Phat Fiber Sampler Box -Spoiler Alert!

June marks the 2nd month that I have been a contributor to the Phat Fiber Sampler Box, a project that assembles boxes from a number of fiber artists and is sold through the Etsy Shop. It's a way for consumers to try lots of different samples and fiber artists to get their work in the hands of shoppers who are looking for handmade work by indie spinners, dyers, knitters and other artists.

This month's theme was 'Oceans' - a theme I can really relate to. Since blues and greens are two of my favorite colors to dye, I had a lot of fun with this one.

I chose to make 1/3 ounce samples of 3 of my best selling colorways. On the top is Muted Sea Glass, a creamy pale blue-green merino. The lower right is one of my all time faves, Beach Glass a mid-toned blue/green/lavender, which in this case is very green - think 7Up bottle. On the left is Oceana, a bright blue-teal. I also sent a number of business cards with small swatches of handspun yarn & a discount code (20% off) to go in the business card pouch. Maybe the coolest item in the box I shipped was the lovely spiral of 'Deep Blue Sea' Falklands roving. This is for Jessie (the Phat Fiber Queen herself) to blog about and give away. Since the way she does the giveaways is to send people to the Etsy store and ask them to comment on the things that they find there. This drives traffic to my site so that fiber people can do a bit of shopping.

I decided to get involved in this promotion for a couple of reasons. OK, should increase sales - that's obvious. But it also builds community. The more people work together, the better it is for all of us. I know that people are shopping from the vendors who contribute to the boxes. I did! I bought 2 (not 1!) GREAT knitting bags from Ruddawg, whose work I sampled in the April box, the first one I contributed to. It's a great little bag - just the right size with lots of interior pockets. Today I am using the Medium size to carry the secret hat project that I am currently working on.

Speaking of the Secret Hat Project, last night I spun up some roving from the April box + my own stash to make the yarn for a pattern that I am writing for the Phat Fiber site. Works nicely for small amounts of handspun. I'd best stop before it is no longer secret!