The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

In Episode Fourteen of the Close Knit Podcast, I speak to Jacinta of Plump and Co. Jacinta is a knitter who developed Plump and Co, a company that sells beautifully giant, felted yarn made in New Zealand. Growing up in New Zealand and studying textiles there, Jacinta became enamored with all of the incredible fibre around her and the community she lived in, so she sought to make a product that really celebrated her community. We talk about her love of all things tactile, how she began her business, and the roller coaster that running your own small business can be.

Jacinta tells me about how she made the move from the corporate world to making felted yarn - and how after university she was always being drawn back to textiles, even when her work life took her elsewhere. We discuss how the majority of folks in her graduating textiles class didn't end up in textile jobs, but many have gone on to start their own amazing projects like a favourite of Jacinta's - The Neighbourhood Studio.

And my personal favourite part of this conversation, when Jacinta opens up about the realities of running a small business, and how it has not all been easy. She tells us about her journey from working on a project at uni to realising she wanted to make felted wool on a larger scale but also keeping it local to NZ. She wanted to share it with her community, to be able to get all different generations of knitters involved. She explains how she went from working a corporate job doing plump and co on the side to working on Plump and Co full time with the financial help of her husband. Now, she's hired a friend to help her with her business and she talks about how important that has been in her journey.

Jacinta's biggest bit of advice?

"stop talking about it, and go do it. "

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

Nikki Gabriel - jacinta's biggest inspiration, hugely talented knitwear designer
Forever Farmhouse - lovely friend of Jacinta, talented knitter, lovely lady
Little Loom - lovely and kind weaver friend Julie from NSW
Wool Days - incredible new Australian merino yarn with a beautiful aesthetic and message

Find Jacinta: instagram | website | facebook

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