Imagine walking into a colorfully immersive environment made entirely of fiber, exploding with vibrancy and texture. As you walk from room to room, new adventures await you in art installations you can’t help but sink your hands, and mind, into. 

The Craft Yarn Council is excited to announce a new partnership with Dallas’ premiere experiential art exhibit, Sweet Tooth Hotel, to bring an immersive fiber experience to audiences across the country. The new installation, titled “Intangible,” opened June 2020. 

“Intangible” showcases an all-female lineup of some of the top fiber artists from around the United States, including yarn-bomb extraordinaire London Kaye (Los Angeles, CA), Fiber Artist Niki Dionne (Dallas, TX), Muralist and Illustrator Alli Koch (Dallas, TX), Fiber Artist Jackie Lawrence (Denton, TX), Installation Fiber Artist and Yarn Bomber Hannah Busekrus (Austin, TX), Crochet Designer Twinkie Chan (San Francisco, CA), Textile Designer Molly Sydnor (Dallas, TX), Dallas Yarn Bomber Co-Founder Sally Ackerman (Dallas, TX), Knit Artist Joanna Lin (Dallas, TX) and Embroidery Artist Kara Herman (Denton, TX). Each artist has been given a dedicated space to create their own whimsical world completely made from fiber and are the first cohort for CYC AIR (Craft Yarn Council Artist-In-Residence program). 

Since each of the artists used large quantities of yarn for their installs, we wanted to do a special series of Happy Place blog posts to dive into how each of them stored and organized their yarn. Read on for our CYC AIR Happy Place with Kara Herman, aka Cracker Jack Goods! Kara is a maker that specializes in fiber and jewlery making. She sells her work under the name "Cracker Jack Goods," named after her goofy but adorable dog Cracker Jack.  

Kara says of her installation "Knope 2020," "Since these pieces are featured in the Flamingo bathroom surrounding a mirror, I wanted them to be some form of encouragement to everybody who looks in that mirror. And to provide some laughs! I love including pop culture into my work and high contrasts. I love Parks and Rec, no matter how many times I watch it, I laugh constantly. I’ve wanted to do a series with all of these positive things Leslie Knope says to Ann Perkins. I hope these hoops give people a good laugh but also encourages them."

 

 

How many skeins of yarn did you receive for your Sweet Tooth Hotel installation?

I didn't receive any yarn since I was creating embroidery hoops. 

 

What brand and fiber content did you use in your installation?

DMC Embroidery Floss. 

 

What colors did you use for your installation?

Pink, black, and white.

 

 

What system did you use to organize your CYC AIR yarn for Sweet Tooth Hotel?

I have drawers where I store all my fibers! Yarn drawer, floss drawer, etc.

 

What furniture or storage systems did you use to organize the yarn you received?

Drawers from IKEA!

 

Do you or have you ever found it difficult to manage or organize your yarn?

I have before. Now I just do what works best for whatever I am working on. It can get overwhelming when you hoard supplies!

 

 

Knowing the amount of yarn you were going to receive, how did you find an organization system that worked for you?

I already had the materials I needed, so it wasn’t much of a change up for me!

 

How do you like to de-stash?

I use Instagram or Facebook to let people know if I’m selling some fabric or materials I’m not going to use.

 

Do you work in the same space where your yarn is stored? Why or why not?

Yes. I like having my materials as handy as possible while I’m working. I already have a hard time sitting still, so if they are close by I won’t fidget as much!

 

 

How important is a well-organized yarn corner/office to your mental wellbeing?

Very important. Being unorganized drives me nuts and I feel so unsettled. I try to remind myself that until I have a “dream” storage situation, I have to do what I can with my space!

 

Where did you purchase everything shown in the photos you submitted?   

IKEA.

 

Share any tips or advice you have for someone who is trying to reorganize their stash.

Just find what works for you with what you have. You don’t have to go buy a ton of supplies just to get organized. A lot of times it’s just shuffling stuff around.

 

Sweet Tooth Hotel installation image courtesy of @annas.element. All other images courtesy of Kara Herman.