Viola – Emily Foden

We are chuffed to bits to have Emily joining us for our MOW celebrations! We will be publishing a video over the weekend all about her beautiful hand dyed yarns and her process.

Viola Yarn began in my parent’s basement in Toronto, Canada and grew quickly from there. However, it somehow managed to remain in that same basement for about three years of full time work before I chose to pause and move to North Devon. While in England, I worked for John Arbon Textiles at their worsted spinning mill, learning lots about fine ales, wool and fibre processing. When I returned to Canada, Viola and I settled into a much more spacious studio in Mooresburg, Ontario. Mooresburg is where you’ll find us now, working out of a former general store that was built in 1895. The store is full of charm, creaky floor boards, drafts and the occasional bat. The move to Grey County brought new friends, connections, inspiration and community all of which helped to guide Viola and myself to the present moment.

Viola colours have always been inspired by the natural and wild world. In the early years, a constant view of vast Lake Ontario taught me how to observe and appreciate the changing colours in my landscape. The years I spent living on Exmoor presented an entirely new (to me) colour palette, deepening my understanding and practices of colour appreciation. And now that Viola and I are settled in Grey County, a rolling landscape of forest, farms and dramatic skies, the colours I contemplate have evolved again. I’ll be learning about new colours, techniques and processes as Viola will be transitioning this year into the use of plant dyes, a new learning experience that I am keen to embrace.