Minty Apple Fish

In the coming weeks and months, I am going to be launching a new business.

Minty Apple Fish.

That's the name of the business.

At first, I will knit and crochet toys to sell at markets and online and will accept commissions. My goal is to use 100% wool (sheep and alpaca) hand-dyed with natural dyes.

Then, I will expand into larger-scale dying as well as spinning alpaca fleece to sell at markets and online. I will use fleece from my own alpacas and plan to establish a small-time alpaca breeding program. I will also buy local alpaca fleece. 

Later, when I get enough capital and exposure, I hope to find a brick-and-mortar location in Wyong (it's an up-and-coming place - even has it's own coffee roasting business!) where I can sell my creations, my own hand-dyed and spun wool, the hand-dyed and spun wool of local Central Coast and Newcastle fibre artists as well as high-quality commercial yarns. I will use this space as a studio to dye, spin, knit and crochet and will offer classes. 

So that's the plan. If you are interested in commissioning me to make something (or know someone who might want to commission something), please send me an email: clare.thornley@gmail.com.

Watch this space.

Remember the name.

Minty Apple Fish.

P.S. If you need ideas, check out ravelry.com. I'd love to make you almost anything featured there. For something more specific, check out patterns by Susan B Anderson for toys, Tin Can Knits and Kate Davies Designs for things to wear, and Moogly for crocheted items. I'd love to work with you to create something special for you or for you to give as a gift.

Dabbling in design

Until a few months ago, I would have been the first person to tell you that I do not have "an eye for design".

That was, until, my boss asked me to throw together a poster for an event our department was doing - something that was too last-minute for the marketing department at our school to have a crack at. Although that first attempt was rather basic, I found that I enjoyed the creative design work and continued to dabble in creating posters, programs and flyers for events. Using the resources at unsplash.com (check them out - absolutely amazing free hi-res photos available for any use), I started volunteering to design the promotional materials that we needed at work. Here is a sampling of my most recent things:

(P.S. As a professional courtesy, please do not reproduce these images as your own...)