Back in April, I shared some of the challenges our team has been navigating behind the scenes... why things had gone unusually quiet at Thread & Maple.
One of the hardest was watching our product development come to an unexpected standstill when our product dev team lead in Ukraine left East to be with her husband after he was wounded in the war. She had briefly returned to work, which is when I wrote that post, but then had to leave again after just a few short weeks to help him through his rehabilitation and has been gone since.
Many of you reached out with incredibly kind messages. I read every one and they meant more than you know. I'm happy to share that she's back once again. Her husband has recovered enough that she was able to return home and return to work, hopefully for the long haul this time. Sadly his service isn't over and he had to stay to continue the fight.
It still completely boggles my mind that this is happening in my home country. And with our sister nation as the adversary! My mom is Russian, my dad Ukrainian. I grew up in Crimea, in a quiet little town. It wasn't fancy, but it was a happy childhood. I'd spend entire days outside with the kids from my building, walk to school on my own, wander to the bazaar for sweets. I felt safe.
That place still exists in my memories, but it isn't the place I know anymore. That's a difficult feeling to explain. Every time I speak with people back home, I'm reminded how much life has changed for everyone. The children growing up there today don't get that same carefree childhood. I just can't even process it.
But back to why I'm writing today. Seeing Galina back at her workbench, making our prototypes again has brought so much energy back to our little team. It feels wonderful.
In the words of Yuliia (our project coordinator) 'she is a fearless woman.' Not everyone would have dared to go there. She went somewhere most of us can't imagine going because that's where her husband needed her. Even now with him back on active duty and their future still uncertain, she's returned to doing what she loves... creating beautiful things for makers around the world.
I am forever grateful for her and for the rest of our team there, who make our small business possible.
There's another milestone worth celebrating. Our leather workshop has finally moved into its very own space. For years they've worked out of a rented small facility, but now they have a bright, modern workshop they can truly call their own. It couldn't have happened at a better time. After everything they've been through these past years, seeing them begin this next chapter in a place that's theirs is really special. Makers understand how much a workspace matters. Whether it's a corner of the dining table or a dream studio, having a place that's your own changes how it feels to create. I'm so happy our team finally has that.
It has been over six months since we've had something meaningfully new to share, and I don't think I've ever gone that long without pestering our team with new ideas. But now, we're finally designing again. I thought I'd share a few glimpses of what we're working on.
We've been quietly refining a brand new tote designed to go wherever your knitting goes - around town, on a weekend away, or, of course, to your favourite fiber festival. I've been thinking a lot about what actually makes a bag practical to use day after day, not just something that looks beautiful in photos. We've gone back and forth on countless little details, and I think it's becoming something pretty special. The current name I've penciled in for it The Festival Tote. I'm getting really excited to share it!
Our 6th annual Knit for the Girls breast cancer fundraiser is coming up in October.
Every year I challenge myself to create something completely new. Last year's fuchsia suede Flow Bag was such a hit that I knew I wanted to play with colour again. This year we've found another beautiful leather. This time in a vibrant pebbled pink and I honestly can't wait to show you what we've made with it. 💗
And yes... the Stash Organizer is still very much alive. Thanks again to all of you who shared your stash storage solutions in our survey, we've summarized them here. That project turned out to be even more ambitious than I'd imagined, and between everything else happening this year, it had to be paused for a while. Now that our development team is back together, we're picking it up again. I don't want to promise a date before we're confident, but we're hopeful you'll start seeing it come to life early next year.
And... there's one more thing.
We've also been scheming with a familiar friend from the spinning world on another collaboration. If you've been with us for a while, you'll probably have a pretty good guess who I mean. 😉 Spinners, I think you're going to enjoy this one!
More than anything it just feels good to be creating again. After months spent solving logistics, chasing leather shipments, and untangling warehouse systems, it feels so good to do something creative again.
Thank you for sticking with us through a quieter season. Every order, every encouraging email, every photo you've shared of your projects has helped remind us why we do this.
The fun part is starting again.
With gratitude,
