The first thing you notice when you enter The Indigo Thread is how spacious, airy and bright it is. There are several looms and spinning wheels present, but they accentuate rather then overwhelm, and tables are scattered with yarns, spindles and book. The works in progress have always fascinated me and there’s room for Lorraine to spread her original design knitted indigo blue shawl on the floor to showcase both texture and design to an interested customer.

The second thing you notice is the proprietor’s smiling face and cheery voice welcoming you.

While Lorraine was enabling a new crocheter, I sat at the table and crocheted on a “JAG” sock for my neighbor. It was peaceful with the call of loons on the stereo, a customer flipping through the books and Lorraine’s pleasant voice explaining how to crochet. I was enchanted when she explained to her student that there are no rules, really – just enjoy what you are doing.

I shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversations around the store. Lorraine enjoying teaching someone how to crochet; the student obviously relishing the opportunity; a customer browsing the drop spindles, another looking through the fiber books. The mood was light, happy and reflective of Lorraine’s personality.

I was amused when one of the customers declared happily “This is a terrible store”. Lorraine laughed and offered to lock her in the store. The customer beamed, hands filled with yarn, books and knitting needles.

When the store momentarily emptied, Lorraine brought her coffee cup and took time to answer some of my questions. As I had noticed, one of the gifts Lorraine brings to her store is her personalized attention. She was not too busy to look for cable needles when a customer dropped in, even to the point of opening a just-delivered shipment to check. Several customers stopped by to check on a special order or to pick one up. I was bemused to overhear Lorraine telling one customer that she took the liberty of rolling the skeins into balls so that customer could get right to work on her project. How many shop owners do that without being asked; or without a fee?

Lorraine admitted that while there are disadvantages of being the only person involved in the store (no vacation, few days off, difficult to take off for appointments) she loves the advantages. Because she is the only employee, she can be more flexible: she can respond immediately to requests (unlike some shops with hired personnel who have to ask the boss); she can schedule workshops as requested (while I was present, she scheduled a workshop for 2 customers who are not able to attend the scheduled workshops); she knows her products and her suppliers so knows what is in stock, what is backordered, what is on order. She admitted that she does a lot of special ordering.

Because she is the sole proprietor, she is responsible for all that is necessary for a retail shop. This means she is not able to work with her yarn and fiber as often as she likes and that most of the items she makes for the store are done at home, after the store is closed. One day after a hectic week at home and work, Lorraine finally was able to sit and knit in her store only to be chagrined by a customer’s comment “how nice it must be to knit all the time”. Lorraine just smiled.

Since owning a yarn shop is a dream for many fiber artists, of course I had to ask her about how she came to own The Indigo Thread. She laughed and said it was a romantic dream for her – owning a yarn shop is so romantic – and possibly not as practical as many people think. She admitted that she always wanted to own a shop/gallery and prepared by taking business and entrepreneurial courses.

She learned to knit and crochet as a child but didn’t really do anything with it. She graduated from CSU with a BFA art with fiber and learned to weave when she was 23 when she saw an ad in the Loveland paper for weaving lessons. The looms were “rent to own” which was the only way she could afford a loom. She said she got her first spinning wheel 17 or 18 years ago as a Christmas gift.

She said she originally visualized a gallery showcasing her own and other fiber artists’ work. It just happened to come together in an easy and smooth way for the yarn shop to open. She said she thought about the shop for a long but not intentional incubation but it seemed to suddenly coalesce for her. She feels that is the way things like this happen for her – she thinks about something for some time and seems to do things to facilitate her idea then it all falls in place.

Lorraine had never worked in retail before but admits she’ll take many life lessons away from the shop if ever she moves on. She said she has learned a great deal about people, how they present themselves and what is the best way to communicate. She ruefully admitted at first her feelings were hurt when a new customer entered the store and was aloof. She realizes that some people need to be left alone to assimilate the environment while others like to be met and greeted.

And finally, Lorraine answered my question on how she chose the name “The Indigo Thread”.

“The Indigo Thread honors my Blue Phase. “When my marriage broke up, I just couldn't get enough blue into my life, cobalt blue especially. I saturated my environment with blue. People would walk into my house and say things like, "I get it. It's a theme. Blue right?" or, "Is your favorite color blue?"

“I even started a true indigo pot. This same pot has been fermenting for over 4 years now. I love indigo dyeing! The oxidation and transformation from chartreuse to indigo is magic. Whenever I get my pot out to do some dyeing I feel rejuvenated and at peace and it makes me very happy.

“One day when I was dyeing, I was thinking about what I should name my store and the name Indigo Threads came to me. It was perfect! I tried to register a domain name but had too many problems with the site I was using. Then I went to a different site and successfully registered The Indigo Thread, which I liked better.

“Lately I hear a lot about Indigo Children, and see the word Indigo in many places. I'm not sure that most people understand the true process of indigo dyeing. I think it would add meaning to the word for them. And I am not sure that I understand the connection of the word indigo with spirituality. I do know that it makes me happy at a very deep level.”

Lorraine Goris

The Indigo Thread

3307 S. College Ave. #109

Fort Collins, CO 80525-4196

970-225-8001, 970-494-0883

theindigothread@comcast.net

copyright 2006 Cathy Adair-Clark

_________________________________________

From Cathy Clark: