Adella Colvin facts for kids
Adella Colvin is an American artist who creates beautiful, colorful yarn by hand-dyeing it. She is known for her company, LolaBean Yarn Co., which she named after her daughter.
Adella Colvin's Journey with Yarn
Adella Colvin started knitting when she was 34 years old. Her neighbor suggested it as a fun hobby when Adella's husband was away serving in the military. They visited a yarn shop together, and Adella was amazed by the lovely yarns.
One day, Adella went to a yarn shop by herself. The owner, who was white, stopped her at the door and told her the restroom was only for customers. Adella, who is Black, felt unwelcome. She decided to shop online instead. Soon, she became interested in dyeing her own yarn at home.
Other knitters saw her beautiful hand-dyed yarns and wanted to buy them. So, in 2015, Adella opened an online shop on Etsy. At first, she didn't use her photo on her shop's page. She was worried that some people in the mostly white knitting community might think products made by Black artists were not as good.
In 2016, Adella's daughter was born. Her nickname was LolaBean. Adella thought about the future and the example she was setting for her daughter. She decided to change her business name to LolaBean Yarn Co. She also had a special logo designed. It showed an image of her baby, clearly showing she was Black.
In 2017, Adella Colvin became more widely known. This happened after a popular knitting influencer named Gaye Glasspie featured her work. An influencer is someone who has many followers online and can affect what people buy. This helped yarn shop owners and knitters across the country discover Adella's yarns.
In 2019, Gaye Glasspie, also known as GG, introduced Adella to Felicia Eve. Felicia Eve is one of the few Black yarn shop owners in the United States. Felicia Eve hosted a "trunk show" for Adella. A trunk show is when a designer or artist brings their products to a store for a special event. All of Adella's yarns sold out at the show!
Adella Colvin has also worked with Stephen West. He is a famous pattern designer. He created a special knitting pattern for a unique "colorway" of LolaBean's yarn. A colorway is a specific combination of colors used to dye yarn.
During the George Floyd protests in 2020, many people spoke out against unfair treatment. A hashtag called #StandintheGap became popular. It encouraged white people to support and protect Black people in everyday life. After this, Adella's business grew a lot. Her wholesale accounts, which are sales to other businesses, went from 1 to 30. By October 2020, more than 70 shops were on a waiting list to carry her yarns.
As of October 2020, yarn shops all over the United States sold Adella Colvin's yarns.
Adella's Life
Adella Colvin is African-American and Puerto Rican. She grew up in New York City. She is married and lives in Grovetown, Georgia. Her husband is an Army veteran and works in cybersecurity. Adella has her daughter, born in 2016, and two stepchildren.
