Beginner or advanced, if you’re looking for unique vivid natural colours for your next crochet project, look no further!

Tucked away in The Covered Yard, a hidden gem of creative small businesses off King Street, alongside the handcrafted leather, florist, and upholstery shops, Ginette has braved the pandemic over the last few years to establish her ColourWorks workshop, creating natural and inspired dyed alpaca and British sheep wools.

Using natural-source dyes like weld, madder root, annatto and even cochineal insects(!), Ginette has mastered the playful art of making vivid and subtle colours for a whole range of crochet projects.

She’s developed her own knitting kits and templates which make perfect gifts for all skill levels, like the one skein shawl, as well as her own crocheting tutorials!

But she hasn’t stopped there.

Specialising in colour and the art of dyeing means that she plays a vital role in the clothing process. As a part of the Lancaster craft collective, Ginette takes locally sourced sheep wools, cleans and dyes them for community knitting projects which detail every element of the process, ultimately selling the clothes and donating the proceeds to the local homeless shelter.

It was great to chat about her ambitious plans for the future, but also to reflect on some of the challenges faced as a small business with exports, imports and inflation cost pressures and the opportunities that could be grasped in future with positive legislative change.

As an incredibly inspiring woman in business, I’m proud to champion her dedication and talent in creating sustainable textiles, and contributing her unique colouring skills to the Lancaster district and beyond!

Pop by her workshop in The Covered Yard to pick up some wool for your next project, or visit https://colour-works.co.uk/, Facebook or Instagram for more information.