The Mission Main St Grants are open again, and I’ve entered Griffin Dyeworks! We can win up to $100,000 towards our business goals.
Here are my goals for Griffin Dyeworks:
Short Term:
Increase attendance at our annual retreat and bring in “big name” fiber artists
Book 3+ offsite dye workshops in a year
Long Term:
Offer two retreats per year in different areas of Southern California
Host FREE dye workshops for low income women interested in starting a fiber arts related business
Sell lucet, kumihimo, and dye kits in local yarn shops
With the $100,000 Grant, I would also move up the timetable to accomplish these goals as well! In no particular order, and with no due diligence done (i.e. I don’t know what all this would cost yet):
1. Travel to Central and South America, India, Pakistan, China, and the Caribbean to visit dye suppliers.We would love to provide dyes from sources we have seen and verified as treating people humanely and within the limits of the environment.
2. Rent a warehouse space so we can purchase and sell dyes in bulk, direct from the sources. Our current space limitations do not allow this. We’ll also be able to offer workshops on site and begin dyeing yarn, roving, fabric, and clothing to sell. Hopefully the increased income would allow us to hire an employee!
3. Overhaul our catalog: Create new dye samples using different mordants; new professional photos of all our dyes & the dye results; update all the item descriptions; test all the dye recipes for accuracy. Create new kits for lucets & kumihimo.
4. Update our website with a better event management solution, so people can register & pay for an event, sign up for classes, and give us all relevant information in one place!
Please vote for us so we can move on to the next level and closer to reaching our goals!
