 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , USA |
Key people | David Blumenthal, Adam Blumenthal |
| Products | Yarn |
| Website | Official website |
Lion Brand Yarns, also known as Lion Brand Yarn Company and Lion Brand Yarn, was founded in 1878 in the United States. It is the oldest producer of knitting and craft yarn in the United States, and also publishes several knitting and crochet newsletters.
On its website, the company refers to itself by the names Lion Brand Yarn Company and Lion Brand Yarns, with the copyright notice on each page showing "Lion Brand Yarn". Their first national advertisement, in 1903, advertises as "Lion Brand Yarns". [1] [2]
Lion Brand yarns have been on the market since 1878, making it the oldest producer of Yarn in the US. [3]
Current President/CEO Adam Blumenthal's great great-grandfather Reuben founded this fifth-generation, family-owned company.[ citation needed ]
The company was founded in 1878 by a group of notions and dry goods salesmen that included current CEO Adam Blumenthal’s great great-grandfather, Reuben. [4] During the 1930s under the leadership of Isidor, Lion Brand imported yarns from Europe, supplementing production rather than manufacturing yarns in the U.S.
Joseph Blumenthal, Reuben’s son-in-law, had three sons who ran the company from the 1930s through the early 1990s. Isidor Blumenthal (born 1909, died 2003) served as president of the company from 1958 to his death in 2003. George Blumenthal was in charge of sales and started selling in 1944. Bernard Blumenthal oversaw logistics and distribution.[ citation needed ]
The fourth generation includes Isidor’s son, David, currently Chairman of the Board of Directors, who began working for Lion Brand in 1969. In the following years, Alan, Bernard's son, and Dean and Jack, George's sons, joined the company. Presently there are two members of the fifth generation Blumenthals working at Lion Brand: David's son Adam (current CEO) and Alan's son Dave. [5]
As of 2005 [update] the company was privately held, and had estimated sales of US$100 million per year. [6]
In 1992 Johnny Carson interviewed Vanna White on The Tonight Show where she disclosed that her favorite hobby was crocheting. [7] David Blumenthal's cousin Jack heard the interview on TV, which resulted in David sending White a package of Lion Brand Yarn. White then began working as a spokesperson for Lion Brand, and that relationship continues today. [8] Lion Brand carries a variety of yarn called "Vanna's Choice". [9] Additional yarns in White's line include "Vanna's Glamour", "Vanna's Sequins" and "Vanna's Choice Baby."
A portion of the proceeds from sales of these yarns are donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. [8] On the June 10, 2013 broadcast of Wheel of Fortune, the program showcased White presenting a check on behalf of Lion Brand for $1,000,000.00 to St. Jude's. Game show host Pat Sajak noted that St. Jude's life saving mission is a "great cause" and a "great charity." [10] On October 19, 2018, David and Shira Blumenthal joined Vanna White on a visit to present St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with a $2 million check, representing the cumulative donation from the sale of Vanna’s signature yarns. [11]
In June 2013, it was announced that Lion Brand Yarn’s President/CEO, David Blumenthal and EVP/COO, Dean Blumenthal were awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for their entrepreneurial excellence in the ‘Family Business’ category. [12]
The company publishes several knitting and crochet newsletters. [8]
Lion Brand has published several books featuring patterns using their yarn. The company has partnered with several publishers to provide patterns using their products. Some of these include: Knit.1 Magazine published by Vogue Knitting, Clarkson Potter which is part of Crown Publishing Group, Leisure Arts and Random House.[ citation needed ]
In 2006, Lion Brand won a Webby Award in the Corporate Communications category [13] and its podcast, titled "YarnCraft," has won several awards including PR News' best podcast/videocast award in 2008. [14]
Lion Brand offers over 8,000 free knitting, crochet and craft patterns.
The company sells a variety of yarns, from 100% natural fibers including cotton, cashmere, alpaca and wool to blends and 100% acrylics in a variety of weights. Some of their most popular yarns are Homespun, Fun Fur, Vanna's Choice, and Wool-Ease. [15] The company came out with organic cotton yarn in 2007. [16] On June 20th, 2023, Lion Brand acquired Quince & Co, a Maine-based premium hand knitting yarn company. [17]
The Lion Brand Yarn Studio was a retail store located at 34 West 15th Street in Manhattan, which opened in 2008. It sold yarn, provided knitting and crochet classes, [6] and offered custom knitting and crochet services. The Studio closed in March 2020.
There is a retail outlet store located in Carlstadt, New Jersey, which opened in 2011. The outlet sells a complete selection of Lion Brand yarns and discontinued yarns, and provides a lounge for customers to knit & crochet. [18]
Crochet is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term croc, which means 'hook'. Hooks can be made from a variety of materials, such as metal, wood, bamboo, bone or even plastic. The key difference between crochet and knitting, beyond the implements used for their production, is that each stitch in crochet is completed before the next one is begun, while knitting keeps many stitches open at a time. Some variant forms of crochet, such as Tunisian crochet and broomstick lace, do keep multiple crochet stitches open at a time.
Knitting is a method for production of textile fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework. Yarn can be made of a number of natural or synthetic materials, and comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses. Although yarn may be dyed different colours, most yarns are solid coloured with a uniform hue.
Vanna Marie White is an American television personality and game-show hostess, best known as the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune, a position she has held since 1982. She began her career as a model while studying fashion, competing in Miss Georgia USA in 1978. In addition to her work on Wheel of Fortune, she has played minor characters or appeared as herself in many films and television series, and is the author of the 1987 autobiography Vanna Speaks. She also participates in real-estate investment, owns the yarn brand Vanna's Choice, and is a patron of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Knitting is the process of using two or more needles to pull and loop yarn into a series of interconnected loops in order to create a finished garment or some other type of fabric. The word is derived from knot, thought to originate from the Dutch verb knutten, which is similar to the Old English cnyttan, "to knot". Its origins lie in the basic human need for clothing for protection against the elements. More recently, hand knitting has become less a necessary skill and more of a hobby.
Nålebinding is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting", "knotless knitting", or "single-needle knitting", the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end. It also differs from knitting in that lengths must be pieced together during the process of nålebinding, rather than a continuous strand of yarn that can easily be pulled out. Archaeological specimens of fabric made by nålebinding can be difficult to distinguish from knitted fabric.
Patons and Baldwins was a leading British manufacturer of knitting yarn. It was an original constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange.
A knitting club is a social group in which knitting and crochet enthusiasts gather to do needlework together. They are a feature of the 21st-century revival of hand knitting which began in America and has spread to most of Europe. Despite the name, knitting clubs are not limited to knitting; both crochet-centered and knit-centered clubs are collectively called "knitting clubs." While knitting has never gone away completely, this latest reincarnation is less about the make-do and mend of the 1940s and 1950s, and more about making a statement about individuality and developing a sense of community.
A dye lot is a record taken during the dyeing of yarn to identify yarn that received its coloration in the same vat at the same time. Yarn manufacturers assign each lot a unique identification number and stamp it on the label before shipping. Slight differences in temperature, dyeing time, and other factors can result in different shades of the same color between different dye lots of otherwise identical production. Although the component elements of a dye lot number are of interest only for internal business recordkeeping, retail yarn consumers have an interest in ensuring that they purchase a given color of yarn from identical dye lots.
Hand knitting is a form of knitting, in which the knitted fabric is produced by hand using needles.
Variegated yarn is yarn dyed with more than one colour.
Ravelry is a free social networking service and website that beta-launched in May 2007. It functions as an organizational tool for a variety of fiber arts, including knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving. Members share projects, ideas, and their collection of yarn, fiber and tools via various components of the site.
I Knit London is a knitting organisation based in London, England, UK, comprising a knitting group, knitting shop and knitting events. I Knit London was formed in December 2005, and is run, by Gerard Allt and Craig Carruthers.
Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. It is also called wool bombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting, or graffiti knitting.
Knit the City is a group of "graffiti knitting and crochet" street artists founded in London, England in 2009. The collective is credited with being the first to go beyond the simple 'cosies' of early graffiti knitting to tell 'stitched stories', using knitted and crochet amigurumi creatures and objects in their public installations. This practice has been taken up by groups internationally.
Eisaku Noro Company, Ltd. is a yarn manufacturer located in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan. The company produces yarns for handcrafting under the Noro brand name, as well as machine yarns for textile production using the Eisaku Noro label. The company was founded over forty years ago by Eisaku Noro. The handcrafting yarns in particular are well known for their vivid colors and combinations of diverse fiber types. They differ from a number of other manufactured yarns in the industry by having lengthier spans of color in the runs, causing distinctive striping patterns, as well as being partially spun by hand versus being produced completely by machines. In 2012, Noro Knitting Magazine initiated publication, which features knit and crochet patterns specifically designed for use with the yarns.
A knitting pattern is a set of written instructions on how to construct items using knitting.
Jimmy Beans Wool is an American yarn retailer. The company is headquartered in South Meadows, a neighborhood in Reno, Nevada. Other physical locations include a yarn-dyeing facility in Fort Worth, Texas, a sewing team in Vietnam, and a manufacturing facility in India. Jimmy Beans Wool ships to over 60 countries.
Clara Parkes is an American author, yarn critic, and wool expert. Parkes has been described as "quite possibly the only writer you will ever read who can make a discussion of micron counts absolutely riveting."
Kraemer Textiles Inc. is a privately held American yarn manufacturing company founded in 1887, based in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It produces its own handicraft yarns under the Kraemer Yarns brand, and spins natural and manmade fibers for carpets, industrial use, and home furnishings. It was one of the companies partnered with the Ralph Lauren Corporation to produce the distinctive outerwear for the 2014 Winter Olympics team representing the United States.
| Tools |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Techniques and motifs | ||
| Items | ||
| Crocheted lace | ||
| Related | ||
| Tools and materials |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Yarn styles | ||
| Yarn brands | ||
| Styles | ||
| Stitches | ||
| Techniques |
| |
| Patterns | ||
| Machine knitting | ||
| Knitters and designers | ||
| Organizations | ||
| Related | ||
| Fundamentals |  | |
|---|---|---|
| History of ... | ||
| Regional and ethnic | ||
| Related | ||
| Glossaries | ||
