LadyLamb's fiber studio is an indie single-person brand based in Denmark. Led by Ana Borrego Rodrigues, LadyLamb's fiber studio comes out of a lifelong passion for textile crafts.
Born and raised in Portugal, I learned knitting, crochet, embroidery and sewing early on with my mother and grandmothers. Later, I expanded my interests and taught myself to spin and weave.
I still love and practice all of these crafts but spinning has taken a special little place in my heart. Drop spindle, support spindle, Portuguese spindle, wheel... you name it, I just have to do it all.
I started my journey into textiles crafts, like most people, by using commercial yarns and processed fiber. But it was the love for history and traditional handcrafts that opened a new world for me. And it was when I started processing the wool from raw fleece to finished yarn that I really took notice of how different and individual wool can be.
By working with fibers that were patiently hand cleaned and processed, we can feel the wool come to a new life. A life that is also transferred to the yarn we spin, and later work with.
Since I learned to spin, there has been a revival of this craft, making it more approachable and easier to learn. There's a lot of new techniques to try, and modern yarns to make.
I also enjoy these, but there's more to explore in the past.
We live in a fast-fashion society, and we got used to choosing softness above durability. I believe that's why we lost/are losing some types of yarns. For example, many commercial sock yarns are made with shorter fibers that feel soft, but don't necessarily have the characteristics to be durable. If you use the right type of wool and spin it with a good amount of twist, you'll get naturally durable socks, without even having to use nylon.
It's because some traditional yarns and tools are getting lost in the present, that you will find a section in the shop, dedicated to historical-based items, suitable for reenactors and curious minds in general.
At LadyLamb's Fiber Studio we buy fibers from local farmers, whenever it's possible, and we only acquire some commercial fibers, once in a while, because they are not available locally.
And although we still have some yarns and blends with nylon in the shop, we stopped buying it, as our focus is to use natural materials.
When cleaning raw fleeces we use rainwater, and it's a constant concern, to find and use an environmentally friendly detergent.
To send our orders we use 100% recycled plastic bags, or other types of recycled, reused materials.
