EP 025 Laura Zander of Jimmy Beans Wool

October 7, 2022·31 min·3 clips

Laura Zander reveals how knitting cured her perfectionism and taught her to embrace mistakes as design elements.

This episode features an interview with Laura Zander, co-founder and CEO of the multi-brand yarn business Jimmy Beans Wool, conducted by host Kaylee. Zander transitioned from a software engineering career in San Francisco to founding a yarn and coffee shop in Lake Tahoe in 2002. She explains that a client who hand-dyed yarn and a mentor who was a prolific pattern designer convinced her to open the store, which began in a 500-square-foot space. The business has grown to occupy about 20,000 square feet in Reno and operates brands like Madeline Tosh, Della Q, and Namaste, with a staff of roughly 70 people. Zander recounts using a life savings of $5,000 to start the business and recently securing an SBA loan to purchase a permanent building. She discusses acquiring Madeline Tosh, which operates a 30,000-square-foot factory in Texas and primarily serves other local yarn shops through wholesale. During the pandemic, the company closed its retail store for ten months and adjusted operations for safety, while its established online sales performed well. Zander shares that her first knitting project was a brown seed stitch scarf she ripped out six times, teaching her to value the creative process over perfection. She describes a visible mistake in a baby blanket she made as a "design element" and relates it to a quilting tradition of leaving an intentional flaw. She argues that perfection is boring and that knitting helped cure her engineering-driven perfectionism by focusing on enjoyment rather than flawless results. A major insight is Zander's philosophy that business, like knitting, is about the journey and building relationships rather than just the financial outcome. She emphasizes collaboration over competition, illustrated by a joint project with Hedgehog Fibers that creates yarn from both companies' shredded fabric scraps. Zander notes the knitting industry has shifted from a competitive "one pie" mindset to more cooperative efforts that benefit all businesses. The episode has a conversational and encouraging tone, blending personal anecdotes with practical business insights. Zander speaks with a down-to-earth, reflective style, often drawing parallels between her knitting experiences and her entrepreneurial journey. The host engages with a friendly and curious demeanor, prompting stories and advice. Listeners interested in small business growth, entrepreneurial pivots, or the knitting industry's behind-the-scenes operations would find this episode valuable. Knitters, especially those new to the craft, would appreciate Zander's accessible advice on overcoming perfectionism. Those seeking a highly technical discussion on yarn or advanced knitting techniques might find the content more business-focused than instructional.

As heard by us

A warm craft interview that treats yarn, business, and community as one story.

Laura Zander gives the conversation a practical, community-minded center. It begins with knitting but keeps widening into how a yarn business grows, adapts, and stays useful.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want the business side of a yarn-world story.

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