Fun in Florence

Twice each year, yarn industry reps congregate at Pitti Filati, the ginormous yarn show in Florence, Italy. I've always loved Florence, so it was great to be able to go there on a business trip with Alex. Three whole days to walk around the palace where it's held, admire all the beautiful new yarns for the next season, and meet with new yarn suppliers from all over the planet.

This year, the displays were spectacular. When you walked into the show you were presented with table after table of displays of foods created entirely out of yarn. I tell you, a chocolate gateau is wonderful. But a chocolate gateau made of fabulous yarn is really yummy! The tables were so crowded with people admiring the artistry that it was difficult to get close enough to take a photo.

I think the most fun we had was in seeing all the dramatic new styles that students had developed for the show. Well...that and meeting with some of our friends from the States, like Warren Wheelock and his team from Berroco. We also ran into a friend from Classic Elite -- by accident -- when we were seated at a little outdoor restaurant one evening after the show was over. That was such a coincidence!

We made a lot of new contacts at the show so we'll be able to bring wonderful new yarns to all our Yarnmarket customers. And we also found great wonderful design magazines and informational materials to help Alex and Jan select new colors and styles from our existing yarn suppliers.

If you ever happen to be in Florence in July (and I warn you that Florence is the hottest place on the planet in July!) you might want to find your way into Pitti. That's how we first went there. We were on vacation and discovered that a yarn show was occurring in the city, so we went over to the palace and registered on the spot to attend it.

I'm not sure whether we'll be going to Pitti Filati this year because there are some other yarn shows we haven't been to yet. But I'm going to start my diet this week...just in case I need to slim down so I can bulk back up in Italy. Ciao!