Meet Jessie Frias of From Me To Yarn in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Frias.

Jessie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Since I was a little girl I’ve had a passion for crafting as a form of self-expression and that still rings true today. From Me To Yarn officially opened its digital doors on July 6th of 2019, but in my heart, it started the moment I discovered the joy of crafting. Back then it didn’t have a name, just a feeling of purpose and unlimited possibilities. Eventually, after trying and loving many different crafts, I found my calling in the fiber arts and yarn dyeing specifically.

I remember how amazing it was to dye my first skein of yarn! The process had a little of all the things that I liked, a bit of nature, some science, messy color and freedom to explore different ideas. Even better, though I honestly hadn’t thought of it at the time, is seeing people transforming the yarns that I dyed into something even more beautiful, the amazing community that surrounds the fiber arts, all the new things that I’ve been learning, and the friends I’m making along the way!

Your at the super early stages, just a few months in, but your journey started earlier.  Has it been a smooth road getting to where you are today?
It’s definitely not been a smooth road, but I’m enjoying every bump and learning as I go. There’s a lot of trial and error and experimentation involved in developing colorways and lots of things can go wrong in the studio; you can burn yourself on hot pans or water, yarn can get tangled or burnt, in the dyeing process water tends to get You also need to keep good notes, if you forget you might never be able to get that color or combination again.

Dyeing yarn also gets pretty expensive! Besides the yarn and dyes (which can cost a lot of money, especially if you need to dye a significant amount), you need to get equipment and tools that will be only used for dyeing yarn, like pans, gloves and a respirator mask (very important to protect your lungs from the very fine powder form the dyes come in). Then there are other auxiliaries that need to be purchased and replenished, like acid to make the dyes bind to the yarn. You need to have (or make) space to dry and then store your yarn and equipment and the whole process is very labor-intensive. Things get very hot and humid when you’re dyeing yarn, it’s sweaty, definitely not glamorous, work!

All that said, my biggest obstacle has been myself and a lack of confidence in my abilities. I spent a long time before opening the business doubting myself and thinking about backing out, that I had nothing to offer, convincing myself I couldn’t do it. And still after having a successful business launch, every time I get an order, at first I’m so happy that I want to go around dancing and jumping (a lot of times I actually do that) but then, later on, I’m back at double guessing myself and sometimes it can be hard to get out of feeling that way, but it truly is just like the most cliché saying ever, you have to believe in yourself. It’s good to have a support system and people encouraging you along the way but at the end of the day, if you think you can do it, you will.

What should we know about From Me To Yarn?
The name of my company is From Me To Yarn and I dye and sell yarn! I specialize in dyeing bold-colored yarns so that fiber artists everywhere can express themselves. The thing I’m proudest of and that brings me the most joy is seeing the projects and works of art my customers make with the yarn I dye. It really makes my day when I get to see what it becomes once it goes to live with my customers.

Dyeing yarn is a very personal and variable craft, everyone has their own techniques and style and it’s an art form in itself, if you give two dyers the same yarn, dyes and tools, they will not look the same! So my perspective, relationship with color and the choices I make are what sets me apart from others.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I had a great childhood, so it’s really hard to choose, a specific one, I am very fortunate to have amazing parents! Since I can’t decide on one I’ll tell you one of my parents’ favorites.

When I turned two, my parents got me a little backpack, it was teal with doodles all over it, and I absolutely loved it! For a while, every time we went out, I had my little backpack with me. Most of the time it didn’t even have anything inside it, I just loved it so much, I’d fall asleep wearing it and when we got home they had to let me go to bed with it on because I would not let them take it off me! It even survived our move to Brazil later that year, and I still wouldn’t take it off. Gosh, I miss that backpack! Haha

Contact Info:

• Website: frommetoyarn.com
• Phone: 3233423646
• Email: jessie@frommetoyarn.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/frommetoyarn
• Facebook: Facebook.com/frommetoyarn

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