarn and in the ability to make yarns from other natural fibers. So, we started to look for other non-profit groups and/or socially and environmentally conscious groups. We found such organizations and we now import a variety of eco-friendly yarns from Bolivia and Peru.

It is often said that if you love what you are doing, then it is not work. We love what we are doing, and enjoy meeting our customers, artisans/suppliers, designers and our knitter friends."

Happy Stitching!
Regards,
Karen
OPYF







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