Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruthann Clawson.
Ruthann, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Yart was started in 2013. Three of my best friends and are I were in that weird stage of life just after college where you’re maybe at your first “real” job, learning to be an adult and figuring out what to do with those extra hours you spent in school. We moved into a huge (yet somehow affordable) house in the Echo Parks Hills and obviously had no money to furnish the place, so we got crafty with street finds and repurposed décor. I bought a color palette of yarn and started knotting it onto branches found on my hikes to decorate the empty walls. Honestly looking back it was all very cringe, like an Anthropologie display gone wrong, but my roommates dug it. One night my dearest friend, Aine, jokingly called my new craft YART (yarn + art) and I thought it was hilarious and it stuck as the household name.
I’d consider myself an incredibly curious and maybe at times obsessive personality. Once I find something I’m interested in (be it a moment in history or air fryer recipes), I feel this compulsion to learn everything about it. After a lay off from my first corporate job in 2015, I bought a $20 loom from the Joann and started teaching myself to weave for fun. I took in everything from diagrams to Youtube videos and made up some of my own techniques that I’m still using. In hindsight, it’s been key for me to have those gaps of time between jobs for me to develop as a yartist. I always found myself channeling my anxiety around finding my next job into weaving as a way to relax. I’ve read a lot about how as children we get into “the zone” often, riding bikes, playing house, coloring, etc. It’s healthy to escape your thoughts for that short amount of time. That’s the peace I found in weaving.
The first time I realized I could make money off of my wall hangings was when a realtor showing an apartment I was moving out of asked if she could buy one off of my wall. The feeling I had after that experience gave me the confidence I needed to start sharing my work with others. I loved the idea of people having something I made in their homes. I was inspired to start posting them on my social media, and my friends and family were quick to purchase. I kept waiting for my network selling bubble to burst, but it continued to grow and hasn’t stopped to this day! It feels surreal to me today when I think about how many homes Yart is in.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Building Yart has been a long road, and I may view at as smooth because I truly never intended for it to go anywhere past being a hobby. Every step of its growth has felt organic. I’m also fortunate that my career and hobby crossover in terms of process and connections. I don’t allow any part of Yart to feel stressful because I always go back to it being for my creativity and the joy of others. Since I’m a one woman operation, when it gets hairy I can easily decide to simplify my approach or just hit pause until I feel ready to continue.
That being said, I think most things worth doing are actualized at the end of a winding road. Being responsible for every part of the “go-to-market” process has pushed me out of my comfort zone. Exposure and traffic is a big challenge for me. I’m much more well versed in product than marketing but am learning from every launch. I’ve found that weaving capsule collections and debuting them in batches is a better approach, but I’m not great at hiding my excitement and want to show my weavings the second they’re off the loom. Staying stocked can be tough as my entire line is one of a kind. I’m looking to establish some “best of” weavings that are always available as made to order.
Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the time I spend creating a weave with the price I think is fair for the customer. If a piece doesn’t seem worth more than $75 to me, I can’t in good conscious charge more, even if I did spend every evening of a week working on it. Accessible art is how I started and a space I want to continue to fill. When it comes to big box retailer competition, I have to believe that people still appreciate the handmade aspect and that my point of view sets my weavings apart.
My biggest struggle is truly the fact that I only have two hands. It’s tough for me to imagine scaling Yart much further without differentiating what I’m making. This summer, I started expanding into smaller items I can weave more of in less time, like bookmarks, coasters, and mini weavings.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Yart by Ruth – what should we know?
Yart (yarn art) by Ruth is a line of original handmade textiles. I like to think of my line as a style chameleon, released in themed capsules based on what I’m feeling inspired by at the moment. I gravitate toward unexpected texture, bold colors, and fun materials. Unexpected color combinations are a huge part of what makes a weaving a Yart.
Wall hangings are the bulk of Yart, but I’ve started dabbling in functional home goods. The new product segment I’m the most excited about it is upcycled apparel. I got the idea last year to weave on top of vintage sweaters, combining my love of found garments and yarn. Next I’m looking to play in natural dying my own yarns using food scraps from all my quarantine cooking. Sustainability is a focus of my existence on earth and has to be reflected in my craft.
I’m proud of the connections (and reconnections) Yart has helped me make on a personal level. I’ve sold to and reconnected with people I haven’t spoken to in years. I just got serious about a Yart Instagram this year (fear of commitment) and have found a beautiful community in connecting with fellow weavers. I’m also proud of the extensive library I have to showcase my creativity. Whenever I feel down on myself, I can look at my gallery and think “damn, I did all of that.”
Most importantly, as Yart has started to grow I’ve been able to give back. I love that my form of creative expression can help others. I’m giving 30% of my July profits to G.L.I.T.S. Inc., and I’ll continue these donations into the foreseeable future with organizations. My workplace is also matching those donations.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
It’s been interesting as I’ve grown up to reflect on how much my aesthetic and interests have been shaped by the matriarchs of my family. I’ve inherited handmade quilts, macrame books, and vintage tapestries from my grandmother’s. Growing up, my mom taught me to sew and took me to antique malls with her on the weekends. All of the women in my family have had a point of view when it comes to their surroundings, combined with the hands on, resourceful approach to execute on their vision. That foundation is what led me to start creating my own home décor and thrifting almost everything I own.
My friends and family are constantly supporting and boosting me, and I wouldn’t be producing at the rate I am without that encouragement. \My mom is probably Yart’s biggest fan and influence alike. She sells some of my pieces in her Antique Mall booth in Clifton, TX.
Aine gets another shout out for inventing the cursed name that is Yart by Ruth.
My friend and former colleague Rachel Gannon has been instrumental to Yart’s growth. She got me a spot in my very first IRL pop up, and I feel that milestone started the shift in me producing more consistently. In 2019 Rachel started a website called Cara Cara, a curated e-commerce approach to off-price retail. Cara Cara buys excess inventory from brands like Rachel Antonoff, HAY, Baggu, Levi’s to name a few. They give products that department stores would view as “last season” a new life with a unique brand voice and pass the savings onto the customer. I dropped some of my weavings off to Rach at a photoshoot and couldn’t believe what came out of it. The Cara Cara team encapsulated exactly what Yart has always felt like in my brain. They’ve supported me since then, most recently including my pieces in an LA Covid-19 Relief Fund sale in May.
Shout out to my friend and former colleague Birte Klug, the mastermind behind Hilsen Jewelry for submitting me to Voyage. I was inspired by her style and aura from the jump and it’s been amazing watching her brand grow.
Another former colleague, Tiffani Williams (founder of LA-based contemporary bag & jewelry company Modern Weaving), gave me her handmade looms and a batch of yarn when I was starting to expand. The looms she gave me are still the primary ones I use everyday. Tiffani is a design/development expert and chic badass entrepreneur, but still so down to earth. I look up to her so much.
Pricing:
- Woven Wall Hangings: $45 – $98 pending size
- Beaded Wall Hangings: $45 – $138 pending size
- Bookmarks: $28
- Coaster Sets: $48 (set of 4)
- Apparel: $68- $98
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yartbyruth.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @yartbyrtuh
Image Credit:
Yart by Ruth, Cara Cara
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