About Finarina Designs

Finarina Designs is built on a foundation of passion for knitting, crafting, and community. From learning to knit in college to founding a platform like Yarn Saver for buying and selling yarn, tools, and supplies, Finarina Designs brings together creativity and a love for fiber arts. Dive into the journey of Finarina Designs and explore how this small idea grew into a thriving hub for knitters and crafters alike.

How did you start knitting?

My journey with knitting began during an impromptu “how to knit” session hosted by my friend Meg back in college. We started knitting scarves together in the fall of 2008, and I finished my first scarf on December 30th of that same year. From that moment, I was hooked! While I knit on and off for several years, it wasn’t until I moved to North Carolina that knitting became a more significant part of my life. I used it as a way to meet people who shared similar interests.

When I eventually moved back to Connecticut, I fully embraced the knitting community and became actively involved. The rest, as they say, is history. Knitting has since become more than a hobby for me—it’s a passion that connects me with others and allows me to share my love of crafting through Finarina Designs.

How did you get into the Pardon My Stash podcast?

When I moved back to Connecticut in 2021, I reconnected with my friends, and we resumed our regular knitting meetups. During one of our get-togethers, we joked about how fun it would be to record our knit nights and listen back to them. That sparked an idea, and by the very next meetup, I had podcasting equipment in hand!

Together, we launched the Pardon My Stash podcast, a show themed around the casual atmosphere of a knit night. We talk about everything from silly crafting stories to more serious topics like health, family, and life changes. For me, the best part of the podcast is preserving these moments. It’s meaningful to be able to listen back to these episodes and reminisce about our conversations. My role in the podcast is to handle the tech side of things, including recording and editing each episode—I guess you could call me the podcast’s tech nerd!

What is Yarn Saver, and how does it relate to Finarina Designs?

The idea for Yarn Saver came from my personal yarn collection. It had grown so large it rivaled some yarn stores! I decided to downsize my collection and thought the easiest way would be to create a separate website where people could browse and purchase the yarn directly. This system streamlined the process by calculating shipping costs automatically, making it easier for everyone involved.

Soon after, my friends expressed interest in selling their yarn on the platform too. That’s when I realized we could create a dedicated space to sell yarn, tools, bags, and other crafting supplies. This would be without relying on social media platforms or marketplaces not designed for selling secondhand goods.

During my research, I found that while some places accept donations of yarn for resale, few actually allow individuals to sell their yarn outright. That’s when the idea for Yarn Saver really took shape. It’s awesome to have created a unique platform for the crafting community. (And yes, I was shocked the domain name was available!) Yarn Saver has become a space where knitters and crafters can find quality yarn and tools. It also gives secondhand fiber and supplies a new home.

At Finarina Designs, everything I do is inspired by a love for knitting, a passion for building community, and a commitment to making crafting more accessible. From designing tote bags to creating platforms like Yarn Saver, my goal is to support knitters and crafters in every way possible.