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Who is Midwest Yarn and what is OMG?
My name is Melina Martin Gingras and together with my husband, Matt Gingras, we own and operate Midwest Yarn, LLC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Bay View neighborhood. We started as an online business in early 2012, opening the brick and mortar retail location that summer.
After earning my MBA at UW-Milwaukee at the age of 24, I joined the corporate world and began my career in health care. Upon the arrival of our first child, Vincent, I realized I wanted to have more time with my family, remembering the times I'd sit at home with my mother as a kid, watching her knit beautiful sweaters for us. So, I picked up my needles and haven't looked back since.
For two years, our family has worked to grow our business and develop a relationship with our customers and community. Vincent was about 2 years old when we first started, and was often there to greet customers. This May, our family grew once again, as we welcomed our son Marcus, another handsome little guy, mesmerized by the bright colored yarn adorning our shop.
OMG is the shop brand that launched shortly after our doors opened in order to sell my beautiful hand dyed and hand spun yarn at our brick and mortar yarn shop and online through my Etsy.com store. This gave us the opportunity to offer our customers beautifully crafted yarns sourced and spun in the United States.
We are a family owned and operated local yarn shop (LYS) committed to supporting
local and American small businesses. All yarns used for dyeing are the
highest quality American made yarns. Fibers used for our hand spun yarn
is purchased from independent dyers around the country.
Beyond the yarn, I am a published designer and work with several local and national publications. My most recent design, the Clara Cardigan, can be seen in Knit Picks' CotLin 2014 collection.
What makes us unique?
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- We use only American made yarn of the highest quality for dyeing. We work with yarn made by Kraemer Yarns (spinning industrial use yarn since 1907 and craft yarn since 2005).
- I have a talent for picking yarn and colors that customers rave about (and can't get enough of). In fact, both the hand spun and hand dyed yarn flies off the shelves in our shop so quickly that some of the one of a kind colorways and yarns don't even make it to the online shop. It happens too often that people request to purchase yarn right from the piles I work on packaging during shop hours!
- I have received nothing but 5 stars (out of 5) feedback in our online store, everyone raving about how soft and beautiful the yarn and colors are. Knitters and crocheters alike enjoy the merino wool yarn bases we've used thus far, a fluffy, incredibly soft wool that is wearable next to the skin and even suitable for babies to wear.
- We own a brick and mortar yarn shop. That means our yarns will be seen by customers every day that we are open to the public and not just online or at craft shows. This gives us the opportunity to get the word out in our community and to our regular customers.
- I am a published designer. I have experience choosing yarn that looks great for the projects my customers want and follow the latest trends in design and color. My goal for this line is to design projects for everyone from crafters on a budget (1-2 skein accessories) to those who throw caution to the wind when it comes to their yarn stash (larger projects like sweaters). I have designed for varying skill levels and for people of all ages.
- We are community driven. Supporting our business means making the Bay View community a destination for crafters. People who make the trek to our yarn shop usually make it an outing, stopping at local cafes and other businesses, and we want to continue to make that happen. We have also participated in many community events in order to help serve our surrounding area (through donations to local auctions, donations to the Children's Museum and local high school, holding a hat drive for Children's Hospital, and more).
- Midwest Yarn is a successful female and minority owned/operated business. My family has instilled in me that hard work pays off, and it most certainly has. It has not been an easy road (I at one point worked full-time while completing my MBA full-time, all while using knitting, crochet, and love of the arts to relax after LONG days), but I wouldn't change it for anything. And now, I am putting that business degree to good use, being able to do my own accounting, etc.
What We Need
We are seeking to expand the yarn line to the point where we can wholesale hand dyed, American made yarns, all over the country. We recently started working with a wool mill in Minnesota and are in the process of test dyeing their incredibly gorgeous milled yarns to add to the expanding line of hand dyed yarn.
While we have a lot of what we need to get started, we are seeking funding to bring in a lot of yarn and more materials to take this show on the road. Here's a break down of what we need and where funding will go:
- Up to $5,000 for the first round of yarn orders to include: 2 fingering weight bases, 1 sport weight base, and 2 worsted weight bases; we are figuring in dyeing about 10 semi-solid colors to start, shipping of that yarn, and fulfilling any pre-orders generated by this campaign; click here for a description of our yarn;
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$500 for yarn dye, this is what it will cost to dye the amount of yarn we are planning on ordering; colors for the fall/winter line are posted in the gallery;
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$500 for additional materials (for example, more pots for dyeing, additional jars for mixing dyes, a portable heating source so that we can move the yarn dyeing operation out of our house and to the back area of the shop, and a few other incidental dye process needs);
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$500 - $1,000 for a drum carder. Drum carders are used for blending and processing fibers in large quantities. This gives me the chance to work with my own unique fiber blends for my hand spun yarn that will be exclusive to our shop;
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$1,500 for marketing materials and packaging (yarn labels, business cards, and other materials for trade shows); and
- The remainder of what we get will go towards getting a booth at the next National Needlearts Association (TNNA) summer trade show to be held in June 2015*, now is the time to book the booth and travel arrangements. We actually have a booth setup which was purchased last year.
*For those who are unfamiliar, the TNNA trade show is the must attend event for yarn shop owners and vendors to meet and place orders. They also have an event during this trade show in which vendors sell kits, etc that are examples of their product, we will need to factor in materials for that as well.
If we do not reach our goal of $10,000, all of our proceeds will go toward yarn and dye. We have a few options for juggling the budget to get the yarn we want and the dye needed.
What You Get
This campaign is an opportunity for people to get an idea of what we currently offer, and get samples of what is to come. Starting at a $25 contribution, you will get a pattern for the new yarns we are bringing in. Melina will be designing all of the knit patterns and we have a crochet designer working on exclusive patterns for OMG. That way there will be something for everyone.
At the highest contribution level, get the opportunity to design your own colorway, name it, and have that yarn featured in one of the designs that we will take to the TNNA trade show, creating a unique kit for the yarn community to see.
If yarn is not for you, consider contributing at the level in which you'll receive a tote bag, or even consider a gift for the yarn lover in your life.
Some reward levels offer "VIP status". A VIP membership will last one year, allowing for perks like (but not limited to): 15% off every purchase of OMG yarn and being on our exclusive mailing list to get news and updates before anyone else. Following the completion of this campaign, VIP membership will cost $20/year.
The Impact Your Contribution Makes
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Your contribution matters to us and our community. Why?
As mentioned before, it allows us to continue to grow our yarn shop and helps the Bay View community (where the shop is located) remain a destination for crafters.
It helps support American made products from the ground on up (in some cases, quite literally, because for every yarn purchase we make with American mills, we are supporting the American farms that some of the wool comes from).
It also helps us continue to support our family while doing something I love. I started the business to allow me to use my business development and management background in a manner that does not take me away from my children for 15 hours a day like I had been doing while working for corporate America. I have a passion for the arts and it gives me joy every day to be surrounded by my family and working on this business.
Risks & Challenges
With every business venture, there are risks/challenges. We are a small business with limited funds, but ever since our doors opened, our family has not had to take any money out of pocket to fund the business; it supports itself.
Price points for hand dyed and high-quality artisanal yarn tend to be higher. Hand dyed sock yarn from the average dyer could be $25 or more per ball/skein. Dyed yarn typically used for sweaters (worsted weight yarn) could be $15 or more, on average, and there's A LOT of yarn that needs to be purchased for a larger project. Big box stores tend to have yarn that would cost, at a maximum, $10 per ball and have a TON of options for the knitter or crocheter on a budget.
That is why it is advantageous for me to be a designer. As I mentioned before, the goal is to create patterns for these yarns that will allow people to work with gorgeous, unique yarns without breaking the bank. One or two skein stylish projects can be made quickly, and mean that for $30 or less, that knitter or crocheter can make many designer-quality items for themselves or their loved ones. And if you know me or any other knitter or crocheter, sometimes we just do it for the love of the craft.
Other Ways You Can Help
Even if you can't contribute, you can help (and believe me, we would appreciate it). Here's other ways you can help us grow:
- Get the word out and make some noise about our campaign. Remember we are seeking to grow our line of American manufactured yarn, dyed in the Midwest by an independently owned yarn shop. We're unique, we're dedicated, and we love yarn!
- Join our fans and follow us on facebook (over 500 likes and growing every day).
- Make sure you use the Indiegogo share tools.
- Stop by my Etsy shop (omgmidwestyarn) and check out the listings. I will be continuously working on adding more and more hand spun to the shop while we wait for our new yarn and supplies to come in.
- Check out colors we've made already on Pinterest.