Hello! I’m Brooke from The Painted Tiger.
My business sort of evolved….my name came in 2002. I was planning to E-bay some items as a side business while I was a SAHM to our little daughter. I wanted ‘The Picket Fence’ as a handle (to sound nice and eclectic) but it wasn’t available. A few morphs later, I threw in tiger to honor our cat that had just walked by. Ta da! In 2003, I found a knitting machine at a garage sale and started making custom striped scarves….well, at least I had the tiger part!
In 2004, a new community choir started, and I soon found myself in charge of wardrobe. We wanted scarves and ties that looked a bit like the rolling water of the nearby Mississippi, and I couldn’t find any that were satisfactory. In my searching, I learned about dyeing, and ended up dyeing the ties and scarves myself. Also in my research, I discovered there was a market for hand dyed yarn. Hey…Painted Tiger!!
So in 2004, I started what is now my business: hand dyed yarn and fiber. I offer Zephyr Lace, several kinds and weights of sock yarn, some worsted weight, plus fibers including Shetland, Romney, Corriedale, BFL, Merino, and Silk. I am best known for my rainbow colorways, gradients, and self striping sock yarn, but I make a great variety of variegated and semi-solid colors also. As much as possible, I source my yarn and fiber from the USA. I also run a Yarn/Fiber of the Month Club that is thriving and a lot of fun.
Personally, I no longer fit any acronyms…. I’m a full time mom of two great kids, act as their home school teacher, plus am head dyer, photographer, accountant, and shipping fulfillment department for the business. I love to spin and weave, still make things on my knitting machine (wool socks are the best!), and am even hand knitting a planned pooling scarf at the moment. It is never boring at our house!
Thanks for learning a little bit about me, and I hope you’ll stop by the shop!
-Brooke
Fine Hand Dyed Yarn and Fiber
http://ThePaintedTiger.com
