Hi there! Can you believe that 2022 is right around the corner? Seriously… where on earth did the time go?

I have so many new and exciting things that I have been planning for 2022. Some that I have been working on for nearly a year and others the last few months. I’m going to make this post (somewhat) short and sweet so let’s just dive right in to what’s to come for Hickory Lane Fiber Co. in 2022.

For starters… I still don’t know if I have a studio space. Womp. If you missed it on stories last week, I’ll explain later. Hopefully I do since next year is a packed year!

I have been going back and forth with continuing to do a club or not and have finally landed on not doing one. I know there are a bunch of you that love them, but to be honest, I don’t really think I do. What also set me on not doing one is the simple fact that I couldn’t think of a theme. I thought maybe heroes and villains, SATC, The Office, etc., but none really excited me. That was a true red flag. If it doesn’t excite me, then it’s not for me. But don’t worry—I have plenty other ideas to compensate for having yarn available monthly in the shop.

Although I don’t have a set date, there will be a “home” section added to the shop. I have been working on this part for the better part of a year and I’m just so excited to bring this to the shop! In this “home” section, you’ll be able to find a few new things that are (or not) maker related. Without giving too much away just yet, I’m sure these are essentials you have all throughout your homes already. I’ll be sharing more of what this is soon as well as the launch date!

If you’ve been with me from the beginning, you’ve seen an entire array of labels and logos. I love playing around with them, however I never really loved any of them. Again, going back to… if it doesn’t excite me, it’s not for me. When I decided to give my “home” section a go and really do it, I wanted to create a logo and name separate from Hickory Lane Fiber Co., but wanted it to be “XYZ by HLFC”. Almost as if they went hand in hand. My “home” section has so much meaning behind the name and logo that since I wanted the two to go hand in hand, I decided to bring some of that to HLFC. While I will still remain HLCF (and no, my yarn is not going anywhere I promise!) my logo will be changed to reflect the other side of it. So when you see one, you see the other!

Effective January 2022, we will no longer be offering wool wash, but rather wool soap. I’ve been playing with this for a bit and love the idea of the soap bar over the liquid for many reasons. First, you get WAY more washes out of the bar than you do the liquid. It’s much easier to pack and transport than the liquid is. I’m always so fearful of the liquid breaking open and spilling everywhere during transport no matter how I package them. I also wasn’t loving how the oils would separate – I know that’s the nature of oil and water, but I didn’t love it and didn’t love the way the wash would turn colors the longer the oil and water sat in the container. So, goodbye wash and hello soap!

This is the big one… Many of you know that when I release a collection, I usually spend 2ish weeks promoting, then we launch with the collection being open for an entire week for pre-order with a 12 week max turn around time. While this is great for my customers having it open for an entire week because… payday or being indecisive (haha, I hear you!) it can become very overwhelming for myself since I generally don’t cap my pre-order collections off. I’m just going to be fully transparent here; sometimes it could be 500 skeins to dye and others it could be 1500-2000 skeins to dye. Regardless of the number, it’s A LOT for one person to do. It also takes a toll on your body, standing on your feet for hours on end lifting trays and pots full of water and yarn and well… you get my point! ;) It also becomes redundant and sometimes I’m left feeling burnt out and uninspired to do another collection. To be honest, I truly hate that feeling. Going forward, while collections will continue to be available for pre-order, they will only be open for a short period of time. I don’t have that exact time frame at the moment, but I’m leaning towards keeping it Saturdays at noon (like always) until Monday evening—just a little over 72 hours. On top of having a short open window, there will also be a cap. Currently, my cap will be 500. This will allow for a much faster turnaround time on your end and less burn out on my end. I truly wish I could offer more, but I can only do so much as a one person show.

With all that said, I’m so excited for this new year! I love a fresh start and I cannot wait to share more with you on what’s to come!