Interview with Iris Schreier, owner and creative force behind Artyarns
This interview with Iris Schreier will be of tremendous interest to anyone who is in the process of re-evaluating their life and re-considering what’s really important. After the tragedy of 9/11, Iris decided to leave the corporate world and turned her attention to knitting, the hobby she’d learned as a child. Soon, she saw a unique opportunity that has now become a thriving family enterprise. She and her husband, Elliott, founded Artyarns in 2002 and now enjoy the respect of knitters worldwide who appreciate their exquisitely sophisticated, high quality hand-painted yarns. Iris not only develops yarns of the finest fibers and color combinations, she also writes books that have achieved great success in the knitting world. It is hard to imagine that it was so few years ago that she burst upon the scene and has made such tremendous contributions to the craft.
KnitchMagazine: Can you tell us about your knitting background?
Iris: I learned to knit as a young girl (around six years old) and I was taught by my mother. As long as I remember I have always been knitting, crocheting, working on needlepoint, beading, etc. Crafts, particularly lovely and decorative types of projects, as opposed to practical ones, have always appealed to me. But I never pursued any crafts professions nor did I study crafts or design in any formal manner until 9/11 when my life turned around and I decided to leave corporate life. At that time I started knitting again frantically for relaxation and peace, and became addicted. It was the beautiful yarns that were available suddenly that inspired me, and I decided to collaborate with a very talented friend and neighbor Laurie Kimmelstiel on a book that became Exquisite Little Knits.
KnitchMagazine: What prompted you to found Artyarns in 2002? Can you tell us about the others who are involved?
Iris: I solicited yarn in a variety of luxury categories for Exquisite Little Knits from various yarn companies, and discovered some big holes—categories where I could not find any yarns at the time. I had a very difficult time finding commercially produced hand-painted yarns of certain fibers. And the few companies that were producing such yarns were so swamped with orders that they were not taking on new customers. I became convinced that this was an opportunity for me to pursue my true passion as a business, and set up a studio where I was soon painting my own Superwash Merino, called Supermerino. It was a wonderful feeling creating a line of yarns that were handpainted in specific patterns to accommodate some of my unique multidirectional designs. As the business grew, my husband Elliot located a commercial facility nearby with factory space, and he left his place of employment to run Artyarns. We currently are nine people full-time at the factory. In addition there are approximately five or so designers who freelance for us, about ten or so sales representatives who sell our yarns into knitting shops.
 KnitchMagazine: You work with your husband, Elliot. What is his role? Do you ever stop working, or does it spill over into your personal time, as well?
Iris: Elliot has an engineering background which has aided us tremendously in building an infrastructure of equipment which allows us to manufacture original yarns that are unavailable anywhere. Being strong in math, he naturally has assumed the financial management of the business, and basically runs the day to day operations. I focus on designing, whether it is to design new yarns, colors and combinations, or patterns. We love our work, and spend most of our time thinking about work.
KnitchMagazine: You are not only a renowned maker of hand-painted yarns, you are also a designer. Can you tell us about your dual roles?
Iris: As I mentioned earlier, I design yarns specifically with designs in mind. I find that makes the yarns successful, although I work closely with other designers to get new and fresh perspectives on how yarns can be used. I also listen carefully to shopowners who really are in the best position to anticipate what customers will want. Thanks to Elliot’s skill in setting up equipment at our facility, I have a unique opportunity at Artyarns to create various yarn combinations that will continue to appeal and inspire knitters.
KnitchMagazine: You have been very influential in three different areas: modular knitting, innovative lace techniques and reversible knitwear. Can you please tell us about each of these and why they are of such interest to you?
Iris: I think that my designs have generally been focused on a certain “out of the box” style. Because I was not formally trained, I think it is easier for me to develop my own ways of doing things. Some people will find them very appealing and others may not. But all will agree that they are “different.” I can’t stand picking up stitches, so I developed modular knitting techniques that are continuous by using short rows as shown in the book Modular Knits. Anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about should try my free tutorials here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multidirectional/
I avoid patterns that require that you read line-by-line instructions and prefer being able to read my work. That is actually the theme behind the garments in Lacy Little Knits. Sign up for bonus projects on the Artyarns home page, www.artyarns.com And Reversible Knits came about because I had become frustrated by designs that only looked good on one side, and needed a backing to be usable—I decided that there were enough tricks and techniques out there that could allow you to make two sides that looked good.
 KnitchMagazine: Can you tell us about your newest book, “Iris Schreier’s Reversible Knits?”
Iris: The concept of the book is that you can deliberately plan both sides of a project in advance. It is separated by chapter into One color knit/purl, Two color knit/purl, Lace, Cables, Double knitting, and Modular knitting. The last chapter, the Appendix of advanced techniques, is my favorite because it is just a collection of swatches that are a springboard for your own designs. In developing this book, I came up with what I think is a fairly unique way of casting on for a Moebius, which is really simplifying the cast on by using a long tail version that most people already know. Lark Books (my publisher) was kind enough to set up a promotional page with videos that include this technique as well as some others, and some free patterns that are based on the book: http://www.larkbooks.com/crafts/iris-bonus
Shop for "Iris Schreier's Reversible Knits" here!
KnitchMagazine: How would you define your own style – both in hand-dying and in design?
Iris: I like to dazzle and prefer projects that people will as “how did you do this”? I love glitzy sophistication, and my favorite yarns are my new beaded and sequined yarns as well as the Splash (clusters of beads and sequins).
KnitchMagazine: Artyarns is known for very high quality yarns. The word “elegant” comes to mind. How do you select the yarns you’re going to use?
Iris: At this point the market is glutted with certain types of hand-painted yarns so I like to select yarns that are different than anything that is out there or has been seen before. And we have certain criteria for yarns—fabulous hand and drape requires that we use all natural materials of the finest quality imaginable.
KnitchMagazine: Do you have any particular goals when developing a design? For example, are you trying to teach new skills or introduce new color treatments through your patterns?
Iris: I let the yarn talk to me sometimes, to develop a new design. Other times, I wake up in the middle of the night in a “ahah” moment where I have come up with something completely new. Usually when I try to come up with the actual design during waking hours it doesn’t amount to much, but once in a rare while it does. That is something that I don’t think people realize—at least for me as a designer for every good design there are oh so many failures. It is gut-wrenchingly frustrating at times, and requires so much persistence and time.
KnitchMagazine: What has been your most popular design to date? Why do you think knitters responded to it so well?
Iris: I imagine that my original multidirectional triangle scarf is my most popular design because it was very different at the time, yet completely easy to use. The Diagonal Tee in Vogue seems to be enjoying some popularity currently.
KnitchMagazine: Where do you go for inspiration?
Iris: Europe—I attend Pitti Filati in Florence, the streets of New York City, and everywhere and anywhere actually. I’m always browsing through fashion magazines.
KnitchMagazine: Whom do you admire most?
Iris: I admire every single knitwear designer out there, because it is generally such a difficult and often thankless job to be original.
KnitchMagazine: What do you foresee for fashion in the future? What will be the major influences?
 Iris: I believe that more and more knitters will use luxury yarns (fine Merino, silk, cashmere, beaded yarns) in their knitting as they become more proficient and eager to make and own unique beautiful garments and accessories. That is because the availability of department store ready-to-wear beautiful garments and accessories for purchase is dwindling as more and more of our imports come from countries that are not known for unique or well-crafted products. And they will be looking to fill that hole in their own wardrobes.
In addition, I think that consumers will continue to appreciate the look and feel of hand-painted yarns, compared to machine-dyed yarns. I like the analogy that hand-painted yarn is to machine-dyed yarn in the same way that an original watercolor is to a printed poster. And why spend all that time knitting with something that will not have that lovely and original feeling that a hand-painted yarn can offer.
KnitchMagazine: Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?
Iris: I am a regular person in every sense of the word, have two kids, money troubles, life troubles, and worry about the economy. Some of the time I get to do what I love to do most in the world—design and play with new yarns and colors. But some of the time I need to work on other aspects of the business that must be done but are not necessarily my favorite. It is difficult and exhausting to run a business, but in the end you get to be accountable to yourself. Your successes are yours, and your failures are yours. And I’ve never worked harder in my life than I do now—I’m sure my husband would say the same thing.
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