Our Story
The Founder
Yarn Hero Fiber Arts is run by Lynnell Koser out of her home studio in Frederick, Maryland, where she also rules her all-boy family consisting of two sons, two cats, two dogs, and one husband. (She refers to herself as the Queen Bee.) Not only does Lynnell dye, spin, knit, crochet, weave, and rug hook, but also she acts as chief home maker, animal petter, child wrangler, and wholesome meal cooker. She is constantly thinking about new exciting yarns to create, and her life-long dream is to one day own her own fiber mill.
The Beginning
Lynnell has been a crafter her entire life. Her mother taught her to knit when she was 8, which she didn’t take much interest in until the day a friend of hers – who also was a brand new knitter – showed her the perfect (and even) scarf she had just finished. Lynnell, being not only competitive but also JEALOUS, picked back up those needles pronto until she too could knit the perfect scarf. Soon after, this was followed by crochet, cross stitch, cloth doll making, friendship bracelets (remember those?!), sewing, and eventually drawing and painting.
In 1996, Lynnell earned her Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA) from The Atlanta College of Art and Design, majoring in Illustration, minoring in Printmaking. After a few years learning the hard facts of life that earning a living as an artist was near impossible, she self-taught herself graphic design. (Which, by the way, is quite ironic since in college she loathed anything computer.) Much to her surprise, Lynnell found she really enjoyed design and settled into a career as a graphic designer for the next 12 years.
Interesting fact: Lynnell loves math, numbers, and spreadsheets, and actually considered becoming an accountant while in college. (!!!)
The Discovery
Lynnell’s journey back into fiber arts began in college, where she knit a little, but mostly crochet afghans for friends and family to help with the stresses of life and school.
A few years after graduating from college, Lynnell got back into knitting, and one day discovered spinning quite by accident on the internet. WHAT? You can spin and dye your own yarn??? It was definitely a “WOW!” moment, and a whole new world opened up.
Lynnell feverishly started learning and experimenting with every fiber, dye, fleece, spinning wheel, and loom she could find (and afford). Eventually, Lynnell had more handspun yarn and hand dyed fibers that she knew what to do with, (she once told someone that she could insulate a small house with her fibers), so she began selling off her collection on Etsy.
After selling a bunch of yarns, the drive to create more took over. Lynnell began making more, and selling more, and loved every minute of it. What started as a way to destash her vast amount of handspun yarns and fibers, ended up becoming her passion…creating colorful, unique yarns and fibers for others to use in their projects. Opening a business to sell her yarns and fibers just made sense.
Several years later, Yarn Hero was born, (originally named Spiral Eye Creations, then Yarn Rescue) and Lynnell has been at it ever since. The discovery of new techniques and materials is what Lynnell loves most, and she hopes to continue to bring in new exciting yarns, fibers, and fiber art items in the near future. You can find Yarn Hero mostly at local fiber and yarn festivals (see out “Events” page), but Lynnell hopes to expand Yarn Hero more online and in yarn shops around the U.S.
Yarn Hero began in 2003 under the name Spiral Eye Creations, which was Lynnell’s first adventure in website building using simple html and Dreamweaver 6.0. (Remember rows and tables?) With the help of the new Paypal “Buy Now” button, she began selling her numerous handspun yarns. Later, when she went through a phase of creating hand dyed recycled yarns from thrift store sweaters, she changed the name to Yarn Rescue. Eventually she lost interest in recycling yarn and starting focusing on creating hand-dyed, millspun yarns instead. After several painstaking years of trying to figure out what to rename her business to, Lynnell one day mindlessly doodled a superhero sheep on an envelope while talking on the phone. Hark! Yarn Hero was born.
Partner in Crime
The Studio Kitties
Offspring 1 and Furry Thing
Offspring 2
Otherwise known as my cuddle-bug, this is Max, our youngest. He has severe Autism and is non-verbal. If you hear giggles, chirping, or strange singing coming from my booth, it’s him!