nancy O Introduces Her Private-Label Yarn

Nancy O’Connell (pictured, on right), owner of nancy O, a yarn, gift and fashion shop in Ridgefield, will introduce her first private-label yarns January 12-14 at the Vogue Knitting show in New York City. On Monday, January 15, the yarn will be available at the store at 23 Catoonah St.

“I had thought about developing a private-label yarn for a while,” said Ms. O’Connell. “After speaking with local people about what they seek in yarn, we developed two exclusive fibers, Petals and Soft, both hand-crafted in the U.S. with natural fibers from Great Britain. Our store takes pride in offering knitters a personalized experience, and I believe the private label makes it even more personal.”

The yarn Petals is a blend of Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) ― a long-haired English sheep ― cashmere and rose fiber. The BFL provides Petal’s texture, the rose fiber its luster, and the cashmere its softness. Each color is named after a different flower. The second label, Soft, is made from 100% extra-fine, artisanal Merino wool from England, which is spun and hand dyed in Pennsylvania. The natural-dye colors are more muted than those of Petals. “With its low micron count, Soft is among the softest Merino yarn on the market,” said Ms. O’Connell. “This makes it ideal for baby blankets, and, in fact, we are offering baby blanket kits, as well as fur-trimmed accessory kits, with the yarn.”

In developing her yarn, Ms. O’Connell worked with award-winning Ridgefield artist Amy Bock (pictured, left), who designed the labels and helped create the color palette. Ms. Bock, a knitter herself, has exhibited her paintings and mixed media work at various venues, including in New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts and, in Ridgefield, the Guild of Artists.

Nancy O’Connell, a strong advocate for Ridgefield as a destination, anticipates exposing the town as well as her store and new yarn to a broad audience at the Vogue Knitting show. “I expect to come back from the show with new ideas and potential new fans of our beautiful village,” she said

Photo Caption: Nancy O’Connell (right), with artist Amy Bock, who designed the labels for the nancy O private-label yarns, are shown with a replica of the label for one of the two new yarns.