Who is behind Oysters and Purls?
Originally, Oysters and Purls was started by Armenuhi, a dyer and knitwear designer. Am is passionate about sustainability and began Oysters and Purls in the summer of 2015:
The idea for Oysters and Purls was conceived in the summer of 2015. At the time I was constantly flooding my social media with photos of mouth watering food and exotic travels, and everyone was encouraging me to start a blog. Throughout the months that followed, I became a mother, an experience that, needless to say, changed my life completely! And before I knew it, pictures of food and travel were replaced with baby and lots and lots of knitting.
After several years of managing the brand and finding a home among the pages of some of the knitting world’s most notable magazines, Am decided to head home to Armenia. She reached out to her mill, Battenkill Fibers, to let them know, and founder & mill owner Mary Jeanne Packer asked if it would be possible not to close the brand, but instead to take on the mission as an in-house yarn line. Am agreed. Since 2020, the Battenkill Fibers mill team has been working on achieving Am’s same goals for sustainability, responsibility and traceability, while also adapting to a rapidly changing fiber world.
Why the name Oysters and Purls?
Oysters: an important and key ingredient in the ecosystem; delicious and decadent luxury food for special occasions
Pearls grow in oysters: simplicity of form and beauty in the finished function and use.
To purl is the “opposite” of to knit: therefore, pearls get substituted with purls!
“The world is your oyster”: a deep abiding love for both home and the experience of travel.