The story of how I stumbled upon the wonderful world of the Fibre arts.

Hello friends,

I am Lauren, the sole crafter behind Rooted Fibres, based in Preston, North West UK.

I began Rooted Fibres around 2016 whilst living in Brighton, for the first few years it was an obsessive hobby, I learnt to dye, blend and spin fibres to create the types of yarns in my imagination. I loved it so much and began dreaming of something bigger and so, in 2018 I left my full time job working with SEN children and moved back to my hometown in the north of England which gave me the space and time I needed to hone my craft and begin selling my work.

In 2020 I birthed my beautiful daughter. My creative catalyst. I had a difficult birth and just as I felt able to stand on my own two feet again, lockdown hit. It was tough as a first time Mother, suddenly alone with a newborn and no contact with friends or family. Creating has always been my anchor, but even more so during this time. My love for hand spinning grew into a fully fledged obsession. It was something I could do while my little girl was tied to my chest in her sling. Something I could turn to to help me unwind after the sleepless nights. creating became a very important ritual for me. It’s safe to say my life as a full time mother has truly fuelled my creative fire. Grounding me when I need it, allowing me to always find my way back to myself.

I love knitwear and spinning art yarns. It seemed only right to combine the two. I always get asked ‘what can I do with art yarns?.’ This is the premise behind Rooted Fibres (and p.s the answer is lots!). I want this website to my home, to share everything I am learning as a crafter/artist and provide you the opportunity to try it yourself!

How Did It All Begin?

My journey into hand spinning began as a happy accident in 2016. I had not long begun crochet and needle felting. I decided to try my hand at dyeing some raw wool and accidentally felted it all into one big loopy mess in the pan. I thought it was pretty cool regardless. I intuitively rolled it between my palms into a yarn, then tried to crochet a bowl with it. The bowl is long gone, but it sparked the question, could I make my own yarn? A quick trip to google blew my mind, and a few months later I got my first wheel.

Since then i’ve been learning and experimenting daily. I am a maximalist and love exploring colour and texture within my work. I hand dye and hand blend all my favourite fibres. This gives me an amazing sense of creative freedom, bringing me much joy and providing me with endless inspiration.

Acting on intuition and letting go of rules are an artists super power. Life doesn’t always encourage and support this, so we have to re-learn how and push ourselves outside the box. Often these are the times that spark the most creativity, the most innovation. Whenever I am in doubt I always think back to how happy I was with my tangled felted mess of a bowl and try to get back to that lawless place, get out my head and let creativity flow. I am so glad you are here to join me in this journey, let’s make something beautiful together.