Meet Jeri Robinson-Lawrence | Wool and Lavender Shop Co-owner & University Interactive and Graphic Design Professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeri Robinson-Lawrence and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeri, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I believe that my goals were like those of any entrepreneur. I started my business because I was passionate about something. For me, it was rare breed sheep and wool. I have always been interested in art and animals. Although raised in the city of Buffalo, NY, my dream was to be an artist and to live on a farm. At first, the farm dream was about growing trees. However, on a trip to England in the late 80s, my in-laws took me to the South of England Show. The show was the equivalent of an agricultural fair but without a midway. While there, I saw people shearing sheep, knitting with wool roving, spinning wool, and that was it. I was in love. I immediately bought a secondhand book on knitting and my mother-in-law refreshed my knitting skills and moved me forward after originally learning to knit at the age of 10. On a separate trip to England, we went to Yorkshire where my husband was born. While in the fishing village of Whitby (where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula) I fell upon a yarn shop called Bobbins. It was situated in an old church and contained yarns and fibers from the UK primarily. One cardigan stood out to me, and I kept going back to the shop for the entire week were there. I didn’t initially buy the cardigan because it was both too large, and too expensive. At the end of the week, I went back and bought it anyway. What attracted me to the cardigan was the wool that was used. It was knitted with Wensleydale yarn. I later learned that Wensleydale sheep are a unique and rather large, long wool breed and that the characteristics of the cardigan that I loved so much were special to the Wensleydale. The wool fiber is lustrous while having a halo and it is hard wearing, I have that cardigan to this day, and nobody would ever know that it is as old as it is. It is a true heirloom.

Upon returning to the US, I tried to find Wensleydale yarn to knit with and realized that it wasn’t possible (pre-internet days). After some time, I found the distributor in Yorkshire and that was the beginning of my business. I became the US exclusive distributor for Wensleydale Sheep Shop yarns. That’s how it all began.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Goodness, this is a long story. As I stated earlier, I was always making things as a child. Art class was my favorite. I fondly recall playing with letter stencils and I still have the kit to this day. Naturally, I made my way to graphic design. While in my BFA program at SUNY College at Purchase, NY, I shifted to the field of printmaking because I was able to combine my love of letterforms with the book arts. I received my MFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in printmaking combining those loves. Afterwards, I was fortunate enough to obtain some part time teaching in Philadelphia while my husband attended Tyler School of Art at Temple University for his MFA degree. We then relocated to Baltimore, MD where I began my teaching career in graphic design and book arts at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Whew, still with me? The position in Maryland was visiting professor status and so it was only ever going to be temporary. After two years, I was hired in the Pennsylvania state system at Millersville University. I have just completed year 31 at MU and I primarily teach interactive and graphic design at this point. I am proud to state that I have had many successes such as inclusion of my artist books in the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Contemporary Museum of Art in Chicago. Because I love to continue learning, I branched away from artist books when I found the fiber arts. Ultimately, I came to realize that aside from print design, which I still partake in, I really love color. Therefore, I am the color specialist behind our commercial yarn lines, Yorkshire Medley and Seadale. I also put out several limited-edition color ways in different yarns throughout the year.

Flying Fibers came about in 2001 alongside my teaching career and I opened my original brick and mortar yarn shop in 2009. We have now moved the shop to our farmstead so that customers can gain the full experience and see where the wool is grown. The sheep greet the customers as they arrive.

This was never easy, it was a lot of hard work, continuous learning, a supportive family and friend network, and a desire to never give up. Plenty of obstacles were thrown my way but I kept moving forward with my dream.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Within York and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania there are several interesting places to visit. People always want to experience the Amish lifestyle and so that is always a must. However, after living here for so long it feels wrong to go stare at a group of people who are different from many.

Anyway, I digress, Lancaster city is known for some of the best arts and eating establishments around. The New York Post referred to Lancaster as a mini-Brooklyn a few years back. It is also known for its architecture and the famous artist Charles DeMuth. A visit to his boyhood home, now museum would be a must. For the antiques lover, I would take them to the smaller city of Columbia, PA which has been recognized by Smithsonian Magazine for their wide ranging collection of antiques. While in Columbia, I would also stop at Columbia Kettleworks for a pint or two.

York County is known for its hiking trails and views of the Susquehanna River with plenty of local hidden gems along the way. For a canoe or kayak experience, I would stop at Shenk’s Mare in Wrightsville. I could then go to the Indian Steps Museum in the southern end of the county. As noted on their website, “​The story of Indian Steps Cabin begins over ten thousand years ago. The area gets its name from the “steps” carved in the nearby Susquehanna River’s rocks by early people of the region who used the footholds while gathering food along the river. The arrows, spear heads, stone axes and other relics embedded in the building were the belongings of the first residents of York County.” (http://www.indiansteps.org/history-of-indian-steps.html)

A visit to several local galleries including Virtue Gallery in Hellam, PA would also be on the list. There, a visitor would get to view and purchase works from local artists.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are several people who got me where I am on my journey. My mother was the first person to support my love of the arts and animals and she encouraged me to pursue my MFA degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While there, I met my husband, a Brit originally from Yorkshire, England. I suppose you could say that the farm and wool business is all his fault because I wouldn’t have fallen in love with wool and hence sheep if I hadn’t met him. I may have gone in a different direction. I also need to thank my right hand, my eldest daughter, Irina Mathias who runs the business while I work “off the farm”. She is the master marketer behind all our products and keeps the financial side of the business in check. I work primarily with our sheep (yes, along the way we actually acquired our own rare breed sheep for their wool) and I am the primary dyer of our yarns. The business wouldn’t be what it is without Irina.

Website: https://www.flyingfibers.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flyingfibers/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeri-robinson-lawrence-1897a179/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flyingfibers?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlyingFibers/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/flying-fibers-wrightsville

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ugSliSH_hU

Image Credits
All photos were taken by myself and Irina Mathias.