By Cassie King
Color Me Happy Fiber Arts Studio owners Michelle Salyers and Linda Williams share a love of creating, which their collaboration celebrates. They opened their business at 8100 1/2 Connerwood Land in Fishers in April 2022, but their journey started much earlier.
“My fiber story began about age 8,” said Salyers. “My aunt was expecting my first cousin, and I wanted to make a blanket for the new baby.”
Salyers was a crafty kid who dabbled in multiple mediums, including crochet, embroidery, latch hook and cross-stitch.
“Knitting has been my mainstay, and I knit everywhere — at faculty meetings, on Zoom calls, while playing Scrabble and even while hiking,” she said.
Her story took a turn in 2019 when she and her husband took a sabbatical in rural Brittany, France.
“Generations back, my ancestors were weavers and I wanted to learn more,” said Salyers, who spent her time with her French family learning about weaving, genealogy, knitting and fiber.
Williams grew up on a farm in northern Indiana, where she said she learned the satisfaction and joy of working with her hands — growing things in the garden, canning, sewing and working with animals.
“I came by my interest in textiles naturally,” Williams said. “One of my grandmas did amazing crochet and tatting, and the other made draperies.”
Williams learned to crochet with her grandmother and said it was natural to pick up other textile arts as she got older.
“I enjoyed the precision and color-blending in counted cross stitch in my 20s, and played with some original designs, but I didn’t discover knitting until my early 30s when I started working in a health research unit that had several knitters,” Williams said.
Salyers and Williams met at work, where they spent time knitting, became friends and joked that someday they would open a yarn shop.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Salyers took a class in yarn dyeing with chemical dyes and said she loved the creative process. She invited Williams to try it and they decided to try natural dyes with plants from William’s garden, such as marigolds and goldenrods.
“As people who work in research, we love experimenting and keeping track of results to learn what works and what to change — that is essential to natural dyeing,” Salyers said.
The pair has participated in several workshops and are part of an ongoing natural dye learning community. They continued to do extensive reading, research and experimentation as part of the natural dye process, and realized that nobody was doing that with commercial sales in mind.
They were making more yarn than they could use, which led to the shop opening. The pair said they’ve felt welcomed into the fiber community.
“We have met several fiber artists in the area at local markets and have started collaborations,” Salyers said, and partnered with local farmers to source high-quality wool, two Indiana fiber mills to support local yarn production and the use of regional, U.S.-based merino wool whenever they can.
They also partner with local yarn shops in central Indiana to arrange pop-up shops and events, and participate in regional fiber festivals. They’ve more than tripled sales since their initial opening.
The shop opens to the public for “crafternoons,” when people can drop in and knit, crochet or chat. They also offer classes for learning new knitting and crocheting techniques.
“For those that want to try natural dyeing, perhaps with friends, we offer a ‘Hand painting with Natural Dyes’ class,’” Salyers said. “And of course, you can shop for naturally dyed yarn in many different fiber types and weights, naturally dyed fiber for spinning, knitting kits, natural dye kits and other fiber-related gifts.”
The pair also does custom dyeing for individuals and other fiber art businesses.
The shop is adding a patio by the dye garden for makers to enjoy working on projects outdoors. They also have a social media presence on Instagram and Facebook, and are developing a YouTube Channel.
To learn more about the shop, including open studio and “crafternoon” times, classes, and local events, visit the events page at colormehappyfiberarts.com.
