Name: Lisa Beamer
Business name: Fibernymph Dye Works
Website(s): Shop: fibernymphdyeworks.bigcartel.com Blog: fibernymph.com

What kind of items do you make?
I create hand-dyed yarn and spinning fiber, with a focus on self-striping yarns and gradient-dyed yarns and fibers.

How long have you been in indie artist?
I’m in my fourth year of my dyeing business, though I’ve done other creative endeavors prior to that.

What got you interested in your art of choice?
I am an avid knitter and spinner, and I’ve always enjoyed working with others’ indie-dyed creations. Being naturally curious and creative, it seemed a natural progression to try my hand at dyeing.

What do you most enjoy about what you do?
In the physical act of dyeing, I love playing with the colors…putting them together into new combinations and striping patterns. With my business in general, I love how my yarn and fiber is enjoyed by my customers. I love seeing what they make and some of the innovative ways they find to use what I’ve created.

What most inspires you?
When it comes to colorways, I’m most inspired by nature and the world around me. Sometimes, though, it is the colors themselves that inspire me to put them together in new ways.

What makes your creations unique?
They’re unique because they are mine. No two dyers I’ve ever met dye in exactly the same way. We each have our unique touch, our own techniques that make our products singular to us. For me, the fact that I focus so highly on self-striping yarn is also a somewhat unique factor, as it isn’t something every dyer does due to the labor intensity of the process.

Do you have a favorite item or colorway?
I have a lot of colorways that I love. Most recently, I came out with a monochromatic stripe series that just makes my heart happy! My Inversibles Sets, though, are really a lot of fun…I love creating them, and I love knitting with them and seeing what others make from them too.

What is something you strive to offer the fiber arts community?
A collection of high-quality, enthusiastically inspired products. I also strive to encourage fiber fans to be experimental in what they create with my yarns and fibers…try new things, and don’t be afraid!

Does being an indie fiber artist affect other aspects of your life? Some days, it seems that being an indie fiber artist IS my life! I do this full-time, and I work from my home. Up until this school year, my kids also worked with me, which made it a family endeavor. The last of them has flown the coop to college now, and I have a few other yarn helpers surrounding me to help the yarn things happen. There is no day of my life when I’m not doing something related to my business, unless I’m away from home on vacation. The good thing is that I love what I do, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.