2022 YarnYAY! Makers Grant Winners!
2022 YarnYAY! Makers Grant Winners!
It is my honor and pleasure to announce the 2022 YarnYAY! Makers Grant Winners. This year our maker recipients range from making the world a better place to creating beautiful handmade products and designs.
Read on to learn more about our grant winners, and be sure to follow them on social media, to show your support, too!
YarnYAY! Makers Business Grant Winner: Open Market
Founder, Imani Schechtman never imagined herself being in tech; She is an artist and educator turned tech founder. She had pursuits of opening up her own wellness spaces that doubled as an artist community; however, both the pandemic and social unrest in the US shifted her plan to do so. As she began building Open Market, she quickly realized that they were creating a solution that would revolutionize the way we support BIPOC, POC, and underrepresented people and the way we build community. Community is the foundation of Open Market, our collective success is our priority. They emphatically believe in creating opportunities for people to connect, collaborate, and see each other. Open Market is rooted in curating spaces where people feel empowered, their culture is celebrated, encouraged to collaborate, we prioritize innovation, and believe in the power of limitless opportunities. Through both personal and professional development, access to resources, industry-specific workshops, lab sessions, mentorship, and a supportive community they know that they will thrive as a community. What they do is social activism. They request active participation from their community and allies to create a more equitable society, uplift BIPOC and POC people, and to amplify the voices, talents, and passions of BIPOC, POC, and underrepresented people. Our work shifts the commodification of BIPOC and POC trauma. BIPOC and POC people are celebrated for their ingenuity, innovation, knowledge, contributions, passions, and cultural diversity. The new economy we are creating both bridges the digital and financial divides within the BIPOC community ecosystem begins building generational wealth, creates opportunities to access resources and capital, creates jobs with equitable and livable wages, and proactively brings employment opportunities into under-resourced communities. Open Market is revolutionizing the way we support BIPOC, POC, and the underrepresented. They want people to feel like they are part of something special.
Follow @weareopenmarket on Instagram
YarnYAY! Makers Business Grant Runners-up: Miami Fiber Co. AND Cubed Style
We couldn’t decide between these two great companies, so we’re honoring them both!
Miami Fiber Co‘s founder, Laurent Radley is a stay-at-home mom of 4 beautiful kiddos and a military wife. She’s humbled & honored to be able to run my business from home and bring in extra money for my family.
Miami Fiber Co.‘s beautiful fibers are carefully hand-dyed in small batches, with thoughtfully curated original colorways. Their sturdy project bags are hand-sewn with high-quality fabrics and hardware, in a variety of sizes and shapes for all your project needs!
Follow @miamifiber on Instagram
Three sisters created Cubed Style because we wanted to handcraft products for all skin and hair types. With our strong sisterly bond, we have created products that not only smell great but also make you feel even better. Our homemade body and hair butters are luxurious and moisturizing.
Follow @cubedstyle on Instagram
YarnYAY! Makers Business Grant Honorable Mention: Afifa Knits
Born in Pakistan and educated in Asia, Europe, and the United States, Afifa Knits founder Afifa Sayeed currently lives in California. Her work is informed by all these cultures. Passionate about bringing together elements of classic design from a variety of sources to create something new and original, she brings a modern sensibility and love of construction to the art of knitting. Since 2015, she has published a full wardrobe of garments from fingerless mittens, cowls, hats, scarves, shawls, sweaters, and more!
Follow @fifknits on Instagram
Stay tuned to see all of our grant winners featured in various YarnYAY! and Vickie Howell projects!
YarnYAY! Makers Grant 2023 Applications will Open May 1, 2023. Keep an eye n Vickie’s social media and sign-up for the YarnYAY! newsletter to stay updated!
See the 2021 Winners HERE.
It’s our intention to continue with and grow the YarnYAY! Makers Grant for years to come. Shopping YarnYAY! helps us be able to do that. Thank you for the support!
